Air to Springs

Datatek · Monday at 18:05

Springelec said:
Only when it lashes down and only when parked on a camber slope. When parked on level ground, it does not leak so, I ensure it's always parked on level ground when available. Fuel consumption alone is a reason to describe the car as money pit. I get 19mpg no matter how carefully I drive. But this is a choice I'm happy to make because there are several benefits from driving around in a 4.6L P38. EAS is not one of them but, from my perspective, the realistic alternative that saves the car from the abyss is spring conversion therapy. The more time I spend with you and others discussing this option, the more I'm convinced this is the right route for me. When I was younger, I did all my own DIY. Now I'm a pensioner, I can still get around a car but, I'm less enthusiastic about crawling under a car, especially when it's wet and cold as it usually is in February. As I said earlier, I'll get EAS fixed again and consider my options. Thanks to all.

If the footwell is getting wet from any source, expect lots of problems. Common leaks are the pollen filter covers and the self tapping screws in the scuttle or blocked sunroof drains if you have a sun roof.
Apart from the air springs, no crawling under the car is needed to fix the EAS, it's mostly under the bonnet apart from the ECU which is under the passenger seat.

Springelec · Monday at 18:09

That's interesting and worth trying. I've got a Maxiscan MS509 OBDII scanner so, I'll try that to see what error codes it reads and if any can be deleted. My P38 used to slowly lose height over a weekend but, since the last pair of bags were replaced, it holds height very well for more than a week before settling on the stops. Clearly, its previous loss of height was due to saggy bags and in itself, a useful diagnostic. If your LR loses height over a WE, your bags are saggy and could fail any time, like mine did. The failure my car suffered last Saturday night was sudden and (obviously) completely unexpected because new bags were fitted less than six months ago. I was under the car yesterday to confirm all four height sensors were still attached to their rubber gaiters although, I could not test their electrical output. The last EAS failure was caused by one of the sensors popping out of its gaiter so, that was an easy fix. The sensors are Yr2000 but, the short links are new because I replaced them when I bought the car three years ago. TBC. Thanks

pwood999 · Monday at 18:16

The P38 EAS is not OBDII compliant, so that scanner is unlikely to work.

Put your town name in your forum profile - there might be peeps nearby with proper P38 diagnostics & experience fixing it.

Rubberknees · Monday at 21:01

Mark Piercy said:
+1^^

+2^^

Rubberknees · Monday at 21:04

Springelec said:
That's interesting and worth trying. I've got a Maxiscan MS509 OBDII scanner so, I'll try that to see what error codes it reads and if any can be deleted. My P38 used to slowly lose height over a weekend but, since the last pair of bags were replaced, it holds height very well for more than a week before settling on the stops. Clearly, its previous loss of height was due to saggy bags and in itself, a useful diagnostic. If your LR loses height over a WE, your bags are saggy and could fail any time, like mine did. The failure my car suffered last Saturday night was sudden and (obviously) completely unexpected because new bags were fitted less than six months ago. I was under the car yesterday to confirm all four height sensors were still attached to their rubber gaiters although, I could not test their electrical output. The last EAS failure was caused by one of the sensors popping out of its gaiter so, that was an easy fix. The sensors are Yr2000 but, the short links are new because I replaced them when I bought the car three years ago. TBC. Thanks

You need a nanocom or at least storey wilsons EAS unlock (which is free online + a cable) to find the fault codes on a P38

kermit_rr · Monday at 21:40

Rubberknees said:
You need a nanocom or at least storey wilsons EAS unlock (which is free online + a cable) to find the fault codes on a P38

+1
Trying to mess with anything else will just lead to pain and hair loss.

kermit_rr · Monday at 21:43

I'm very surprised you only get 19 mpg. Is that off the dash or calculating how much fuel you put in brim to brim?

Lots of reasons you're getting low mpg

300bhp/ton · Monday at 21:53

kermit_rr said:
I'm very surprised you only get 19 mpg. Is that off the dash or calculating how much fuel you put in brim to brim?

Lots of reasons you're getting low mpg

19mpg in a 4.6 p38 surely isn't low.....

On a very good steady run you might see into the low 20's. With about 22mpg being as good as it'll get if you fiddle the figures a little, i.e. reset it on the move and drive only a moderate distance at light throttle and low speeds.

Reality is middish teens for any kind of town, high speed or enthusiastic driving.

kermit_rr · Monday at 21:56

300bhp/ton said:
19mpg in a 4.6 p38 surely isn't low.....

On a very good steady run you might see into the low 20's. With about 22mpg being as good as it'll get if you fiddle the figures a little, i.e. reset it on the move and drive only a moderate distance at light throttle and low speeds.

Reality is middish teens for any kind of town, high speed or enthusiastic driving.

I would get 20-22 on short drives with the 4.0. never had a 4.6 but everyone says they are similar/more economical unless you have a lead foot

300bhp/ton · Monday at 22:26

I woudl say you are doing very well at that mpg.

kermit_rr said:
I would get 20-22 on short drives with the 4.0. never had a 4.6 but everyone says they are similar/more economical unless you have a lead foot

Parkers says 18mpg for the 4.0 and oddly 20mpg for the 4.6

Land Rover Range Rover Station Wagon 1994 specs & dimensions | Parkers

Find all the key specs about the Land Rover Range Rover Station Wagon 1994 from fuel efficiency and top speed, to running costs, dimensions data and lots more.

www.parkers.co.uk

Either way, 19mpg would seem to be right on the money.

RangeRoller dt · Monday at 23:44

Not everyone here disagrees with coils. Never seen anyone here say they wouldn’t have a jag, Classic or land cruiser because they don’t have adjustable saggy suspension

There are crap cheap kits out there that don’t seem to ‘sit’ well and you can tell an L322 isn’t made for it, but a P38 -from experience- is fine on coils. My set was actually a mishmash of LR parts I remember few bits were actually off a disco. Apart from a snapped strut (I pushed it too far) I never had a single suspension problem thereafter. Only reason I needed the headlights adjusted was because of the height increase which was more to do with the tyres/necessary lift, not really an issue standard height.

Datatek · Tuesday at 07:44

kermit_rr said:
I would get 20-22 on short drives with the 4.0. never had a 4.6 but everyone says they are similar/more economical unless you have a lead foot

Brim to Brim checks or off the dash dreams?

kermit_rr · Tuesday at 08:28

Datatek said:
Brim to Brim checks or off the dash dreams?

They were both close enough that i stopped bothering to keep pump records. Unusual, i know

P38Seb · Tuesday at 08:51

kermit_rr said:
They were both close enough that i stopped bothering to keep pump records. Unusual, i know

See I just like the optimism the dash gives me.

norseman · Tuesday at 08:59

300bhp/ton said:
Sadly the EAS can be a pita. And while a few claim they can be reliable, they are by far the very small minority....

Anything you do to fix them, they can still go wrong. In some ways the suspension is not that complex, but if you need to sort lots of bits, it is expensive.

As for coils, it really isn't such a bad thing. Most cars, even plenty of Land Rovers run coils even today. The only thing you really loose is the ability to change the ride height for access or if off road for extra clearance. The EAS on the p38 is pretty flawed conceptually anyway, as it is rock hard in the extended off road modes and super soft and saggy in the low down fast modes. 100% the wrong way round for both driving disciplines.

Going to coils will probably make it ride and handle better by and large and certainly take the wollow away that p38's have.

As for the conversion kits, tbh there isn't really much to them. The only key bit is the aluminium adapter for the lower spring seat, as p38 air bags clip in place. These adapters just let you run a Discovery 1/Defender lower spring seat. And that's it.

As for the springs, well as Rover never offered a coil p38, there are no factory rates. So the springs are generally just another Land Rover spring, that someone 'thinks' will be the correct length and spring rate. Once you know what part numbers are being used, you could easily look for alternative springs if you wanted to source elsewhere or go for a different spring rate.

Prices do seem to be crazy for the conversion kits these days though...

Worth shopping about or even seeing if you can buy just the adapters:
View attachment 335282

The only other bit you need that isn't generic Land Rover is the electronics to stop the warning light. Although it is just a few wires at the end of the day.

Everything else in this picture are bits from other vehicles. Disco 1 spring isolators, Disco 2 front spring isolators. Disoc1/Def lower spring seat and spring retainers. They are all cheap as chips to buy.

You can get a full set of quality springs from here: https://www.flatdoguk.com/p38-std/hd-1~460

What those London cabs with round headlights like a classic RR??
View attachment 335280
View attachment 335281

Wrong generation of cab(s)
Google Metrocab & no the classic does not have headlamps like that

norseman · Tuesday at 09:18

kermit_rr said:
They were both close enough that i stopped bothering to keep pump records. Unusual, i know

Not really, the only time I ever did a brim-to-brim was on a 600+ mile road trip in my current 3.5efi auto that is factory standard when it comes to engine/drivetrain & wheels/tyres.

When it comes to general motoring I just put E5 in when the gauge drops below half a tank, if I worried about consumption I wouldn't be running a RR.

kermit_rr · Tuesday at 09:29

norseman said:
if I worried about consumption I wouldn't be running a RR.

a lot of folks cite this..
i've worried about it, not because of the cost, but whether its expected, eg if you should be getting 20mpg but only getting 10mpg then i'd be concerned what is wrong and it should be fixed. i'm not going to be happy to simply leave it with a problem

aj1954 · Tuesday at 09:33

kermit_rr said:
They were both close enough that i stopped bothering to keep pump records. Unusual, i know

I did both and found less than 2 mpg difference.

300bhp/ton · Tuesday at 10:20

norseman said:
Wrong generation of cab(s)
Google Metrocab & no the classic does not have headlamps like that

Discovery 1 & Freelander 1 have square lights too, as do most of the modern JLR products. And if you really think a p38 looks like a Metrocab, I'd suggest a visit to SpecSavers

And you couldn't be more wrong.... the old Black cab headlights don't just like those from an RRC, they are the EXACT same units.... used across many many vehicles.

kermit_rr · Tuesday at 10:39

300bhp/ton said:
And you couldn't be more wrong.... the old Black cab headlights don't just like those from an RRC, they are the EXACT same units.... used across many many vehicles.

i dont recall a london black cab having anything other than round headlights, do you have a pic please?

Air to Springs

Well-Known Member

Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Very

Very

Well-Known Member

Very

Well-Known Member

Well-Sprung Member

Well-Known Member

Very

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Very

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Very

Similar threads