L322 Gearbox dead..... and other options to fix

The gearbox on my 2003 TD6 finally bit the dust on friday after a few months of agricultural sounding clunking when selecting Drive or Reverse from park setting. The box itself has always been fine changing gears hot or cold and never missed a beat, just the ominous clunk that i've been experiencing.

On friday we were at a relatives funeral and followed the hearse for about 10 miles at usual hearse pace, it was a warm day and we did no more than 20-30 mph all the way. As we were driving there was a funny smell which I now assume was the gear oil cooking itself, it also sounded very loud with a fan like noise which seemed to be linked to engine revs rather than the gearbox speed.

I parked it up at the wake after the funeral and I let my girlfriend drive us home about three hours later....I'm very kind like that.... I drive to the pub she drives home, fairs fair, everyone gets an equal amount of driving time.

We had gone no more than a couple of miles on our journey home and were just pulling away from a roundabout when there was a big clunk followed by lots of grinding and no drive. We eventually got recovered and now when the box is put into D or R the grinding is just the same and no drive (I optimistically hoped that the box might not be as bad when it had cooled down!).

To cut a long story short, I know something in the gearbox is fubbarred but before I commit to spending the 2300 quid I've been quoted for a recon box and new torque convertor and oil cooler could it be a simpler fix like an input shaft? I'm not too well up on auto's, all I've done is check the oil level is okay, which it is, just wondered if anyone else has suffered the same fate?

The symptoms you've described sound exactly like the front propshaft spline failure we were all having before the 'front diff recall'. Your Range Rover definitely had its front differential/propshaft upgraded, didn't it?

It looks to have had it Bemble, that was one of the first things I checked when I bought the car because I know it was a free fix on my last one. If it is that then I'd be a lot happier but I've got a nasty suspicion that it is the box, doesnt the front prop shaft just lock up the drive train when it goes? Mine can be put into neutral etc?

Its been recovered to the garage today so I'll have to see what is said when they get it up on the ramps.

I haven't heard of any failures of the new-style front propshafts (with a joint at each end) so if yours did get called in for the modification then I guess it's unlikely to be the propshaft/diff. problem. When the spline on the old design failed the shaft would rotate in the drive tube making a terrible grinding noise in the process, but it didn't lock up the drivetrain. Also when you selected 'Park' the parking pawl made a ratcheting noise because the transmission output was still turning even though the vehicle was stationary.

Anyway, good luck!

hi,
can you tell me where to check gearbox oil level as does not say in manual. Also what type of oil does it use... do you know.?
thanks in advance
doni

the gearbox level plug is on the passenger side of the box, the gearbox has to be run upto temp before checking the level and the engine must be running. the oil is called texaco texamatic 7045e, has the oil in you gearbox ever been changed? and what is the milage on the car? landrover say its a sealed for life unit hence your trouble, i change mine anually and so far so good.

Just wondered if you had any news yet, Invogue?

Based on the price you mentioned I assume you've taken it to K Motors in Leyland?

Well I've had some good news Bemble,

You were right, it turns out that it was the centre front diff after all and it wasnt the upgraded type (could have sworn it was when I looked but I'm no mechanic) and yes the symptoms were all as you described with the grinding etc.

And you're right on the garage guess too, I took it to K Motors in Leyland and they rang on friday to tell me that the gearbox is okay, given it a check over and that the diff was the culprit which made my week, I only face with a bill for a few hundred pounds rather than a few grand. They replaced the diff and front prop.

Is it right that Land Rover will honour repair bills from other garages if it was proven that the original diff failure was at fault? I've just been reading through a couple of old posts saying so, going to try my luck anyway with a letter to head office and see what happens.

Not got the car back yet because I've just got back from hols, pick it up tomorrow so I'll have to let you know if it is all okay then, but from what the garage said all should be fine.

Mike

Invogue said:

Well I've had some good news Bemble,

You were right, it turns out that it was the centre front diff after all and it wasnt the upgraded type (could have sworn it was when I looked but I'm no mechanic) and yes the symptoms were all as you described with the grinding etc.

And you're right on the garage guess too, I took it to K Motors in Leyland and they rang on friday to tell me that the gearbox is okay, given it a check over and that the diff was the culprit which made my week, I only face with a bill for a few hundred pounds rather than a few grand. They replaced the diff and front prop.

Is it right that Land Rover will honour repair bills from other garages if it was proven that the original diff failure was at fault? I've just been reading through a couple of old posts saying so, going to try my luck anyway with a letter to head office and see what happens.

Not got the car back yet because I've just got back from hols, pick it up tomorrow so I'll have to let you know if it is all okay then, but from what the garage said all should be fine.

Mike

Click to expand...

thats good news, hope you get all your cash back, good on you..

That's great news Mike.

I'm not sure what the position is with using an independent. Certainly a Land Rover dealer wouldn't have charged for the front diff/propshaft upgrade and you'd also have been refunded for any previous (old-style) front diff. replacements that had been done at a Land Rover dealership.

Anyway, good luck with your claim.

All fixed now and driving lovely again.

Cost 350 pounds in the end which is much friendlier to my wallet.

Thanks to K Motors in Leyland Lancashire for sorting it and not ripping me off!

Shouldn't they have done it as a freebie as it was an official Land Rover recall?
I've read posts from people who've been charged by their dealer for rectifying this fault, but when they took the matter up directly with Land Rover they coughed up the cash.
Worth a try, after all it's gonna cost you is the price of a stamp or a phone call.

hello all, i have just bought a range rover vogue 05, driven for a week absolutely perfect, then last evening i get to a roundabout try to pull away in drive and it just revs up and slowly pulls away, i then get down the road and stop. I then turn off back on and select drive pulls away and then does the same, no grinding no clunks just through drive ,reverse neutral nothing ,the vehicle is now in my local garage, any ideas?

So you aren't seeing 'TRANS FAILSAFE PROG' displayed on the message centre?

Is your '05 petrol or diesel?

Hi ,

I have a 2004 Range Rover TD6 and I suspect that I may have gearbox issues but wanted to check. In this post from 2010 I have found the closest description of the symptoms but the final solution was not what I expected.

Anyway , the car seems to driver fine but what I have noticed is that if I get stuck in traffic at some point the car starts to sound as though the engine has a large fan attached to it and the car seems sluggish to change in low gears. There is also a knock sound that may happen once every couple of minutes from under the car. As soon as I get clear of the traffic the 'engine' noise dies back and after a couple of minutes all is normal again.

I suspect that something is overheating but I am not sure if this is normal or needs to be checked.

Please excuse me if this is a re-run of other threads but I am new to Range Rovers and just trying to make sense of things.

regards

Sounds like the viscous fan is kicking in

Knocking doesn't sound too good though

Is the drive of the car smooth ? Gear changes lumpy ?

Hi

Thanks for the reply.

Gear changes are smooth and when going from N to D there is no bump/ lurch. I am not sure but it does seem that when the fan is on the gear changes are elongated. The knocking is very infrequent and I am still wondering if this is related.

Do you think a oil change would be a good idea. The car has done 98000 miles and there is specific record of an oil change on the gearbox.

Regards

Gearbox Oil change and gearbox oil filter change would be a good idea

The oil can help you decide on the condition of the gearbox
Check for metal swawf

2.0_hippo said:

Gearbox Oil change and gearbox oil filter change would be a good idea

The oil can help you decide on the condition of the gearbox
Check for metal swawf

Click to expand...

+1 and make sure you get the correct oil "texamatic 7045e" IIRC and GENUINE filter

The gear change points will change due to the gearbox oil getting warm....

When the viscous fan locks up to get the whooshing sound, this means things are getting overly warm, the Gearbox oil is cooled by the engine coolant through the gearbox oil cooler....but when the coolant gets too warm and the viscous fan starts, it can start to warm the gearbox oil rather than cool it, this excess heat causes the gearbox to hold lower gears longer to increase the amount of fluid flow through the cooler in an attempt to cool as much fluid down as possible and also get the engine speed to increase which in turn increase coolant flow through the radiator and get the fan to pull much needed cooling air through the radiator as possible.

Its all in RAVE!