monkfish24

Well-Known Member
As the title says, just been to pick up the P38 I spoke about before. 4.6 V8 Gems.
I paid £160 for it, it has MOT, the suspension is working perfectly, the brakes are astounding at stopping such a heavy car and the gearbox is smooth and all gears work.

It is overheating like a mother trucker though. There is loads of mayonnaise under the oil cap. I started from cold with a full coolant bottle and drove off from the seller, after about 10 miles, the heating went from hot to cold without any change in the temp setting. Then the engine went in to overheat.

I removed the coolant cap and there was a lot of pressure in the system, only place that can come from is obviously the cylinders so hopefully tomorrow, I'll start getting the engine apart and find out if it's just head gasket issues or if it's something more deeper.

Why the P38? I wanted something easy to fix. The engine still comes out the old fashioned way, the electrics are well within my abilities and parts are still readily available. It's capable, easily moddable and very comfortable on the road.

A few other things don't work, the cruise control doesn't operate, the blowers don't move from the windscreen position, the sunroof is a little leaky and the heated seats don't operate very well either. Those are all minor points at the moment compared to the engine! I'll get some photos on here tomorrow and this will probably turn in to quite a long thread.
 
I'd be inclined not to cook it too many times, the gems and thor for that matter will drop a liner if it gets too hot..

The HG is definitely gone, not too much of a ball ache.

The lower manifold bolt from cylinder 8 is a pain in the arse to remove as all the steering gubbins is in the way.. ;)

Also the heatshields are a nightmare, i'd be inclined to heatwrap the manifolds..

Oooh

and pictures of ya P38 ;)
 
I'd be inclined not to cook it too many times, the gems and thor for that matter will drop a liner if it gets too hot..

The HG is definitely gone, not too much of a ball ache.

The lower manifold bolt from cylinder 8 is a pain in the arse to remove as all the steering gubbins is in the way.. ;)

Also the heatshields are a nightmare, i'd be inclined to heatwrap the manifolds..

Oooh

and pictures of ya P38 ;)

Yeah, I was quite careful on the way back, I stopped as soon as possible whenever it went hot, released the pressure and topped it back up and it stayed at normal temperature for another 10 miles again.

As you say, head gaskets are easier on this engine than a straight 4, no timing to worry about! I'll strip it down to that point anyway, only true way of knowing what's going on in there!

I did notice the viscous fan wasn't exactly stiff when I turned the engine off as well. I don't think it's a cause, more just something that needs doing. Fan clutch and water pump will be on the list for the engine rebuild anyway.

Understood on the bolts, thanks for the heads up. Heat wrapping also sounds like a good plan too!
 
Yeah, I was quite careful on the way back, I stopped as soon as possible whenever it went hot, released the pressure and topped it back up and it stayed at normal temperature for another 10 miles again.

As you say, head gaskets are easier on this engine than a straight 4, no timing to worry about! I'll strip it down to that point anyway, only true way of knowing what's going on in there!

I did notice the viscous fan wasn't exactly stiff when I turned the engine off as well. I don't think it's a cause, more just something that needs doing. Fan clutch and water pump will be on the list for the engine rebuild anyway.

Understood on the bolts, thanks for the heads up. Heat wrapping also sounds like a good plan too!

Yes you couldn't ask for an easier engine to to a top end..

Spray a good dose of Wd40 or PB blaster on the manifold bolts prior to removing to make that easier, they're 13mm i believe ;)

You might also want to pull the valley gasket and have a look at the cam, while she's apart thats an ideal time to have a butchers ;)
 
Yes you couldn't ask for an easier engine to to a top end..

Spray a good dose of Wd40 or PB blaster on the manifold bolts prior to removing to make that easier, they're 13mm i believe ;)

You might also want to pull the valley gasket and have a look at the cam, while she's apart thats an ideal time to have a butchers ;)

I have an engine lift and stand, I'm very tempted at the moment just to pull it out as a unit and have it out and easily fixable.
 
Might as well give her a "refresh" if you decide to pull the unit out ;)

Yeah, I think that may well the best option at the moment, that way, if it is a hole in the block I can decide if it is a repair job or a new block with top hats.
 
Yeah, I think that may well the best option at the moment, that way, if it is a hole in the block I can decide if it is a repair job or a new block with top hats.

Hole?!

I hope she ain't got rods hanging out of her! ;)

Strip it down and have a look at the liners they should all be perfectly level with the block deck.

If they are starting to creep you'll know!!

And be able to decide ;)
 
If you intend keeping it then pull the lump and do it properly, as Henry said check the cam for wear and maybe a new front cover with oil pump and a good look over and she will be good for years of service, and as you say parts are cheep,
that's a lot of motor for £160 you could make more than that broken for spares .
 
Hole?!

I hope she ain't got rods hanging out of her! ;)

Strip it down and have a look at the liners they should all be perfectly level with the block deck.

If they are starting to creep you'll know!!

And be able to decide ;)

Ha ha, no I just mean where the coolant channels can sometimes open out the the liners and leak coolant in to the sump or cylinders.
 
If you intend keeping it then pull the lump and do it properly, as Henry said check the cam for wear and maybe a new front cover with oil pump and a good look over and she will be good for years of service, and as you say parts are cheep,
that's a lot of motor for £160 you could make more than that broken for spares .

Yeah, I think it's just a bit too good for scrap, it's not completely finished and I'm willing to do the work properly and have a well put together Range Rover at the end of it. P38s are slowly getting rarer.
 
Yeah, I think it's just a bit too good for scrap, it's not completely finished and I'm willing to do the work properly and have a well put together Range Rover at the end of it. P38s are slowly getting rarer.
With only 167k made worldwide they were rare at launch :eek::D

Lovely cars, getting more valuable too :cool:
 
With only 167k made worldwide they were rare at launch :eek::D

Lovely cars, getting more valuable too :cool:

Time has killed off a fair few of them! I see a different one or two at the scrapyard whenever I go up there.

I think the value of them will see a slow increase for good examples for a while now. Hopefully...
 
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Time has killed off a fair few of them! I see at different one or two at the scrapyard whenever I go up there.

I think the value of them will see a slow increase for good examples for a while now. Hopefully...
Aye they're rising in value.

Like the classics they were cheap for a while, many drove them till they broke and then scrapped them, which has killed off the numbers!!

try and find a cheap RRC these days, a few years ago they were 10 a penny ;)
 
Time has killed off a fair few of them! I see a different one or two at the scrapyard whenever I go up there.

I think the value of them will see a slow increase for good examples for a while now. Hopefully...

That's handy if you have a scrappy near you that has p38`s, round here nearly all the scrappy`s have gone and finding a p38 even harder.
 
I'd be inclined not to cook it too many times, the gems and thor for that matter will drop a liner if it gets too hot..

The HG is definitely gone, not too much of a ball ache.

The lower manifold bolt from cylinder 8 is a pain in the arse to remove as all the steering gubbins is in the way.. ;)

Also the heatshields are a nightmare,

Oooh

and pictures of ya P38 ;)

+1

MartyUK had a good suggestion for how he did his number 8 lower manifold bolt. jacked it up, pulled the weel off and the wheel arch liner out and with a long extension got straight on it. it was probably quicker than the way I went with a knuckle joint and a lot of effing and blinding for an hour (plus)
 
+1

MartyUK had a good suggestion for how he did his number 8 lower manifold bolt. jacked it up, pulled the weel off and the wheel arch liner out and with a long extension got straight on it. it was probably quicker than the way I went with a knuckle joint and a lot of effing and blinding for an hour (plus)

Yep it is a pain, kind of wish i'd known that!! ;) :D

I got a long 13mm socket and a medium extension, and welded a box end spanner on the end, weird contraption it was, but it just fitted, luckily the bolt didn't put up much of a fight!! :confused::D
 
Yep it is a pain, kind of wish i'd known that!! ;) :D

I got a long 13mm socket and a medium extension, and welded a box end spanner on the end, weird contraption it was, but it just fitted, luckily the bolt didn't put up much of a fight!! :confused::D

What is access like from underneath? I have a pit that I can work from if it's just as easy for me to get in from under the car?
 

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