P38A Opinions on a P38 Diesel Requested

• Oil leak, but not excessive (8.4.1 (a) (i))
• Coil spring corroded All 4 (5.3.1 (b) (i))
• Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge Both front and nearside rear, inner edges (5.2.3 (e))
• Rear Vehicle structure is corroded but structural rigidity is not significantly reduced (6.1.1 (c) (i))
• Offside front inner sill corroded but not considered excessive
• Steps fitted not allowing full inspection of both outer sills

pwood999 said:

Guys,
My son has been offered an early 1997 2.5 for £1000 or thereabouts but it has just over 200,000 miles on the clock. It's on coils mad:), but we could sort that later. New battery fitted, but gearbox overheat message on dash. Rear bumper swelling has damaged the tailgate paintwork a bit, and headlining is sagging quite a lot. Apparently the current owner mentioned FOB not working near mobile phone towers, so it must have early receiver !!

As I'm a V8 guy need some input from you oil burner folks out there.

Current MOT (valid until Sept 2024) has a bunch of advisories:

Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):

• Oil leak, but not excessive (8.4.1 (a) (i))
• Coil spring corroded All 4 (5.3.1 (b) (i))
• Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge Both front and nearside rear, inner edges (5.2.3 (e))
• Rear Vehicle structure is corroded but structural rigidity is not significantly reduced (6.1.1 (c) (i))
• Offside front inner sill corroded but not considered excessive
• Steps fitted not allowing full inspection of both outer sills

If he goes ahead I will need to get the diesel licence for my Nanocom.

Click to expand...

kermit_rr said:

Diesel/gems/Thor all use different cables.. if i recall. You can check on the site

Click to expand...

pwood999 said:

Guys,
My son has been offered an early 1997 2.5 for £1000 or thereabouts but it has just over 200,000 miles on the clock. It's on coils mad:), but we could sort that later. New battery fitted, but gearbox overheat message on dash. Rear bumper swelling has damaged the tailgate paintwork a bit, and headlining is sagging quite a lot. Apparently the current owner mentioned FOB not working near mobile phone towers, so it must have early receiver !!

As I'm a V8 guy need some input from you oil burner folks out there.

Current MOT (valid until Sept 2024) has a bunch of advisories:

Monitor and repair if necessary (advisories):

• Oil leak, but not excessive (8.4.1 (a) (i))
• Coil spring corroded All 4 (5.3.1 (b) (i))
• Tyre worn close to legal limit/worn on edge Both front and nearside rear, inner edges (5.2.3 (e))
• Rear Vehicle structure is corroded but structural rigidity is not significantly reduced (6.1.1 (c) (i))
• Offside front inner sill corroded but not considered excessive
• Steps fitted not allowing full inspection of both outer sills

If he goes ahead I will need to get the diesel licence for my Nanocom.

Click to expand...

Datatek said:

Nowt wrong with the diesel as long as the viscous fan is working. If it overheats, it risks a cracked head, that is why I have converted to electric cooling.
Gearbox overheat my well be the sensor or corroded wiring, also the box has probably never had an oil change. Do an oil change if you get it and follow @Henry_b 's advice an make sure all the valve block bolts are tight.
At 200K miles timing chains may need doing if it has not had regular oil changes.
The headlining sags on all of them it least that is the case on my three.
I don't know the market in the UK, but £1K for a P38 on springs with faults sounds a bit high to me.

Click to expand...

Wazzajnr said:

There are diesel P38's being virtually given away on fb and eBay if you keep looking.
A grand for one on coils with known issues is steep.
I paid less than 2k for my 08 tdv8 with less problem than that.

Click to expand...