I Bought A £1500 Range Rover P38A! What Could POSSIBLY Go Wrong...? (2001 4.0 HSE Driven)

£1500 in his pocket to buy a classic car, Aaron McKay took a MASSIVE gamble; one of the cheapest P38 Range Rovers in the UK, complete with a thirsty V8 and intermittent air suspension. Will it be a dream come true or the nightmare we’re all told…?
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[@HighPeakAutos]

Lovely car. They look great in Rioja Red

[@madsam9403]

Looks decent

[@Land_Raver]

Paid 1500 dollars for my 2000. I've put a lot of money into it, my wife hates it, and its the bane of all my Toyota driving friends. I think I'll keep it running forever just to spite them.

[@jetstream454]

Is it the bane of them due to its offroad abilities? 😄

[@Land_Raver]

@@jetstream454 it's good offroad and continues to run. My channel details it all.

[@MattysCars]

Worth every penny if the headlight wipers work

[@antongutierrez9885]

A well appreciating classic and was severely understood by mechanics in its early days due to its advanced electronics.

[@Steve-nu8xt]

Looks like a good buy. You’d think these are near the bottom of the curve at 1500 quid...

[@jamesrobinson1827]

£1500 with origanal radio is excellent price as everyone takes them out prefer the original radio

[@gosportjamie]

The issue with the air suspension sometimes not responding to the switch is most likely to be mucky contacts in the switch. If you take the switch out and give it a good blast with a proprietary contact cleaner and protector spray it will probably return to normal operation. The erratic air suspension warning on the dashboard could well be a dirty sensor somewhere that is failing to read correctly sometimes as the wheel arches, and, presumably, the underside of the car do look rather muddy so it's seen use in more mucky conditions than just on the road. The same thing could well apply to the intermittent ABS and traction control lights. The wheel speed sensors and reluctor (toothed) rings can pick up muck and cause random faults to be detected, but cleaning them out can cure it. Sometimes corroded reluctor rings can cause issues, especially if they have split due to the corrosion, but that usually causes constant warning lights rather than intermittent ones so dirty sensor/s or reluctor rings are more likely, or possibly contaminated connections in the sensor wiring. You get both the ABS and traction control warnings if there is an error with one or more wheel speed sensors as both systems use the wheel speed data as reference data, though they usually operate through separate ECUs, so getting both warning lights indicates wheel speed sensor issues. On some vehicles it can be pretty much impossible to get the wheel speed sensors out without destroying them due to them being mounted as a friction fit in a cast unit such as a hub assembly which can corrode and totally jam the sensor in place leading to it being destroyed in removal. I have no idea if that is the case in the P38, I would doubt it as the axles were also used in other vehicles that didn't come with ABS, but if that is the case then it might be a good idea to have a replacement wheel speed sensor to hand while attempting repairs to avoid the vehicle being side-lined while a replacement is sourced...

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Thanks Jamie, really useful tips! We'll give it a go

[@gosportjamie]

@@ClassicsWorldUK It's certainly worth a shot as any repair that can be done for free, or almost for free, is a definitely win...

[@DavidHallworth]

If it's running rich and leaving carbon deposits on the plugs, check that your lambda sensors are switching. It's a common fault on these. I just had that same problem with my car. It now drives like a different car. Don't fit anything other than BOSCH ones. Same with your MAF, they are consumables every 90k odd miles. For your steering, check and double check your tyre pressures. 28psi front and 38psi rear. Then your drag link and track rod don't have any play in them, and if they're all good, it's likely to be the input shaft going from the steering column to the steering box. I've got 4 of these and am slowly restoring them all including fitting a brand new V8 Developments engine to one just now. The issues you mention sound easy to fix and once done will leave you with a nicely sorted car.

[@roderickoconnor3318]

my solution to a sagging headliner in my jag is small pins pressed into the non woven above leaving a quilted effect, very posh, no cost

[@YoungEngineer-ew9en]

is there any chance I can get your email? buying a p38 fairly soon and wouldn't hurt to know someone who's knowledgeable with these

[@willchet9241]

David Hallworth on my p38s I usually run at what the max pressure is on my hurricane alloys I have them at 50 psi, I’d lean more towards track rod ends etc

[@DavidHallworth]

@@willchet9241 50 PSI!? The recommended pressure for the front is 28psi and the rears 38psi for 16 or 18 inch wheels!

[@dunnetw]

If you're air suspension "isn't responding" make sure all doors and boot is closed, and also you havnt got your foot on the break. The air suspension won't go up if your foot is on the break at all. Had one in the fleet for a few years and loving it still. Really at the bottom of their curve!!

[@johnlannigan9831]

We have created a Range Rover P38 group on FaceBook, WHAT another one i hear you say? Well we set out to try and do something a little different and that is to do things right.! Gone are the wannabe armchair engineers and the trolls that seem to hinder most groups and in will be an admin team that consist of guys who knwo what they are on about and can navigate their way around RAVE to come up with solutions to problems. Its a very fresh group, and its very early days, but with your help we will get there, and not only are we looking for new members, we are looking for experienced guys to join the admin team and help build the group. We can be found here.... facebook.com/groups/925014894688556/

[@teddymazuri]

I have a 4.6 HSE. Most important is to make sure there are no air leaks and you'll be fine. Just be ready to rebuild the EAS compressor pump if replacing it is not an option, change suspension airbags, the EAS Timer Relay and the ABS Brake Unit. Those fail very often.

[@DoubleDeckerAnton]

I just subscribed. Great channel.

[@willchet9241]

Sometimes with the eas it’s been used too much on short journeys and will need a short while to build air again or maybe the pump is due a rebuild as they can tend to over work if the seal is bad and that causes them to hit the thermal cutout switch which will give you an air suspension error on the dash but when it cools enough it will spring back into life and carry on filling the air tank, or your boot dosent close properly like mine sometimes you have to slam it a bit harder than usual because when the boot or a door is open it will not let the eas operate due to safety reasons. If you need any more info you can find me on Facebook William Chetwynd I am a p38 breaker also haha

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Thanks Will! You might be hearing from Aaron soon...

[@josemontano7767]

What a beauty. There selling one in my area for $6500.. but not this nice.

[@jay-xo9dx]

The ABS and TC lights will always come on when you start the car until you start moving and go over 5 mph

[@matthewcoupeofficial]

If the air suspension works even with the light on the dash, I wouldn’t worry or touch it, cause more harm then good.

[@tamatomlinson]

1.5k for that gorgeous thing? Far out !

[@DavidTYoung]

Looks great

[@ArmandoPanco]

I might be about to do the same...wish me luck

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

Let us know how it goes!

[@davidlaw1047]

Did you fix the headliner? It’s easy. Remove the fabric, with a little care, remove the entire molded headliner through the rear hatch. Lightly sand the glue off, then spray with a fabric paint. It’ll look a bit like a tweed texture and never sag again!

[@bigadefourfiveonezeroseven4063]

My 1998 p38 had its probs in 2005 but i still loved driving her...i got a l320 now still similar probs ...still love her

[@RICHARD.WRIGHT1]

Overhaul the air compressor EAS. £10 kit of O rings on ebay.uk......

[@Blackmamba12345]

Rust is another problem on these esp the rear subframe

[@willchet9241]

richierich they don’t suffer from rust just aluminium corrosion and the rear subframe your on about is the discovery 2 and Range Rover classic these ones are solid

[@classiced1416]

Rust is rarely an issue on P38…if it is it’s probably been damaged

[@pondhead]

Don’t forget lambda sensors for rich running.

[@WeMuckAround]

I’d snap one up if it wasn’t for the thoughts of the astronomical repair bills

[@ClassicsWorldUK]

We’re keeping our fingers crossed that we don’t get any...

[@edenbreckhouse]

£1500 - is that how much it costs in fuel every month?

[@Scooterboys]

Every month.... 😁 every week !!! 😄😆

[@ISO21DIN]

Bargain.

[@simonnelson7770]

Essentially don't buy one unless you have a lot of money and don't mind the risk of breaking down at any moment