Dave takes a brave pill and buys an L322 V8 Range Rover without a warranty: Rusty shite, Pg4 updates.

[DaveDorson]

So I got the first Suspension Inactive and HDC faults flash up today, restarted the car, did a full left and right lock to make sure the steering angle sensor wasn't having a bad day, and  it all went away, so I suspect it's an intermittent fault, which are always the most fun.

That led me to plug it in and feel the bumps, which came up with some stored suspension codes that I'll look at and a potential issue with the coolant fan viscous which is an electric one in this, but the car has done some traffic driving, gotten up to heat, and the fans have done their job fine, so I'm going to need to check that, as it came back even after clearing it.

 

No EML's, or silly warnings yet, aside from the occasional flash of suspension fault, which I have a suspicion, but the moisture in the spare wheel well and the owner having fitted a new compressor, are more likely related to one of the systems attached to it, or the canbus wiring than anything else.

Hooning it about Stamford on cold days has seen the average MPG drop from nearly 30 to nearly 14.. 😲  Still, you're a long time dead right?

[DaveDorson]

 

Can't think why the rear view camera has a grey image...

[Noel Tidybeard]

On 13/03/2023 at 22:18, DaveDorson said:

Probably.. it's been with me for a good few years now.  I do need to do a few jobs, so once it's stopped being a van to help me move to the new unit, and I've got the lights in etc, I'll show some of the work I'm doing to undo the neglect.

Mechanically it's actually alright, proper shocks and springs (bilstien and eibach) slightly bigger tyres on the painted stock wheels, some rally type mudflaps, a big stainless exhaust, massive brembos and focus RS500 discs because standard Mondeo MK3 brakes are shit.

stu just needs a moment with a box of tissues! 🤣

[DaveDorson]

First range rover related domestic.. took Sarah (the long suffering wife) to Peterborough in the car after a long day at work to get some food.. totally forgot that while she was at work I chucked a set of Pirelli Zero Scorpion tyres in the front room because I didn't want the foam blocks inside to get wet if I left them in the garden and being mid workshop move right now means I had nowhere else to put them.

 

Walked through the door, she points at them.. " what the fuck Dave, why are they in here‽".

 

Whoops.

 

I'll move them tomorrow.

[DaveDorson]

Tyres moved and domestic bliss restored I decided it's a good time to get rid of that bloody chrome stick on shit.

 

 

 

Much better.  Now, the spare is a 19 of a different design and the tyres I acquired will fit these wheels (current tyres are budget ones but have 4mm or so with even wear throughout.)

My thoughts were to paint them original silver, and source some Westminster wheels as they look nicer, add some mud rubber to these and use the Pirelli tyres for road use on the Westminster's.. now I'm thinking source a 5th wheel, paint these silver and chuck the Pirelli on, get some original design 19s and something a bit more winter focused and rotate as needed.  

 

I think these are wheels from a supercharged car.  I don't know.

 

I must do something about those vents, add a gingercator as I think 2007 was orange, but happy to be corrected, and then sort the other little bits out as they arise.

Reverse camera is still full of water as I want to get the car inside before I take that all apart

 

 

[dome]

I think those wheels that are on it are from an earlier car, they look like the ones my 2002 came with. I got a set of Disco 4 wheels which suited it much better. Disco 3/4 wheels will fit but you may need new wheel bolts depending on the age of yours.

[DaveDorson]

35 minutes ago, dome said:

I think those wheels that are on it are from an earlier car, they look like the ones my 2002 came with. I got a set of Disco 4 wheels which suited it much better. Disco 3/4 wheels will fit but you may need new wheel bolts depending on the age of yours.

That looks so good in green.  

Is there a resource showing the build spec by VIN anywhere for these?  I'd probably quite like to get it looking a bit more factory 

[motorpunk]

Monday

Quote

it's actually alright

Wednesday

Quote

I got the first Suspension Inactive and HDC faults flash up today

Good luck @DaveDorson 

[DaveDorson]

35 minutes ago, motorpunk said:

Monday

Wednesday

Good luck @DaveDorson 

It was fine today.  Even lowered and raised it a few times last night while I was out with the Mrs to make sure.

Luck is for people who worry about it. 😊.

 

[dome]

2 hours ago, DaveDorson said:

That looks so good in green.  

Is there a resource showing the build spec by VIN anywhere for these?  I'd probably quite like to get it looking a bit more factory 

I never looked, mine had been changed quite a lot by the previous owner - facelift front end, I think the seats, rear lights too so I figured it would just have confused things trying to find the original spec. 

Have you joined the Facebook group? L322 Range Rover Owners is the best one. 

[dome]

2 hours ago, motorpunk said:

Monday

Wednesday

Good luck @DaveDorson 

🤣

The air suspension isn't the black magic everyone makes it out to be. I'd rather change air suspension components on one of these than fuck about with a set of coil springs that would be needed to support the weight 😳

[DaveDorson]

9 minutes ago, dome said:

🤣

The air suspension isn't the black magic everyone makes it out to be. I'd rather change air suspension components on one of these than fuck about with a set of coil springs that would be needed to support the weight 😳

yeah it makes me laugh, there's four ride height sensors, a set of air springs, a compressor, a tank, a valve block and some exhausts.. it's really not that hard to work out what's doing what.

[DaveDorson]

18 minutes ago, dome said:

I never looked, mine had been changed quite a lot by the previous owner - facelift front end, I think the seats, rear lights too so I figured it would just have confused things trying to find the original spec. 

Have you joined the Facebook group? L322 Range Rover Owners is the best one. 

Yeah, joined a few.  

I've noticed I've got odd side vents, I missed it when looking at the car and only noticed when looking at pictures.  I've found a man with the opposing pair, he's not a million miles from me, so I'm going to but them and piss about to figure out which ones I prefer.. the chrome I'm really not enjoying..  I think mines got some cheap aftermarket "autobiography" look parts.  To be honest I prefer the look of the front end of this over the earliest ones, even if it's not entirely correct, although the matte silver might get changed on that.. it's a big old slab of car to all be a single colour.

[dome]

Here's how mine looked when I got it. The body coloured front and side grilles went straight away, as did the gangsta tints and grey wheels.

And how it ended up.

Council estate to country estate in a few easy steps👌

 

 

[DaveDorson]

I've used and absused the old girl today to tow my rusty shit up and down the a47 as I'm changing workshop units right now.  She's been faultless doing so.

[83C]

On 3/15/2023 at 10:50 AM, DaveDorson said:

So I got the first Suspension Inactive and HDC faults flash up today, restarted the car, did a full left and right lock to make sure the steering angle sensor wasn't having a bad day, and  it all went away, so I suspect it's an intermittent fault, which are always the most fun.

Check the battery. If it’s old it can cause a few spurious electrical issues, changed mine early on because it was doing similar things. 

This fits, it’s about the biggest that’ll go in the available space:

https://www.bmstechnologies.co.uk/product/hankook-heavy-duty-commercial-battery-mf31-1000/

[DaveDorson]

31 minutes ago, 83C said:

Check the battery. If it’s old it can cause a few spurious electrical issues, changed mine early on because it was doing similar things. 

This fits, it’s about the biggest that’ll go in the available space:

https://www.bmstechnologies.co.uk/product/hankook-heavy-duty-commercial-battery-mf31-1000/

I think it'd been sat for a bit when I got it.  It's been fine since and I've used it pretty much every day

[83C]

1 hour ago, DaveDorson said:

I think it'd been sat for a bit when I got it.  It's been fine since and I've used it pretty much every day

Mine was similar, intermittent use by the previous owner, never failed to start but it was beginning to throw weird faults even though I was using it regularly. L322s are very sensitive to batteries beginning to get tired, putting an MF31 in made a big difference. Other things it could be - an ABS sensor and/or reluctor ring getting a bit out of sorts (the reluctor rings can expand and start taking the tip off the sensor) or the sensor itself is iffy.  May even be something as simple as a bit of crap/water ingress in a wiring connector. 

Mine still throws regular 'Suspension Fault' issues but I think it's the valve block that is a bit iffy, I've not had any Suspension Inactive/HDC Fault messages since the battery and an ABS sensor were changed.

[Timewaster]

I'd love to try one, but I worry too much.

Good luck with it.

[hairnet]

On 3/13/2023 at 3:03 PM, Dave_Q said:

The lifecycle of AS:

• Think I might buy X
• Post thread, are X shit?
• Dozens of unanimous replies - yes
• I've bought X
• My X is broken
• 60 goto 50, do not pass go, do not collect £200

dave is jeloos of dave

 

[Dave_Q]

29 minutes ago, hairnet said:

dave is jeloos of dave

 

Oi, I resemble this comment 

[twosmoke300]

On 16/03/2023 at 17:17, DaveDorson said:

yeah it makes me laugh, there's four ride height sensors, a set of air springs, a compressor, a tank, a valve block and some exhausts.. it's really not that hard to work out what's doing what.

Just gonna keep that quote on my clip board . 😂
 

You missed out miles and miles of can bus wiring and modules ( made by JLR )

[DaveDorson]

10 hours ago, twosmoke300 said:

Just gonna keep that quote on my clip board . 😂
 

You missed out miles and miles of can bus wiring and modules ( made by JLR )

I can deal with electrics fine.  I don't know why so many people are afraid of them to be honest.

Diagnostic tools are also really good ways of figuring out where a problem might be and what to look for, giving you a starter for 10 without playing parts darts and throwing money at cars replacing perfectly good parts.

 

[DaveDorson]

Another day spent using the Range Rover as van, a boot full of car batteries and workshop tools today and we're finally out of the unit at Kingscliffe (few bits left in containers, but have some time on them still) and into the new gaff in a top secret rural location somewhere in Rutland.

[twosmoke300]

14 minutes ago, DaveDorson said:

I can deal with electrics fine.  I don't know why so many people are afraid of them to be honest.

Diagnostic tools are also really good ways of figuring out where a problem might be and what to look for, giving you a starter for 10 without playing parts darts and throwing money at cars replacing perfectly good parts.

 

Cheers for that info , wasn’t aware of that 😂😂😂

[DaveDorson]

6 minutes ago, twosmoke300 said:

Cheers for that info , wasn’t aware of that 😂😂😂

I'm not trying to take the piss just saying if you've got the kit and you actually understand a car you can troubleshoot pretty effectively.  

 

The number of folks who chuck a cheap scan tool on, replace the sensor and then cry when it doesn't fix the fault without understanding what that sensor does, how to test the sensors function and how to check the wiring is insane.

 

Had a Touerag in not long ago that'd had all 5 injectors done due to a mystery misfire that just needed the injector harness repining.

I dread to think how much they'd spent with their "friendly mechanic" who kept scanning it and throwing parts at it without really knowing what the faults meant.

[twosmoke300]

You know I own a garage don’t you ? 
😂

[DaveDorson]

6 minutes ago, twosmoke300 said:

You know I own a garage don’t you ? 
😂

I didn't.  So you know what I mean then.. 

I don't own a garage and I do my cars as a hobby, the stuff I do for other folks keeps it all cost neutral, my day job involves complex IT security issues and methodical thinking.

I'm sure the car will keep me on my toes, but I'll enjoy it.

 

[stuboy]

On 3/15/2023 at 3:08 PM, Noel Tidybeard said:

stu just needs a moment with a box of tissues! 🤣

 

[DaveDorson]

On 3/18/2023 at 9:24 PM, Timewaster said:

I'd love to try one, but I worry too much.

Good luck with it.

If you want one, just get one, sure, stuff will go wrong, and it will cost you money to put right, LOTS of money if you can't troubleshoot and sort it yourself..

It'll cost you loads in fuel too, but as I'm fast discovering, there's a really active and helpful community around these, they get broken so at the moment, spares are fairly priced and obtainable, there's loads of youtube videos with ownership experiences too.

 

If you spend your life worrying, you might not have time to enjoy.