What to do........??

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smnbyt

smnbyt

Active Member
Posts
301
Location
Winchester, Hampshire
Thinking of PX' ing the freelander in for a P38 Range Rover 4.6 HSE

What are your thoughts guys???

My main requirements for the car is towing my twin axle 26ft caravan, which the freelander does remarkably well and load space for all the crap that goes with it, the only problem is opening the rear door when its hitched up which can be a pain at times...

It will be used mainly as a second car so fuel economy doesn't bother me

The freelander is coming up to needing 4 new tyres, clutch and VCU + Bearings

I am slightly hesitant as I know the freelander inside out and have about 5 years worth of service/spares in the shed.

Better the devil you know......or Not?????
 
If your already doing what you need to with your Freelander then why change it? the P38 is a far better place to be but it comes at a cost and like youve aready said better the devil you know... Dont rush into it sounds like youve got a good one. The cost of repairing your freelander will be significantly less than say 4 new air bags and compressor overhaul or repairing a slipped liner ect....


W
 
I must admit, it was the comfort aspect that attracted me to the P38, the freelander can be a bit thrashy and noisy, I quite fancy a nice smooth quite automatic, assuming they are all of that
 
is the weight of that twin axel 26 ft caravan a bit much for a freelander I know it will pull it but any hills well that must be wearing your clutch out I would hate to part with my Freelander but if needs must. but be prepared to have deep pockets especially with fuel.
 
teddywood1 said:
is the weight of that twin axel 26 ft caravan a bit much for a freelander I know it will pull it but any hills well that must be wearing your clutch out I would hate to part with my Freelander but if needs must. but be prepared to have deep pockets especially with fuel.
Click to expand...

Hills are fine as long as you prepare for them, if you try and gun it mid hill the clutch does take a battering, I did that once and you could smell the clutch,
on average I only get about 10/12 mpg towing anyway so fuel economy doesn't bother me and as I said it's a second car used for towing the van and dump runs, that sort of thing. I use it a couple of times a week to go to work just to keep it ticking over.
I just fancy more comfort but still keep a reasonable load space
 
I have both, well a 2.5 p38, love them both but the p38 needs so much more maintenance- so much more! Not that it's unreliable its just so much more car! That said you have to experience it so give it a go - just buy a good one and be ready for 16mpg :)
 
I've recently gone from a V6 Freelander to a Discovery 3 2.7 TDV6. The Discovery is completely different in terms of capability and comfort. However the Discovery requires lots more maintenance than the Freelander. The Discovery is the better tow car of the 2.
I don't know how reliable the P38 will be, but if it's anything like the D3 you will always be doing something to it.
 
As a friendly Land Rover parts manager once advised me:

"Al, if you think your D3 costs a lot to maintain, you REALLY don't want a P38 - they're a frigging nightmare!"
 
Cheers for all the info and views guys, I'm going to go and see a couple next weekend to get a feel of them

I've been reading up on them quite a bit and have bought the 'official' workshop manual, (paper edition)

Its a hell of a lot thicker than the freelander version.....:eek:
 
P38's are known for electrical problems. The have more electrical items than Freelander 1's. Your probably going to buy one which will show a few hidden fault so make sure you have a look through the RR section on ere for typical faults.

Mechanically the P38 is stronger than the Freelander 1. Therefore more suitable to towing the caravan you have. The Freelander may be able to do it, but the P38 will do it easier. Look up diagnostics for the P38. This will make it a lot easier for you.

Make sure you have full breakdown cover for the RR and caravan towed as well when the P38 breaks down.
 
Well for the time being I've decided to keep the freelander as I know its history and as the caravan season is almost upon us reliability is important to me, and believe it or not my 1.8 is reliable if nothing else..

The RR's I did view were a bit shabby

So I've ordered a Borg & Beck 3 piece clutch kit......any views on this??
I've got a genuine LR front Diff mount and a clutch master cylinder and bracket

Now for the tyres.............. I was thinking of either:

Yokohama Geolanders A/T-S G012

or

General Tire Grabber AT's

Or could I get away with fitting BF AT's the only problem is the size.....they would be 225/70/16's not 215/65/16's as standard??

The car is standard, no lift or wheel spacers

What do you reckon???
 
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