Decision time

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dogsbody

dogsbody

Very senior member
Posts
10,685
Location
Bristol
2000 diesel auto with 110,000 on the clock.

Well it's now official, my gearbox has bitten the dust. I lost drive in the middle of nowhere but with a lot of revs and a fair bit of luck it got me home. Now I've got to decide what to do.
A refurb from Ashcroft, without any upgrades, but with carriage, VAT, a new cooler and labour to swap it all over is going to be about £1,500. However I'm sure that I could get £750 from my local Rangie scrapper (he knows the car and the work and money that I've put into it) and my Nanocom should raise another £250.

So, do I spend another £1,500 on the beast or call it a halt now and put £2,500 towards something else? If I'm honest, I only bought the Rangie because I'd always fancied one, not because I needed one, but I've never had a car that caused my face to smile but my ass to twitch, both on almost every journey.
 
A Range Rover is for life not just for Christmas....

guaranteed, if you get rid, you'll wat another one.

Range Rovers are a labour of love, you have to be prepared for the costs, heartache, frustration, pain, suffering and unreliability.....otherwise it will only end in tears!
 
dogsbody said:
2000 diesel auto with 110,000 on the clock.

Well it's now official, my gearbox has bitten the dust. I lost drive in the middle of nowhere but with a lot of revs and a fair bit of luck it got me home. Now I've got to decide what to do.
A refurb from Ashcroft, without any upgrades, but with carriage, VAT, a new cooler and labour to swap it all over is going to be about £1,500. However I'm sure that I could get £750 from my local Rangie scrapper (he knows the car and the work and money that I've put into it) and my Nanocom should raise another £250.

So, do I spend another £1,500 on the beast or call it a halt now and put £2,500 towards something else? If I'm honest, I only bought the Rangie because I'd always fancied one, not because I needed one, but I've never had a car that caused my face to smile but my ass to twitch, both on almost every journey.
Click to expand...

P38 are always a gamble- as it is diesel the engine less of s concern than v8 liner problem's.

I would pop another box in it, but not an ashcrofts as it is lots of money when considering other possible items that may need attention.
 
to spend money buying and having somebody fit a secondhand box dont make sense to me it could be nearly as bad as you are taking out . if you could get a local mechanic to fit the ashcroft box would it be much cheaper? they are not very difficult to fit
 
Don't buy ashcrofts. Not if you want longevity out of it, It's as big a risk as fitting a 2nd hand one.

try Whitehouse transmissions wolverhampton Ig you google em they get lots of good reports and have been highly recommended by a trusted landy repair shop I've used.
 
seanmull said:
to spend money buying and having somebody fit a secondhand box dont make sense to me it could be nearly as bad as you are taking out . if you could get a local mechanic to fit the ashcroft box would it be much cheaper? they are not very difficult to fit
Click to expand...
you check whats left of oil before fitting if its clean theres a high probability box is ok ,and repair is very feasable as most faults are with the first 2 clutch packs and sometimes the first oneway clutch
 
redhand said:
Don't buy ashcrofts. Not if you want longevity out of it, It's as big a risk as fitting a 2nd hand one.

try Whitehouse transmissions wolverhampton Ig you google em they get lots of good reports and have been highly recommended by a trusted landy repair shop I've used.
Click to expand...

i have never had to buy a new box but i was under the assumption that ashcrofts were brilliant . thank you for the tip.
 
seanmull said:
i have never had to buy a new box but i was under the assumption that ashcrofts were brilliant . thank you for the tip.
Click to expand...

Seem to be a lot of complaints about em on the various forums. I was told that average spend time on a transfer box rebuild is 40minutes :eek: if you read their blurb they say that they only replace parts "If they think they need it" and if ya looking to cut costs and increase profits then they are never gonna "look like they need replacing"
 
No great surprises there.
If I lived next to James Martin I'd have nothing to worry about.
If I lived next to Saint I'd have a shrine to Range Rovers outside my door.
If I lived next to Storm I'd probably move.

I was thinking of Ashcrofts because they are set up to ship me a box.
I was pricing it to be fitted at a local (decent) garage because I've got to include the cost of recovering the Rangie to wherever it's going to be repaired. So, even if I can get a cheaper replacement/repair somewhere else that might just get offset by a larger recovery bill.
I'm also including the cost of a new cooler and pipes as I would want a replacement to last.

The jury is still out on this one. The car just looks so good. It's got Oxford leather and walnut inside and over the last couple of years I've fitted;
in-tank pump
air bags
air pump
valve block
brake lines
brake flexis
front bushes
viscous fan
thermostat
a pair of General Grabbers
EBC dics and pads
brake calipers
white dials with blue illumination
coloured LEDs in all the switches
LED panels ion all interior lights
LED illumination in the boot
rubber boot liner
upgraded reversing lights
LED sidelights & 100 watt headlights
and have got a new air-con condensor in the garage waiting

Well that's depressed me. I hadn't realised how much time and money I'd spent on this thing!
 
Dogsbody give whitehouse Transmissions a fonecall won't hurt!! and you may get better service and price. the chap down here who recommended em has had several Gearboxes and Tranfer boxes off em so they obviously ship boxes out.

Tel is 01384 221304
 
dogsbody said:
No great surprises there.
If I lived next to James Martin I'd have nothing to worry about.
If I lived next to Saint I'd have a shrine to Range Rovers outside my door.
If I lived next to Storm I'd probably move.......
!
Click to expand...

Yep a big feck off great huge illuminated one that can be seen from space - think Ma Trotters 'shrine' from Only Fools and Horses, only mucho bigger!! :D
 
Hi dog what condition is it in I know its a smart one.
in all this time have you had to do all the niggles like ball joints oring oil cooler inc pipes ect intank pump, cooling fip ect if you have done the previous then I would say get recon box and new TQ

you have a lovely example low milage engine if original plenty of life yet


Choices choices

Ps I missed a few posts the only expensive bit left its the fip !
 
O.K. I'm going for a box rebuild.
I went out today looking for a replacement car. I tried a few Eastern machines but I just couldn't imagine the conversation.
"What are you driving these days?"
"A Toyota/Nissan/Mitsubishi".
"Oh, what happened to your Range Rover?"

Then I tried a few Jags and almost fell for a gorgeous XJ. Wonderful ride, loads of power, all the toys but then I found myself alongside an artic. ****, is that what truck tyres look like? Then I was waiting at a junction and I couldn't see over the traffic or the hedges.
Nope, it's got to be a big 4x4 so I might as well drive the best, the most iconic so it's onto the phone tomorrow to see what I can come up with.
 
dogsbody said:
O.K. I'm going for a box rebuild.
I went out today looking for a replacement car. I tried a few Eastern machines but I just couldn't imagine the conversation.
"What are you driving these days?"
"A Toyota/Nissan/Mitsubishi".
"Oh, what happened to your Range Rover?"

Then I tried a few Jags and almost fell for a gorgeous XJ. Wonderful ride, loads of power, all the toys but then I found myself alongside an artic. ****, is that what truck tyres look like? Then I was waiting at a junction and I couldn't see over the traffic or the hedges.
Nope, it's got to be a big 4x4 so I might as well drive the best, the most iconic so it's onto the phone tomorrow to see what I can come up with.
Click to expand...
:clap2:
 
dogsbody said:
O.K. I'm going for a box rebuild.
I went out today looking for a replacement car. I tried a few Eastern machines but I just couldn't imagine the conversation.
"What are you driving these days?"
"A Toyota/Nissan/Mitsubishi".
"Oh, what happened to your Range Rover?"

Then I tried a few Jags and almost fell for a gorgeous XJ. Wonderful ride, loads of power, all the toys but then I found myself alongside an artic. ****, is that what truck tyres look like? Then I was waiting at a junction and I couldn't see over the traffic or the hedges.
Nope, it's got to be a big 4x4 so I might as well drive the best, the most iconic so it's onto the phone tomorrow to see what I can come up with.
Click to expand...
tis a pity your so far away ,if box is totalled it will need another ,but theres a very good chance it could be repaired perfectly ,but without opening it up you cant tell
 
Sounds like you have invested time money and feeling into this motor, not sure you will happy getting next to nothing for it with a broken box, so yep fix it one way or another, use it enjoy it maybe then consider something else while you have this one to compare it to. Good luck with it keep us all posted how its goes :)
 
If you keep it another 6 or 7 years I'm sure it'll be worth £5+K - So many P38s are being scrapped these days it's sure to be a nailed-on classic in the future - the last ladder chassis'd, live axle Range Rover and the last Range Rover actually designed by Rover themselves.
 
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