new to the P38 fold

Evening chaps,

Ended up buying a p38 over the weekend. Went to see it, turned out to be in really good condition, bought it.

1995 4.6 HSE Range Rover, Epsom Green, tan leather. Harmon Kardon audio, sunroof, memory seats and mirrors, heated seats.

Pretty much zero rust which i thought was unheard of! Apart from a split armrest, a bit of wear on the bolster and the headlining- the interior is very very good. Carpets all nice and no marks etc. Only bad point is the roof which has a lot of surface pitting perhaps from tree sap. Wont polish/clay bar out so might need machining.

It's been a London car all its life and meticulously looked after by the original owners mechanic.

Engine - seems a bit lethargic - a motorway blast should help that.
Gearbox - seems to lurch in to gear a bit - new filter and fluid?
Suspension - when i was first driving, the front occasionally rose up by itself when at a standstill. Bit weird! Battery was completely flat when i got it so perhaps it was relearning? Also, compressor seems to on almost all the time so not driving it until I've tested the pressure and swapped the pressure sensor.

This forum has been very useful already.. thanks to the contributors!

One think i would like would be to see the original spec brochure. I found the sale brochure but has no mention of specification. Any thoughts?

cooper

edit: based in London

Greetings
Welcome to the world of Range Rovers

Zero rust is quite normal
Test the pressure by all means but I'll bet you that it's the compressor that needs attention not the pressure switch

Thanks. Good to hear zero rust is normal! Must be thinking of the classic? Thought i'd read it somewhere.

Testing the output pressure of the compressor will hopefully tell me that. I was thinking of ordering a compressor kit anyway.

welcome im london to and have some diag for the engine if required

Hello and welcome

Welcome! Rust on p38s is pretty uncommon so you should be ok there!

Thanks all

Biketeacherdave- that would be very useful! thought there may have been some readily available for use with a standard obd cable but seems not.

:welcome2: I would bet that the airspring bags are shot, they have a design life of 7 years 80K miles. Easy job my guide is in the Range Rover How To section. the pressure sensor rarely fails.
Definately change the gearbox oil and filter, should be done every 24K miles, probably never been done, while you are doing it, stick some Lucas Transmission Fix in.
I can supply the EAS software and cable at a better price than you will find anywhere else.

I did think it may be the bags but it's been standing since Sunday and they don't look like they've gone down. Had been standing for 2 weeks when I got it (battery completely flat) and it didn't appear to be on the bump stops. Seems to struggle to get up to full height so I think it is the compressor.

Loads of diy rebuild kits from £10-20 on eBay. Worth getting?

Will PM you regarding the EAS software/cable.

Recommend any decent suppliers for the box filter and fluid?

i'For oil and filters as a rule buy the best you can afford. Personally I'll only use genuine filters but I'm picky. Bearmach do pretty good filters apparently

cooper13 said:

I did think it may be the bags but it's been standing since Sunday and they don't look like they've gone down. Had been standing for 2 weeks when I got it (battery completely flat) and it didn't appear to be on the bump stops. Seems to struggle to get up to full height so I think it is the compressor.

Loads of diy rebuild kits from £10-20 on eBay. Worth getting?

Will PM you regarding the EAS software/cable.

Recommend any decent suppliers for the box filter and fluid?

Click to expand...

Compressor failure is usually due to air leaks. Do the EAS checks in Wammers guide in the How To section.
Island 4 x 4 for box filter & gasket, Ebay for Lucas Transmission Fix, local factor for oil, Dexron IId or Dexron III.

Thanks a lot for the suggestions.

Island4x4 has one for £4.99 and a Land Rover one for £49 - is the LR one really good or the 'quality aftermarket' one really bad?!

cooper13 said:

Thanks all

Biketeacherdave- that would be very useful! thought there may have been some readily available for use with a standard obd cable but seems not.

Click to expand...

nope special obd 2 connector n software