gold rover said:
Would I have bought a RR before the L322 - No
Did I want an L322 the moment I saw one - Yes
Is the truth that P38 owners will defend their model to the death and L322 will defend theirs -YES
You are unlikely to get an objective reply to 'which is best' on a forum where everyone thinks theirs is best ;)
Click to expand...
I for one think they are all crap, the P38 is cheap to fix crap, the L322 is expensive to fix crap:rolleyes:
 
Datatek has always maintained that all though he thinks they're crap - they're cheap crap
 
I drove an l322 a lot over about 3 years when they were fairly new, 04 plate I think, and thought it was fantastic, the cars done over 200k now and the only problem it's had is a gearbox fault fixed under warranty and the electrics to the passenger door stopped working, again a warranty job, I also drove the new disco and a rangie sport a little while back, all 3 drive about the same although the newer engine is quicker, for what it's worth I prefer them to my p38 massively, there's no comparison, I've had plenty of issues with the p38 and yes it's been cheap to fix but I'd still go for the l322 if I could afford it, if your in 2 minds what to do, test drive an l322 and your mind will be made up
 
gold rover said:
And for all that you think they are crap, still you have one. Kind of says it all :D
Click to expand...

I have one for 2 reasons, being crap they are dirt cheap to buy which brings them into a pensioners price range, the other reason is all the tech info is available for me to repair the heap of ****:)
 
gold rover said:
There's loads of cheap crap out there, lots of it even cheaper than a P38, wouldn't mean I'd have any of it. Methinks he is also in denial ;)
Click to expand...

Tell me another 4 x 4 that (when it's working) is as cheap to buy and run as a P38? A 10 year old Pajero is more than twice the price of a similar P38, a Toyota three times. A Lada comes in at a similar price:eek: as does a Fourtrak, neither very comfortable. Parts for all of those are much more than a P38 and little info is available.
 
youmitegetian said:
I drove an l322 a lot over about 3 years when they were fairly new, 04 plate I think, and thought it was fantastic, the cars done over 200k now and the only problem it's had is a gearbox fault fixed under warranty and the electrics to the passenger door stopped working, again a warranty job, I also drove the new disco and a rangie sport a little while back, all 3 drive about the same although the newer engine is quicker, for what it's worth I prefer them to my p38 massively, there's no comparison, I've had plenty of issues with the p38 and yes it's been cheap to fix but I'd still go for the l322 if I could afford it, if your in 2 minds what to do, test drive an l322 and your mind will be made up
Click to expand...

So if looking for one second hand, I guess I need to make sure the gearbox has been done or at least budget for a rebuild at some point? (I'd be buying an early petrol model)
 
Every Range Rover owner is in denial. They are all crap, we just buy one inside out budget and hope for the best. The biggest reason I went 38 rather than 322 was I'd always wanted a 38. In hindsight I should've just got the 322, but heyho, it isn't often you get to own a dream car. I doubt I'll take ownership of a a DB5 any time soon.

So far mine has been good to me.

6x Glow plugs
4x Tyres
1x Alternator
1x Battery
1x Thermostat
1x Huge service (all oils and filters, many parts greased, coolant and brake fluid drained and replaced).
All lights replaced (only needed a drivers side headlight as mine had cracked but was offered facelift from a car the garage was breaking).

I would say that isn't too bad for first year of ownership on a second hand vehicle. Especially an aged vehicle such as the P38. But even if I went a bit mental and got myself a L322, I expect the first year to be full of repairs that need doing. You can only give a valid judgement after the first year.



*Anything else I have replaced because I wanted to not because I needed to so doesn't count.
 
Thanks just had a good laugh at the crap machine quotes. As the engine will furber itself when the head gaskets gone im going to go for it. Yep drilling tapping and pinning.
May take the head off in the bank to make sure liner is at the top of the bore and its not fractured before pinning it. Might take out pistons to check rings as its done 142k.
Will keep you posted on turning a crap engine into a quiet crap engine.
I think i will just do one pin as the expantion over the two pins might create a fracture.

All i need now is a 90 deg drill
 
Willos said:
Thanks just had a good laugh at the crap machine quotes. As the engine will furber itself when the head gaskets gone im going to go for it. Yep drilling tapping and pinning.
May take the head off in the bank to make sure liner is at the top of the bore and its not fractured before pinning it. Might take out pistons to check rings as its done 142k.
Will keep you posted on turning a crap engine into a quiet crap engine.
I think i will just do one pin as the expantion over the two pins might create a fracture.

All i need now is a 90 deg drill
Click to expand...
if you got a compressor air ones are farly cheap ,good luck .
 
Willos said:
Thanks just had a good laugh at the crap machine quotes. As the engine will furber itself when the head gaskets gone im going to go for it. Yep drilling tapping and pinning.
May take the head off in the bank to make sure liner is at the top of the bore and its not fractured before pinning it. Might take out pistons to check rings as its done 142k.
Will keep you posted on turning a crap engine into a quiet crap engine.
I think i will just do one pin as the expantion over the two pins might create a fracture.

All i need now is a 90 deg drill
Click to expand...

Good luck, no reason not to try!! please keep us informed with lots of pics.
 
yep just finished reading that thread in america on the pinning. I do have a compressor so a 90deg drill about £40.
Defo taking heads off to check gaskets as well as it might have been punched through.
Will take pics of all work so that it might help a few of you on this subject and get more miless out of my p38.
thanks to all on this subject
 
I've just entertained myself with the write-up on how to pin the liners to the block. The last bit confused me though... Is it true that there is a step at the bottom of the block to keep the liners from dropping down? If that is the case, and the cylinder head is clamped down on top, how is it possible for the liner to slip up or down?
 
Because the engineers at Rover couldn't push the liners in hard enough ..... they weren't inserted until they stopped at the lip.
 
SpiggyTopes said:
Because the engineers at Rover couldn't push the liners in hard enough ..... they weren't inserted until they stopped at the lip.
Click to expand...

Seriously?? So, if a liner does come loose, how far will it typically drop before it hits the lip? I'm just thinking that a possible cure would be to freeze the liners out of the block and shim them at the bottom before dropping them back in and then skim the top of the block. Still a lot of work, but should be cheaper than new block or top-hatted liners. It could even be possible to do without any subsequent machining, if one is able to measure the depth of the bore vs the length of the liner accurately enough. Then the only precision needed would be the thickness of the shim.
 
Henrik97 said:
Seriously?? So, if a liner does come loose, how far will it typically drop before it hits the lip? I'm just thinking that a possible cure would be to freeze the liners out of the block and shim them at the bottom before dropping them back in and then skim the top of the block. Still a lot of work, but should be cheaper than new block or top-hatted liners. It could even be possible to do without any subsequent machining, if one is able to measure the depth of the bore vs the length of the liner accurately enough. Then the only precision needed would be the thickness of the shim.
Click to expand...
that's just as expensive as tophat job why not weld an aluminium lip around the said gap
.
 
Just found another how to which is much clearer for those not too familiar with the block
http://www.landroverresource.com/docs/Pinning_V8_Liner.pdf
Yes it shows the lip but also states that some of the liners never went to the step before being machined off. I'd like to meet that lazy barstool at that rover plant putting in these and pin his liner.
looks an easy job if the blocks out. Its also one of those jobs to do if you have to get the heads off etc
 
If it were me I'd spend the money and get the P38 fixed properly. That way all your time and effort won't have been wasted and the biggest expense will have been sorted. The P38's aren't showing the same rotting problems of the Classics so you're sorted for years.

Unless you've got loads of spare cash to buy a newer L322 you're just going to be buying somebody's worn out cast off. And potentially a whole load more trouble than your P38. Our low mileage 02 P38 is just as nice a place to be as my mates 04 L322, his rattles just as much as mine!! BMW had pretty much lost interest in Land Rover so a lot of the development in the L322 was on the cheap.

I'm starting to agree with Data, especially since I've been driving my new (To me) XJR, and realize just how badly screwed together these P38's and L322's really are. It's a 1998 with 110K on the clock, but it's refined with no rattles or clunks and goes like s**t off a shovel, unlike my P38 or my mates 04 L322.
 
XJR may be quicker and I should bloody hope so, the RR isn't made to race around

Plus you will be fecked with a 1cm of snow :p
 
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