New P38 owners

Been living Manchester / North Cheshire for years, so thought we ought to get a Range Rover at last.

Otto is our 25 year old P38 4.0 SE, with a few niggles to sort out. Needs plenty of TLC but seems straight and sound enough. I'm sure, as with all vehicles, he'll prove us wrong at times!

Hello and welcome from me

Welcome! If you've ever got any issues, don't be afraid to ask. They're relatively easy cars to work with, but if you're unsure there's plenty of knowledge on here.

Cheers. From the look of it mostly it is gremlins that can be dealt with by knowledge, persistence and a bit of sense.

I know I'll be tracking some EAS issues to make sure it isn't just a worn compressor, usual tailgate release woes, and being stung by JLR for a new key since we only got one with it and that isn't in wonderful shape. But the body is pretty straight and good condition (much better than my everyday Fusion). No major rust, no welding, smooth autobox.
Slow speedo is odd, but I'm sure I will find what causes it.
Be good to see if I can track down the history for the first 5 years. 1996 car but imported to UK in 2001. I'm hoping it was somewhere warm, dry and salt free, maybe Cyprus or Malta as seems to be standard RHD.

Scotiawhiskers said:

Cheers. From the look of it mostly it is gremlins that can be dealt with by knowledge, persistence and a bit of sense.

I know I'll be tracking some EAS issues to make sure it isn't just a worn compressor, usual tailgate release woes, and being stung by JLR for a new key since we only got one with it and that isn't in wonderful shape. But the body is pretty straight and good condition (much better than my everyday Fusion). No major rust, no welding, smooth autobox.
Slow speedo is odd, but I'm sure I will find what causes it.
Be good to see if I can track down the history for the first 5 years. 1996 car but imported to UK in 2001. I'm hoping it was somewhere warm, dry and salt free, maybe Cyprus or Malta as seems to be standard RHD.

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If you need a key there’s a company I use called Classic Rides North Wales. They’re a P38 specialist and do mail order keys. Les Edwards is the guy who runs it.

P38-DFX said:

If you need a key there’s a company I use called Classic Rides North Wales. They’re a P38 specialist and do mail order keys. Les Edwards is the guy who runs it.

Click to expand...

Cheers for that - I'll check him out. Always a relief to have a spare available and never need it!

Hello and welcome to the ups an downs of p38 ownership

Welcome to the forum

Spare keys - arrived and synched, which is a relief.
More cleaning of 25 years of crud from crevices and corners. And flat surfaces that are coming up a different shade to what we believed.
Tailgate is fully functional now - seized side latches / crud in the locks, not the dreaded microswitch issue I was fearing.
Vacuum pipes replaced, now has slightly surging cruise control in operation.
Plans for addressing the upper tailgate rust and doing some general rustproofing work.
Set of standard size alloys and tyres to go on when the service is done, including an engine flush, replacement wonky suspension joint, thorough check for anything we've missed that might crop up for the MOT in September.
From an electrical check sheet I've seen elsewhere, looks like we have some tired cables (nearly double the volt drop between battery and alternator that should be max allowable), hopefully boosting the whole electrical system like that will help eliminate any other minor faults.
Tailgate water leak and rear washer non-working could be linked, need tracing but not today.
Suspension goes up and down OK but compressor is noisy - overhaul kit and valve block overhaul kit ordered and that will be a weekend job some time over the summer after the service is done.
Looks like a litany of disaster, but really it is mostly fiddly stuff. And fundamentally we enjoy driving him and tinkering with him.