I'm looking at the prospects of buying a 95 or 96ish Range Rover, either with an LPG conversion or converting it later and have a few questions hopefully someone can help with:
1) Budget would be somewhere between 8-12K, would it be better buying a converted one or converting it later (worried about botched conversions with problems)?
2) Are there any particular reasons to choose between the 4.0 and 4.6 engines, the 4.6 seems to make most sense. What's the performance like on LPG?
3) Is there a 'typical' tank installation, positions of tanks, sizes and do you lose petrol tank capacity or the spare wheel?
4) Are there any notable LPG conversions worth looking out for?
I've thought about a converted V8 or TDi/TD5 Disco but don't really like the rear door (would rather have a proper 'boot' as it's always full of junk).
Thanks in advance, any other info/suggestions/opions greatly received.
Best buy it converted, providing you get a decent conversion (with the certificate!) They don't hold much of a price premium converted, so you'll spend more money if you do it yourself. But look around as there is some junk out there.
4.6 has a reputation for porous blocks and slipping liners, particularly the early ones. I'd stick with the 4.0 unless you can do what I did and find a
4.6 with a new engine. It's not unfair to say that many 4.6s don't last much longer than 100K miles.
If you have a sequential gas conversion, the performance will be similar on LPG as Unleaded, and the economy will be about 10% down. For an older type conversion, the performance will probably be noticeably less good on gas.
You can't stick the tanks under the sills, so you have 3 options:
1) Boot mounted tank (typically 120L+)
2) Spare wheel toroidal tank (about 85L)
3) Replace the petrol tank with a gas tank and put a smaller petrol tank somewhere else (not sure what capacity this gives)
I had an Autogas Systems sequential conversion by Nicholson McLaren in Finchampstead and it seemed pretty good.
There is a vast difference between a P38 Range Rover and a Disco. I had a P38 until recently and replaced it with a TD5 Disco, and I'm very glad I did. But Richard Brookman went totally the other way and was equally glad. You will get a lot more boot space in a TD5 Disco than you will in a P38, particularly if your boot is full of spare wheel or LPG tank. Think of a Range Rover as an estate car but bigger - it's the same type of accommodation. A Disco is much more flexible but at the same time it's not a limousine like the Range Rover.
The road presence of the RaRo is much better than the Disco (you don't get any crap from anybody) and it's great on motorways, and for things like overtaking you have a lot more power with the V8. But I find the Disco a lot more practical.
Also bear in mind that you *can not* run a P38 on a budget, as I found out. I'm hoping you *can* run a TD5 on a reasonable budget, providing the oil pump bolt doesn't smash your engine to bits...
Mine went variously on air suspension replacement bits, new air flow meter (£380ish), re-installing the LPG system and other odds and ends, but the biggest consumer of ready cash was labour costs in trying to work out what the hell was wrong with it!
Be careful with the EAS as it can literally cost a couple of thousand if much of it goes wrong. You can replace it with springs for about quarter of that, but you could also buy a coil-sprung Disco or Defender instead :) The P38 is a complex vehicle - we're talking 9 different ECUs here - and there's a lot to go wrong. Imagine if one wire in a loom somewhere was intermittently earthing - how would you ever track it down?
I don't think any of the problems I had on mine were particularly uncommon or unusual, apart from the drive plate exploding.
I wouldn't let the main dealer anywhere near it if you can help it. I found an independent expert (James French in Oxon) who knew a lot more about the car than any of the main dealers who had ever seen it. Had I not found them, I think I could easily have spent another grand or more trying to sort out the problem which turned out to be a combination of an incorrectly aligned crank sensor and an intermittently faulty air flow meter.
Please bear in mind that from me you're getting the pessimistic view - people like Andy Cunningham and Richard Brookman have had more positive experiences. To be fair, I did love the car, just didn't feel I could trust it, or use it for some of the things I'd have liked to. I've never driven anything else which commanded more respect on the road, or gave you such a feeling of superiority, including things like E-class Mercs. You will look down your nose at people in Mercedes MLs, BMW X5s, etc. Had I been able to afford it as a third car, I would have kept it.
The pessimistic side of things is always handy to think about and very useful to know about. Obviously if things do go seriously wrong the costs are going to be very high. My driving is almost 100% motorway these days and feel a RR would be an ideal vehicle.
What is the original capacity of the fuel tank (before any LPG conversions)? I'd want to retain full capacity after a conversion when LPG is thin on the ground.
My P38A has the original 100 litre petrol tank and a 70 litre (usable) LPG tank. But at the LPG tank occupies the area behind the rear seat, it is about to be replaced by a toroidal in the wheel well and the 100 litre fuel tank to be replaced by a 155 litre aftermarket long range tank
I have a Kaymar rear step bar with the spare mounted on a swingaway wheel carrier.
Ron Beckett Emu Plains, Australia
1995 Range Rover HSE 4.6 Litre V8
1994 Ford Probe 2.5L V6
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