P38 Range Rover Discussion
- Thread starter Scott Brady
- Start date
Scott Brady
Founder
Ha, isnt that the truth 
craig
Supporting Sponsor, Overland Certified OC0018
Scott,
At one point I asked an independent Land Rover mechanic what the worst Land Rover was (as in which did he see the most and that customers spent the most on). The P38 was the unamimous answer amongst all 5 techs in the room.
That said, I have another friend who runs an independent Land Rover shop and he loved it on and off road. Seeing Alan's is enough to tempt anyone as that truck has all of the class that your wife deserves, and enough capability to go just about anywhere she'll want to take it.
Craig
At one point I asked an independent Land Rover mechanic what the worst Land Rover was (as in which did he see the most and that customers spent the most on). The P38 was the unamimous answer amongst all 5 techs in the room.
That said, I have another friend who runs an independent Land Rover shop and he loved it on and off road. Seeing Alan's is enough to tempt anyone as that truck has all of the class that your wife deserves, and enough capability to go just about anywhere she'll want to take it.
Craig
Grim Reaper
Expedition Leader
P38's have the shop and their mechanics making more then the sales dept and sales people according to my Rover mechanic buddy that works at the Atlanta dealer. He works about 10 hours a day 6 days a week. Figures he will have his house paid off in 2 more years at that rate.
I have two friends with them. One has an extended warranty that has more then paid for itself with the suspension failing 3 times in 2 years and repeated issues with the passenger side front window failing. They are actually talking about replacing the door now thinking that something isn't straight binding the window and burning up the motor and controls.
Major fail on the suspension is a fitting that if it were repairable alone would be $5. But it part of the hose or the bag so its $300 to fix to buy the assembly. The one buddy went to the coils said it was an afternoon swap. The extended warranty is running out on the other buddies and he is already set to replace and might do it before it fails so he can sell the parts on ebay to offset the price of the coils.
Both have had several electrical issues. One had some problems with the front axle. Not sure what that was about.
I love what they look like and when they are right they are a sweet ride but miserable to keep right. After owning Toyota's I would be really pissed to have to deal with a vehicle that is that temperamental.
I have two friends with them. One has an extended warranty that has more then paid for itself with the suspension failing 3 times in 2 years and repeated issues with the passenger side front window failing. They are actually talking about replacing the door now thinking that something isn't straight binding the window and burning up the motor and controls.
Major fail on the suspension is a fitting that if it were repairable alone would be $5. But it part of the hose or the bag so its $300 to fix to buy the assembly. The one buddy went to the coils said it was an afternoon swap. The extended warranty is running out on the other buddies and he is already set to replace and might do it before it fails so he can sell the parts on ebay to offset the price of the coils.
Both have had several electrical issues. One had some problems with the front axle. Not sure what that was about.
I love what they look like and when they are right they are a sweet ride but miserable to keep right. After owning Toyota's I would be really pissed to have to deal with a vehicle that is that temperamental.
Scott,
I just happen to come across this post so I'm a little late...
The suspension on the P38 is quite nice. The rear arms are composite (I think) so they actually help the suspension cycle quite well. The air suspension has it's quirks and coils would prolly be better and cheaper for the long haul. Arnott industries carry replacement air bags; a much better alternative than the LR oem bags. However, I hear a lot about the BECM which controls the engine and all sorts of other devices. I think having one of these as a spare is the ticket. This vehicle is very hungry electrically so the alternator gets abused regularly. I think it's a Magento Marrelli or something like that and very expensive to replace. But, it should be cheaper to have it rebuilt I'd venture to guess.
The BW T case is quite robust I'd imagine. My old RRC had a BW Tcase and I replaced the chain and bearings around 120k miles so I expect the same rule applies to a P38. The viscous coupling performed fine in Moab, CO, CA and many other places. My BW Tcase used ATF instead of gear oil. I'm not sure what the P38 uses in the Tcase.
Sneak over to the P38 forum on discoweb to get a better sense of the common issues.
Interior appointments are very nice as are the seating positions; that was one of my favorite attributes in my RRC.
Be sure to get the 4.6 HSE; it's got balls and then some!
As with any LRs, you better be a comfortable field mechanic if you want to venture far from the beaten path!
Cheers.
I just happen to come across this post so I'm a little late...
The suspension on the P38 is quite nice. The rear arms are composite (I think) so they actually help the suspension cycle quite well. The air suspension has it's quirks and coils would prolly be better and cheaper for the long haul. Arnott industries carry replacement air bags; a much better alternative than the LR oem bags. However, I hear a lot about the BECM which controls the engine and all sorts of other devices. I think having one of these as a spare is the ticket. This vehicle is very hungry electrically so the alternator gets abused regularly. I think it's a Magento Marrelli or something like that and very expensive to replace. But, it should be cheaper to have it rebuilt I'd venture to guess.
The BW T case is quite robust I'd imagine. My old RRC had a BW Tcase and I replaced the chain and bearings around 120k miles so I expect the same rule applies to a P38. The viscous coupling performed fine in Moab, CO, CA and many other places. My BW Tcase used ATF instead of gear oil. I'm not sure what the P38 uses in the Tcase.
Sneak over to the P38 forum on discoweb to get a better sense of the common issues.
Interior appointments are very nice as are the seating positions; that was one of my favorite attributes in my RRC.
Be sure to get the 4.6 HSE; it's got balls and then some!
As with any LRs, you better be a comfortable field mechanic if you want to venture far from the beaten path!
Cheers.