Thanks wammers. Interesting, you say that 14.5 will fry a lead acid battery. Makes sense, the battery was almost dry when I got the car two years ago and I have had to top up the battery a few times since. What I don't understand is that the alternator on my petrol engine Volvo reads 14.5 volts...

Thanks Wammers, the alternator is reading 14.5 volts @ 2k revs. I'm sure the battery is tired, so just going to get a new one this weekend. Got a price of £70 for a Varta-96 Amps with 570 CC. I don't think this one is suitable for a P38 2.5 diesel engine. Any suggestions? Thanks

New thermostat fitted to my 98P38 2.5 dse, temp gauge needle sitting in the middle as it should. However, leaving Argos this evening the engine spun over but would not fire up. Hot start issue I thought, so decided to let the engine cool down a bit. Turned on the ignition the glow plug light...

Thermostat fitted, engine and rad flushed and I even cleaned the expansion tank. How sad is that?:)

Thanks for the links Grrrrr. The tool on the Irish site does look flimsy, but if it does the job! I found a length of bar in the shed, thinking about drilling two holes in it to fit over the bolts, then go from there.

I've got the 32mm spanner, it's the tool to hold the pulley steady before I undo the viscous fan I need. Just thought, I'm now hoping that the thermostat is in place and knackered. Otherwise, if it's missing, there may be an overheating issue..

Attempted to change the thermostat in my P38 DSE today before it got too cold. Couldn't get the viscous fan off. buckled two screw drivers that I'd jammed in the pulley bolts. It is a left hand thread and should be turned in a clockwise direction, isn't it :oops:? Will need to make up a tool...

There's a 'how to' on here. Very very easy job to do yourself.

Sounds as if the piston/caliper carrier is not returning fully and still pushing the pads onto the disc. Sometimes better to replace with a new caliper.

Yeah, thinking of getting a refurbed unit when funds allow :) I also suspect that the condenser has a leak somewhere:(. Since the AC compressor is knackered and I'm not working over the next few days I'll strip it down to see if the bearing can be replaced. :D

Hi all. I've not posted for a while because my 1998 P38 2.5 DSE had been running faultlessly lately, that was until I noticed that the fuel consumption had got worse. There was also a rumbling coming from the engine. Ah ha, hissy fit time. Anyway, topping up the screen washer while the engine...

I'd be interested too. I gave the P38 a good run up to motorway speeds this morning to check things out. No problems, suspension working as it should. I'll bung the EAS diagnostics on later to see if picks anything up.

Hi all Yesterday I came off the motorway having driven about 40 miles. While in stop start traffic, I noticed the suspension was stuck in motorway height and there was no real pull from the engine, in fact it was very sluggish. However, after parking the P38 while visiting friends everything...

Fitted rear air bags and drag link. I also fitted new diesel spill pipes, just as well I had to remove the inlet manifold. There were two nuts missing and the wire from number 4 injector was trapped between the inlet manifold and the head. :confused::mad: The eedjit who had worked on the P38...

Yeah, it's a diesel. I had to buy a 32mm spanner to do the job, lets hope the viscous fan comes off easily. I've heard some story's about turning the nut the wrong way :) It come off in the same direction the fan turns (clockwise) right. :D

Well, that was a nice simple job, as was fitting the rear air suspension bags. Just got the thermostat to do.

Hi all I will be fitting a new drag link later to my P38. The way I think it should be done is; Centre steering Remove old drag link Measure / adjust drag link to 1170mm before fitting Double check that the steering wheel & marks line up on the steering box Fit the drag link, perhaps...

Thinking that I had a slight oil leak, I bought 2 new oil cooler pipes for the auto gearbox on my diesel engine P38. I decided to fit them in today until I noticed that one of the pipes connects away up in the side of the box. Looks like I'll need to drop the box to get to it, unless there's a...

I'm not familiar with the L322, so could be wrong here. If the control arm is connected to the steering box, you might be able to adjust it to centre the wheel. I doubt that a battery and or alternator would get replaced under warranty as the are 'consumables'. You should get an alternator...

I've got a box of new parts for the P38, engine / auto GB cooler pipes, 2 airsprings, drag link and other bits n pieces. Just waiting on my chest muscles healing a bit more or the weather to get warmer. Whichever comes first :D