1996 P38 2.5dse auto gearbox problems

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Right just got home from work/doing the filter.. Changed filter and oil and added Lucas stuff I was shocked how thick that stuff is! Before hand it wouldn't change up or down in manual (1,2,3) now however it changes up sometimes when I move it up through but changes down everytime! So it's a step in the right direction!
The oil had a burnt smell and was a dark brown! So I'm getting some more Lucas stuff this weekend but won't get chance for another oil change until next week!
And to top it off my rear shock has popped,sheared the bottom off and is now hanging down so it's ruled the range rover out of the Wales trip, and also got a nail in my tyre whilst driving the p38 around the industrial estate testing!


The focus is running spot on I think the problem is with the egr valve or possibly a actuator rod on the turbo? It's the wife's car and she only uses it for plodding around and never takes it above 2k rpm so other week eml came on she panicked I went out revved the engine and surely enough a cloud of black smoke came out and the eml went out and stayed out since. On Monday we went shoping and I told her to change hear at a higher rev (3-3500) depending on acceleration etc and then the eml came on!
Got home fine have it a rev bit if black smoke like last time but light stayed on.. Next day she goes to drive it and light isn't on and was fine. Then this morning the "engine system failure" message came up (she said shed been driving like I told her) so I don't know if it's just as the egr is being disturbed or iv found a similar case where he had a actuator rid replaced to solve it?
But we've found if we stay below 3250rpm the light doesn't come back on???
 
Here's the bloody shock! Looks like it's been sheared for a while but must have only just popped out! Another job to do!
 

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Right just got home from work/doing the filter.. Changed filter and oil and added Lucas stuff I was shocked how thick that stuff is! Before hand it wouldn't change up or down in manual (1,2,3) now however it changes up sometimes when I move it up through but changes down everytime! So it's a step in the right direction!
The oil had a burnt smell and was a dark brown! So I'm getting some more Lucas stuff this weekend but won't get chance for another oil change until next week!
And to top it off my rear shock has popped,sheared the bottom off and is now hanging down so it's ruled the range rover out of the Wales trip, and also got a nail in my tyre whilst driving the p38 around the industrial estate testing!


The focus is running spot on I think the problem is with the egr valve or possibly a actuator rod on the turbo? It's the wife's car and she only uses it for plodding around and never takes it above 2k rpm so other week eml came on she panicked I went out revved the engine and surely enough a cloud of black smoke came out and the eml went out and stayed out since. On Monday we went shoping and I told her to change hear at a higher rev (3-3500) depending on acceleration etc and then the eml came on!
Got home fine have it a rev bit if black smoke like last time but light stayed on.. Next day she goes to drive it and light isn't on and was fine. Then this morning the "engine system failure" message came up (she said shed been driving like I told her) so I don't know if it's just as the egr is being disturbed or iv found a similar case where he had a actuator rid replaced to solve it?
But we've found if we stay below 3250rpm the light doesn't come back on???

I take this is a diesel then? Does it have a particle filter fitted?
 
u obviously bought a car in severe lack of maintenance, better get the transfer fluid, diff oil, prop shaft lubed, brake service, coolant change, power steering fluid etc sorted


i use lucas oils for GB, transfer, diffs, props, steering and everything seams smoother and quieter than before, not affiliated just like it, the 75w90 diff oil made huge difference
 
u obviously bought a car in severe lack of maintenance, better get the transfer fluid, diff oil, prop shaft lubed, brake service, coolant change, power steering fluid etc sorted


i use lucas oils for GB, transfer, diffs, props, steering and everything seams smoother and quieter than before, not affiliated just like it, the 75w90 diff oil made huge difference

yes i agree about lucas oils,cracking stuff.;)
 
A little update after doing the oil and filter last week my car got a nail in the tyre (luckily this was a tyre ready to b replaced anyway) and I never had time/pump at my house to inflate it to get me to a garage as I want the tyre off the spare steel putting on the alloy with the damaged tyre.
So once the weekend was over with after a very expensive wedding for the sister in law I had to wait until Thursday before I could touch the range so it's been parked up....
Purchased a portable compressor went to start the engine and battery was dead! Charged battery up reconnected and away I went with my little compressor, I'm going to a garage on way home from work to get the tyres swapped over but driving it this morning there's a noticeable difference in the gear change.. It still changes up at 3500 revs from 1-2 however at 3500rpm I'm doing 25mph at the change so I'm cruising at low revs in 2nd doing 30mph which is better for me, and long from 2-3 instead of changing at 4500rpm it's not changing at 4000rpm so hopefully a little more driving and another oil change in a couple of weeks it will keep improving!

Iv ordered the rear shock that's snapped and making up my mind what to do on the suspension side, strip the air out and sell on to help fund a problem free coil conversion or repair the eas and hope it is reliable!

Also when I removed the battery since reconnecting it's flashing up "window not set" on all four windows I presume this is a simple fix
 
Setting the windows is as simple as putting each in turn all the way down and holding a couple of secs then all the way up and holding for a few secs until that window says "window set" (ie, one window at a time)
 
Hmmmmm I'm in a bit of a pickle, iv been offered a really clean discovery 300tdi it's probable the cleanest iv ever seen never been welded only slight bubbles of rust starting to show on body (hardly noticeable) very original not been messed with.
Only problem is it's got no service history (previous owner died and his widow couldn't find the paperwork before selling it to the current owner) has full v5
Mileage is fairly high at 222k
Supposedly drives mint iv not driven it yet was just wondering if you think I should swap for my range rover? We've got a trip to Devon next month (I'm in Liverpool) and the missus focus is sorted as far as the eml light goes (split I intercooler) however it's using/losing water somewhere (I can't see where anywhere and the oil is fine and water is nice and clean aswell) so don't want to risk driving there in that incase it turns ou to be head gasket and were far away from home an want to enjoy the holiday!
Although in theory the range would be a nicer car to drive but it needs tyres, shocks and not to mention the was is on bypass valves at the moment and the obvious gearbox issue that might/might not be fixed!
Opinions please
 
Hmmmmm I'm in a bit of a pickle, iv been offered a really clean discovery 300tdi it's probable the cleanest iv ever seen never been welded only slight bubbles of rust starting to show on body (hardly noticeable) very original not been messed with.
Only problem is it's got no service history (previous owner died and his widow couldn't find the paperwork before selling it to the current owner) has full v5
Mileage is fairly high at 222k
Supposedly drives mint iv not driven it yet was just wondering if you think I should swap for my range rover? We've got a trip to Devon next month (I'm in Liverpool) and the missus focus is sorted as far as the eml light goes (split I intercooler) however it's using/losing water somewhere (I can't see where anywhere and the oil is fine and water is nice and clean aswell) so don't want to risk driving there in that incase it turns ou to be head gasket and were far away from home an want to enjoy the holiday!
Although in theory the range would be a nicer car to drive but it needs tyres, shocks and not to mention the was is on bypass valves at the moment and the obvious gearbox issue that might/might not be fixed!
Opinions please

Compared to a P38 no Disco drives nice. Range rover is a different class of beast altogether. 222K has to tell a story.
 
Compared to my range rover with the suspension the way it is, gearbox the way it is all the rattles inside I think a series 1 would drive just as nice ha ha
That's my concern no history... I was thinking of asking him to include a full service kit aswell as cambelt kit so I could do it all myself and know it's been done then!
 
Failing that I'm contemplating selling the p38 and settling it a disco 200/300tdi a lot less electricals and toys to enjoy but also less to go wrong.
Would £1000 sound reasonable? It's tax until en of July an mot is december
 
300tdi disco - '97 2.5TD in great condition for year. 222 thousand miles, runs well sweet.

I've fitted an anderson plug to the rear bumper, connected directly to the battery, for use of jump leads. Also 12volt sockets on front & rear bumpers for tyre inflators etc...

Tyres are filled with nitrogen (or whatever it is that they use in F1 cars) so never need pumping up.

These two statements would make me walk away...

First one - Bad use of English language...I am not too keen on badly spelled or grammatically incorrect adverts, I understand some people are not masters or Oxford Dons but a little care and attention to wording and sentence structure when selling something doesn't go amiss, oh, and most word processors these days have a decent spell checker and that also includes Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome et al....

Second One - Just because a tyre is filled with nitrogen doesn't mean it is never going to go flat, just means the rim and/or tyre won't corrode or degrade due to the lack of moisture in the tyre! It would seem the advertiser knows little about vehicles, so how can you trust anything else they have written!

The Anderson plug I can allow as long as it can be shown it is for jumping OTHER vehicles and not this one - which could indicate a weak battery or failing alternator!

(I know my spelling is a little odd and I may miss words out when posting on this forum....but if I was trying to sell an item of value, I would at least give it a damned good shot at producing a decently worded advertisement!)
 
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These two statements would make me walk away...

First one - Bad use of English language...I am not too keen on badly spelled or grammatically incorrect adverts, I understand some people are not masters or Oxford Dons but a little care and attention to wording and sentence structure when selling something doesn't go amiss, oh, and most word processors these days have a decent spell checker and that also includes Internet Explorer, Firefox and Chrome et al....

Second One - Just because a tyre is filled with nitrogen doesn't mean it is never going to go flat, just means the rim and/or tyre won't corrode or degrade due to the lack of moisture in the tyre! It would seem the advertiser knows little about vehicles, so how can you trust anything else they have written!

The Anderson plug I can allow as long as it can be shown it is for jumping OTHER vehicles and not this one - which could indicate a weak battery or failing alternator!

(I know my spelling is a little odd and I may miss words out when posting on this forum....but if I was trying to sell an item of value, I would at least give it a damned good shot at producing a decently worded advertisement!)

Saw wood eye. :D:D
 
So that's a no then... A alternator and battery wouldn't bother me....

Wouldn't say no....just don't take the advert at face value and never buy/swap a Land Rover without ever driving it first!

If your happy with it - fair game, I am just giving my opine....and yes a battery and alternator aren't big jobs...unless there are other underlying reasons one or both have failed.

I am not saying the advert or vehicle is bad or a lemon - it could be a cracker, but 'well sweet' is not a term I like and the Nitrogen filled tyres comment shows he knows not what the reason for Nitrogen filling of tyres is meant to achieve...so how much or how little else does he know about cars in general and in particularly the one he is offering....

Just my two pence worth, and I am not a genius car buyer, I have had my share of lemons and also crackers...I am just pointing out what I would be looking for in an advert...
 
Ok so still got the range rover and it's growing in me now! Iv had two fuel leaks (both from when I done the Ecu temp sensor I must have disturbed them and they split from old age)
So now they're sorted I went and put 30ltrs of veg oil last night and it's been running beautifully so now it's cheaper to run I'm going to try and keep hold of it and sort the bix issue!

New development today I was driving home from work and noticed that it seemed to be stuck in 2nd or 3rd I think 3 rd going off the speed and rpm I was doing.. However when I looked on the display in speedo there was no letters or number... Still had the mileage there but nothing indicating if I was in "P,R,N,D" etc so I pulled over switched off the ignition and it shown me a message "gearbox fault"
Now I'm presuming this to be in some way related to the gear change pattern? Maybe it's a iffy Ecu?? Any suggestion?
Also under the passenger seat is two Ecus I believe one is for the box itself and second one is transfer box.. Which is which? They are stacked ontop of eachother
Thanks
 
Ok so still got the range rover and it's growing in me now! Iv had two fuel leaks (both from when I done the Ecu temp sensor I must have disturbed them and they split from old age)
So now they're sorted I went and put 30ltrs of veg oil last night and it's been running beautifully so now it's cheaper to run I'm going to try and keep hold of it and sort the bix issue!

New development today I was driving home from work and noticed that it seemed to be stuck in 2nd or 3rd I think 3 rd going off the speed and rpm I was doing.. However when I looked on the display in speedo there was no letters or number... Still had the mileage there but nothing indicating if I was in "P,R,N,D" etc so I pulled over switched off the ignition and it shown me a message "gearbox fault"
Now I'm presuming this to be in some way related to the gear change pattern? Maybe it's a iffy Ecu?? Any suggestion?
Also under the passenger seat is two Ecus I believe one is for the box itself and second one is transfer box.. Which is which? They are stacked ontop of eachother
Thanks

Hope you mixed the vegi oil with at least the same amount of dino juice or it won't be running well for long.
 
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