p38 broke down AA say head gasket..

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
martynv8 said:
Trouble is, mine had a replacement engine fitted by Land Rover (dont know when this was). So on second engine already. Getting a second hand engine could give the same problems. In every other respect mine is in top notch condition (touch wood), so investing in a top hat block might be worth it if i decide to keep for a long time - or get rid now & go for an LPG'd V8 L322? Decisions! :confused:
Click to expand...

It's a tough choice, but personally, I'd go for an L322. Lovely cars and only seems like yesterday they were brand new and 70k plus. Now you can pick them up for under 10k!
 
It's tempting, ive spent alot on my the P38 over the last 8 months so it's a real dilemma. My mechanic tells me the l322 V8 engines are bomb proof. The only issues are electrics, wheel bearings & suspension issues are more regular than P38s.
 
martynv8 said:
It's tempting, ive spent alot on my the P38 over the last 8 months so it's a real dilemma. My mechanic tells me the l322 V8 engines are bomb proof. The only issues are electrics, wheel bearings & suspension issues are more regular than P38s.
Click to expand...
Apart from VANOS. Look at the rising number of threads with L322 problems. If you think your P38 cost you a lot to keep on the road, look at the prices for L322 parts.
 
martynv8 said:
It's tempting, ive spent alot on my the P38 over the last 8 months so it's a real dilemma. My mechanic tells me the l322 V8 engines are bomb proof. The only issues are electrics, wheel bearings & suspension issues are more regular than P38s.
Click to expand...

I know parts are more expensive than the P38 and it's less DIY-able to work on. However BMW spent something like £1 billion developing the L322 (vs the tenner that LR spent on the P38 :D ) so you'd hope it would be more reliable :)
 
stjohnsmythe said:
I know parts are more expensive than the P38 and it's less DIY-able to work on. However BMW spent something like £1 billion developing the L322 (vs the tenner that LR spent on the P38 :D ) so you'd hope it would be more reliable :)
Click to expand...

All the evidence suggests otherwise and if you believe BMW spent 10 billion developing the L322 you must also believe in Santa Claus:rolleyes: they certainly did not spend much on quality parts like plastics for the seat bases, fastners gearboxes etc.
 
Most of the money i've spent on the P38 since owning has been on upgrades etc so i'm not moaning about that but the major issue with the P38 V8 is the engine is doomed to failure even with good regular servicing (in my experience) which is costing me a fortune lately. Am i right in thinking the V8 gearboxes are better than the TDV6 GM? I agree with Datatec on the L322 interior though, it does look / feel cheap compared with my p38.
 
martynv8 said:
Most of the money i've spent on the P38 since owning has been on upgrades etc so i'm not moaning about that but the major issue with the P38 V8 is the engine is doomed to failure even with good regular servicing (in my experience) which is costing me a fortune lately. Am i right in thinking the V8 gearboxes are better than the TDV6 GM? I agree with Datatec on the L322 interior though, it does look / feel cheap compared with my p38.
Click to expand...

There are issues with the torque convertor on the V8 and I doubt the engine will last as long as the diesel.
Read RS200 custom's thread on the GM gearbox. A preventative change of the torque convertor would seem to be the answer to keeping the box going.
 
Cheers Datatek,

Just looked up VANOS....wow, dispells my belief that the BMW V8's are much better...might stick with the P38 after all.
 
Datatek said:
All the evidence suggests otherwise and if you believe BMW spent 10 billion developing the L322 you must also believe in Santa Claus:rolleyes: they certainly did not spend much on quality parts like plastics for the seat bases, fastners gearboxes etc.
Click to expand...

You're telling us that just a few days before Christmas!!!!:Cry::Cry:
 
The GM Box problem is due to wear in the valve block allowing a pressure drop to not hold the drive clutches firmly and thus causing slippage...the Torque Convertor Lock Up Clutch is designed to limited gearbox slippage to around 3% before full lock up above 52ish mph....if the drive clutches are slipping the LUC is worked overtime to prevent above 3% slip and as such wears out real quick and shreds itself into the box and trashes everything.

The ZF box fails with what is termed 'Bearing then O Ring' failure....the A Clutch and B Clutch packs are separated from the C clutch by a roller bearing arrangement and the two packs have an O ring inbetwwen to seal them from eachother.

I am not sure why it happens, but the roller bearing begins to fail and break up allowing the two clutch packs to move axially against each other, this in turn leads to wear of the O ring inbetween them due to the constant movement of the clutch packs.....this O ring then fails and you can potentially lose drive through A&B clutches.....

Symptoms are often times a thump in the downshift from 2nd to 1st as the clutch packs move about and also a rapid bypass of 2nd gear from 1st almost directly into 3rd...and in extreme cases Transmission Fault and it limps into 4th and at the very worst case 5th or nothing at all.

The ZF box can also suffer TQ failure, but is less common, and will give more warning than the GM box by giving a cattle grid feeling between 30-50mph on light throttle, most evident going up hill.

Engine wise, VANOS is the only real issue on the M62, plus the PCV valve on the back of the engine gumming up causing a massive Crankcase over pressure and blowing oil out of the seals.
 
Last edited:
Saint.V8 said:
Engine wise, VANOS is the only real issue on the M62, plus the PCV valve on the back of the engine gumming up causing a massive Crankcase over pressure and blowing oil out of the seals.
Click to expand...

I'd be interested to know how often the Vanos fails on the M62. I've had a number of BMWs, an e36 M3, 330ci, Alpina B3 and a 3.0i Z4. Never had any problems on those. The vanos problem tends to be another internet scare story whereas the reality of failures is a very small %. Not sure about the M62 though.
 
Last edited:
A warm good evening to you all, and thanks as ever for your advice.

Alas after much soul searching, nagging and being practical we have decided to part company with 'Rocco'. Am truly gutted, and not just at the giveaway price Tim Fry's is buying it off me.

They pressure tested the system themselves and could not find any leak in head gasket nor water loss, and they could only summise that it must have a porous block. As for the misfire, they deem it to be the camshaft missing a lobe. The cost of them even getting to the camshaft to confirm, let alone replacing it, together with a new block, renders it way beyond our finances and economical repair.

Knowing how little water it uses over time, if it wasnt for the camshaft problem causing the emissions to fail the mot then would have contemplated further keeping it at least until the third bundle of joy arrives in May. But i guess whatever the water problem is, and causing as it did an overheat and missing our son's nearologist appointment, we have had to go for a more basic car.

Will miss this forum though, it really is comforting to read the differing views on problems and how they affected each individual user.

If i had more time to source another car then i would have offered rocco up for sale here, am sure someone could work their magic and get it running again or even use the parts like the lpg system for their own. But I had until sunday to find wheels or face ruining a long-planned xmas trip to Devon so will have to accept all of £250 from Tim Fry's tomorrow and put it towards a run-of-the-mill family estate.

Again, sincere thanks to all and i wish you the very best of motoring in your rangey's, and landies of course..
 
Pdirty8 said:
A warm good evening to you all, and thanks as ever for your advice.

Alas after much soul searching, nagging and being practical we have decided to part company with 'Rocco'. Am truly gutted, and not just at the giveaway price Tim Fry's is buying it off me.

They pressure tested the system themselves and could not find any leak in head gasket nor water loss, and they could only summise that it must have a porous block. As for the misfire, they deem it to be the camshaft missing a lobe. The cost of them even getting to the camshaft to confirm, let alone replacing it, together with a new block, renders it way beyond our finances and economical repair.

Knowing how little water it uses over time, if it wasnt for the camshaft problem causing the emissions to fail the mot then would have contemplated further keeping it at least until the third bundle of joy arrives in May. But i guess whatever the water problem is, and causing as it did an overheat and missing our son's nearologist appointment, we have had to go for a more basic car.

Will miss this forum though, it really is comforting to read the differing views on problems and how they affected each individual user.

If i had more time to source another car then i would have offered rocco up for sale here, am sure someone could work their magic and get it running again or even use the parts like the lpg system for their own. But I had until sunday to find wheels or face ruining a long-planned xmas trip to Devon so will have to accept all of £250 from Tim Fry's tomorrow and put it towards a run-of-the-mill family estate.

Again, sincere thanks to all and i wish you the very best of motoring in your rangey's, and landies of course..
Click to expand...
Really sorry to hear that - shame, but that is what kills most Rangies is the repair costs are quite extraordinary in certain circumstances.

Don't be a stranger, you are most welcome even without your Rangie...and maybe sometime in the not to distant, another one will don the driveway.

Wishing you and yours a Merry Crimbo and New Year.....
 
Saint.V8 said:
Really sorry to hear that - shame, but that is what kills most Rangies is the repair costs are quite extraordinary in certain circumstances.

Don't be a stranger, you are most welcome even without your Rangie...and maybe sometime in the not to distant, another one will don the driveway.

Wishing you and yours a Merry Crimbo and New Year.....
Click to expand...

Plus 1 on that. Hope you get some (reliable) wheels sorted in time. Have a great Christmas.
 
Pdirty8 said:
A warm good evening to you all, and thanks as ever for your advice.

Alas after much soul searching, nagging and being practical we have decided to part company with 'Rocco'. Am truly gutted, and not just at the giveaway price Tim Fry's is buying it off me.

They pressure tested the system themselves and could not find any leak in head gasket nor water loss, and they could only summise that it must have a porous block. As for the misfire, they deem it to be the camshaft missing a lobe. The cost of them even getting to the camshaft to confirm, let alone replacing it, together with a new block, renders it way beyond our finances and economical repair.

Knowing how little water it uses over time, if it wasnt for the camshaft problem causing the emissions to fail the mot then would have contemplated further keeping it at least until the third bundle of joy arrives in May. But i guess whatever the water problem is, and causing as it did an overheat and missing our son's nearologist appointment, we have had to go for a more basic car.

Will miss this forum though, it really is comforting to read the differing views on problems and how they affected each individual user.

If i had more time to source another car then i would have offered rocco up for sale here, am sure someone could work their magic and get it running again or even use the parts like the lpg system for their own. But I had until sunday to find wheels or face ruining a long-planned xmas trip to Devon so will have to accept all of £250 from Tim Fry's tomorrow and put it towards a run-of-the-mill family estate.

Again, sincere thanks to all and i wish you the very best of motoring in your rangey's, and landies of course..
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear that. I suppose with any old car the cost of keeping it on the road can sometimes be too much and a decision like this has to be made. Good luck with your next purchase :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

A
P38A Head Gasket Kit & ARP Bolts ?
2
Replies
23
Views
882
enjoi
enjoi
J
P38A p38 EAS - immediate drop of pressure
Replies
11
Views
607
Mark Piercy
Mark Piercy
G
Which head Gasket to buy
Replies
11
Views
463
NPG
NPG
G
TD5 Head Gasket?
2
Replies
24
Views
3K
Stanleysteamer
Stanleysteamer
D
P38 4.6l gems blown head gasket
Replies
19
Views
2K
pwood999
pwood999
Back
Top