What have i done!!! New P38 Owner here!

Hi All,

I've gone and bought my first 4x4 and its a beautiful 1998 P38 Diesel!

I decided i needed a car capable of towing my MX5 track car around the country so after very little research, but seeing that the Landy forums are very active, I decided to get one, what the heck, what's the worst that could happen!?!?

The chap i bought it off is an enthusiast, has done a lot of work on the car whilst he owned it, so i'm relatively happy it will perform to requirement. It's had new air suspension bags and compressor witted, a new radiator, new head and valves (after the radiator blew and the head cracked), new water pump, new hoses and belts, new heater plugs, the list is quite long, most of the work was done in the last year.
THe inside and outside are very tidy, he actually retrimmerd the drivers seat and put in new headlining, so it doesnt look 16 years old at all!


There are only two issues i need/want to deal with soonish and they're the central remote locking which is temperamental at best, and the driver's side door handle which is very stiff and clunky to open..

I already did some research into the remote locking and i believe the previous owner has disconnected the aerial for the receiver, but only one of the two key fobs will actually lock/unlock so i'm not sure that's the entire issue.

Anyway, whats the fun in having a car that's 100%! I am a bit daunted by the electronics though, i have a multimeter, and i'm not afraid to use it, but my electrical engineering degree may have to be rolled out by the looks of it!!!!!

You can rest assured i will be asking all the n00b questions frequently!!!!

W.

Here's a rubbish phone picture!!!

Welcome!

I recently bought a 2001 P38 2.5 DHSE for pulling my trailer, but it's really not up to the job to be honest, so I'm keeping my eye out for something with a hell of a lot more torque.

My trailer is a massive Brian James tilt bed tri-axle job though, so I'm sure an MX5 and suitably sized trailer will suit the P38 just fine.

It struggled with a Discovery on the back though!

Welcome

mbwoy84 said:

Welcome!

I recently bought a 2001 P38 2.5 DHSE for pulling my trailer, but it's really not up to the job to be honest, so I'm keeping my eye out for something with a hell of a lot more torque.

My trailer is a massive Brian James tilt bed tri-axle job though, so I'm sure an MX5 and suitably sized trailer will suit the P38 just fine.

It struggled with a Discovery on the back though!

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Not quite sure what you are expecting, nothing will go very fast with 3.5 tonnes hanging off the bumper. In any case neither safety or the law permits rapid trailer towing!

V8 disco might be a bit more oomph than a diesel rangie, but I still wouldn't expect sports car performance.

Welcome mate

Turboman said:

Not quite sure what you are expecting, nothing will go very fast with 3.5 tonnes hanging off the bumper. In any case neither safety or the law permits rapid trailer towing!

V8 disco might be a bit more oomph than a diesel rangie, but I still wouldn't expect sports car performance.

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I had a V8 Discovery before, which was definitely one of the best examples on the road and that was better at towing, but wasn't amazing. Plus fuel economy would be a major issue. I didn't have the Discovery for towing, it was just a vehicle I ran because I liked it.

I'm happy sitting at 55 max towing and certainly won't be racing, as long as it's smooth and not jerky, but needs to be able to cope with hills better and not be constantly in the wrong gear.

It did the job, but the P38 has I think 199LB/FT and the vehicle I'm looking at to potentially replace it has 639LB/FT, so should see a massive difference in pulling power.

With the empty trailer on, or with a light car on, when the P38 is rolling it's fine, but accelerating it's pretty terrible and doesn't seem to know what gear it wants to be in (auto box). It does the job, but with the hills we've got round here it's not ideal.

mbwoy84 said:

I had a V8 Discovery before, which was definitely one of the best examples on the road and that was better at towing, but wasn't amazing. Plus fuel economy would be a major issue. I didn't have the Discovery for towing, it was just a vehicle I ran because I liked it.

I'm happy sitting at 55 max towing and certainly won't be racing, as long as it's smooth and not jerky, but needs to be able to cope with hills better and not be constantly in the wrong gear.

It did the job, but the P38 has I think 199LB/FT and the vehicle I'm looking at to potentially replace it has 639LB/FT, so should see a massive difference in pulling power.

With the empty trailer on, or with a light car on, when the P38 is rolling it's fine, but accelerating it's pretty terrible and doesn't seem to know what gear it wants to be in (auto box). It does the job, but with the hills we've got round here it's not ideal.

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Hamburger Hill, just up the A30 from here, I would often be down in second gear if I was baulked by someone coming out of a side turning! That was towing a cattle box with my 85 hp Ninety though, the Disco is much better, I find the autobox is fantastic for towing, maybe yours isn't working right?

What the hell are you going to get that has that much torque?

Turboman said:

Hamburger Hill, just up the A30 from here, I would often be down in second gear if I was baulked by someone coming out of a side turning!

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That's where I was 2 weekends ago, I had to collect a car from Cornwall and it was all winding lanes barely enough to get the trailer down and some major, major climbs. The P38 was struggling to be fair, but it did the job.

What I'm looking at it a mildly tweaked V10 Touareg.

I need 3500kg towing capacity and I've always used Land Rover as a default choice as I know I'm safe up to 3500kg with any model barring the Freelander, but the automatic gearboxes have always seemed a bit of a hindrance when acclelerating, particularly whilst towing. I've tried a few and none seem to be different to be honest.

mbwoy84 said:

That's where I was 2 weekends ago, I had to collect a car from Cornwall and it was all winding lanes barely enough to get the trailer down and some major, major climbs. The P38 was struggling to be fair, but it did the job.

What I'm looking at it a mildly tweaked V10 Touareg.

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Afraid that is what it is like down this end! You get used to it after a bit. The auto Disco is the best solution I have found so far

I think you may regret the Touareg, not heard great things about them, but I guess you will find out in due course if that is the case

The last one I had (only a 2.5tdi) was the best 4x4 I've ever owned (well, obviously it didn't match my old Series III off-road...) and was faultless for almost 4 years.