Auto gear box issue after oil change

Hi all,
Just a quick question.. I'm a bit concerned about my auto gear box on my 2004 Landrover discovery II, I had a local mechanic drain and replace the gear box oil and filter, I mentioned about the proceedure for moving the gear selector while at idle but he said it was not nessesary

All seemed well, we took it for a spin, good few mile, seemed smooth and quiet, sport mode was fine, and reverse was ok, but I noticed on my way home on the back road I had to reverse to let a car pass and there was a nasty 'clunk' from the reverse gear.. I had tested the reverse gear a few times since and its a quiet clunk for the first few times then quite a nasty bang. although 1,2,3 and "D" all seem nice and smooth.

I have never noticed this before, I only changed the gear box oil due to not knowing when it was doen last. I'm just wondering what would be causing it? - hope it's nothing serious I really haven't got the funds to keep pumping into this vehicle, if its the gear box which has to come out and be fixed then it'l have to go .. just hope its something simple Ive only had it since jan and its slowly costing a fortune.

Any advice/help would be much appreciated!!

move the selector only fills clutch pistons etc making sure everything is full as is when running so level is as running ,it wouldnt make much difference to level and operation of box if it hadnt been rebuilt so everthing is empty ,changing fluid can improve gear changes or make them worse depending on wear in the box ,but a clunk could be anything with wear in drive train ,or gearbox

Sorry James but on this occasion I will have to take a different view.

Total oil capacity of autobox: 9ltrs

Total amount of oil that can be drained at one time: 4.5ltrs, the balance remains in the torque converter

The amount of oil that can be put into the autobox sump without the engine running: 2.2ltrs


Therefore without going through the full procedure the autobox gears and valve block are running on 50% of their designed oil capacity ie 2.2ltrs rather than 4.5ltrs - a situation which is going to cause trouble.

I would be recommending to the original poster that either he or someone he trusts, uses the correct procedure to check the oil level.

id allways do ,click it through the gears ,but if you drain it out and fill fairly quickly after there wouldnt be much difference,not that thats a recommendation t/c and cooler and valve block are all full as soon as engine starts ,the only things that arent are clutch pistons and galleries to them but they retain the oil that it had from driving there

Thanks for the information, I shall take what ahs been said onboard, hope its the latter and not a major issue!..

I took it back to the mechanic and he re-checked the transfer box and gear box oil level, he topped them up (didnt need a lot), but said the noise was coming from the front of the engine, however we never had the engine running whilst he topped it up (is this something that should be done?)..forgive me but i'm not very well clued up on vehicle mechanics and the correct proceedures for doing so, I just take it that most mechanics know what they are doing.

I understand the situation with not be able to fully replace the oil in the system, but we have drained what is in the box, refilled, I have driven it 20 odd miles and taken it back and we checked and topped up the levels, do I need to take it back and top up again whilst the engine is running and cycle through the gears?

thanks for the advice.

UKAirborne said:

Thanks for the information, I shall take what ahs been said onboard, hope its the latter and not a major issue!..

I took it back to the mechanic and he re-checked the transfer box and gear box oil level, he topped them up (didnt need a lot), but said the noise was coming from the front of the engine, however we never had the engine running whilst he topped it up (is this something that should be done?)..forgive me but i'm not very well clued up on vehicle mechanics and the correct proceedures for doing so, I just take it that most mechanics know what they are doing.

I understand the situation with not be able to fully replace the oil in the system, but we have drained what is in the box, refilled, I have driven it 20 odd miles and taken it back and we checked and topped up the levels, do I need to take it back and top up again whilst the engine is running and cycle through the gears?

thanks for the advice.

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It is absolutely essential that the engine is running, to check the level of the autobox fluid. If your mechanic doesn't know/understand this - he knows jack ****!

Without starting the engine, the gearbox oil pump won't work which means that the gearbox will only accept approx 2.2ltrs of oil, not the normal 4.5ltrs !!!

The only correct way od establishing the autobox oil level is:

1. Commence the procedure with a cold engine; now start the engine;

2. Select neutral on the transfer box (small gear lever), this is solely for safety purposes as you will be working under the vehicle;

3. Now cycle through each gear position (delaying 2 secs in each position to take up drive) and back to P;

4. Now get under the vehicle and remove the level/fill plug on the front face of the gearbox sump. Once removed, there should be a small bead of oil (2-3mm wide) coming out of the hole. If there is more, let it drain out, if there is none,top-up until it starts to run back out.

5. Close level/refill plug and test drive.

The oil required is Dexron III and 4.5ltrs of oil is required for a empty and refill.

Dave

^^^^

what he said.

cant be much of a clever fellow if he doent know engine needs to be running ,to check oil level in the auto box

jamesmartin said:

cant be much of a clever fellow if he doent know engine needs to be running ,to check oil level in the auto box

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well as i dont have an auto i did not know that either

drewster said:

well as i dont have an auto i did not know that either

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your not selling your services as a mechanic

Thanks guys, I spoke to him today and he has minimal experience with working with auto boxes, he's more used to manuals, I mentioned what you have said and he looked it up on his computer system and was surprised to learn you guys are 100% correct, although he wants to jack the vehicle up whilst on the ramp so the wheels can turn and I can cycle through all the gears, that's when i mentioned there was no need if the transfer box is in Neutral.. which got him thinking lol.. He is a decent mechanic, lot of people trust him in this area but he known little all about auto transmissions.
I am limiting myself to only essential driving at the moment, but good job I only work locally, he is having a look at it again on Monday evening, just hope its safe to drive a further 22 mile so I can get to work, back home and then down to his garage later,.. kind of stuck without a vehicle

thebiglad said:

The only correct way od establishing the autobox oil level is:

1. Commence the procedure with a cold engine; now start the engine;

2. Select neutral on the transfer box (small gear lever), this is solely for safety purposes as you will be working under the vehicle;

3. Now cycle through each gear position (delaying 2 secs in each position to take up drive) and back to P;

4. Now get under the vehicle and remove the level/fill plug on the front face of the gearbox sump. Once removed, there should be a small bead of oil (2-3mm wide) coming out of the hole. If there is more, let it drain out, if there is none,top-up until it starts to run back out.

5. Close level/refill plug and test drive.

The oil required is Dexron III and 4.5ltrs of oil is required for a empty and refill.

Dave

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Is it the exact same procedure and oil for a Disco 300tdi?

Mark L said:

Is it the exact same procedure and oil for a Disco 300tdi?

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The only difference with a TDi 300 auto is that it has an autobox dip stick within the engine bay, rather than having to open the level fill plug from underneath the car, as on a TD5.


The crucial bit to understand is that it is VITAL to check the autobox oil level with the engine still running.

UKAirborne said:

Thanks guys, I spoke to him today and he has minimal experience with working with auto boxes, he's more used to manuals, I mentioned what you have said and he looked it up on his computer system and was surprised to learn you guys are 100% correct, although he wants to jack the vehicle up whilst on the ramp so the wheels can turn and I can cycle through all the gears, that's when i mentioned there was no need if the transfer box is in Neutral.. which got him thinking lol.. He is a decent mechanic, lot of people trust him in this area but he known little all about auto transmissions.
I am limiting myself to only essential driving at the moment, but good job I only work locally, he is having a look at it again on Monday evening, just hope its safe to drive a further 22 mile so I can get to work, back home and then down to his garage later,.. kind of stuck without a vehicle

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Your local mechanic knows nothing about auto boxes or 4x4's by the sound of it.

Ideal bloke for working on your car - NOT !!

Maybe you could consider learning how to do some of the basic stuff yourself???? Let's face it, you couldn't do worse could you?

Dave

thebiglad said:

Your local mechanic knows nothing about auto boxes or 4x4's by the sound of it.

Ideal bloke for working on your car - NOT !!

Maybe you could consider learning how to do some of the basic stuff yourself???? Let's face it, you couldn't do worse could you?

Dave

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He has more to do with your bog standard cars i think, I'm earning slowly.. I'm not mechanicaly minded, hardly any of my family know how to maintain vehicles (so I've never been shown how to do anything with vehicles, especialy 4x4's).

I prefer going to smaller workshops as I can see them working on the vehicle and talk to them and pick things up as I go..unlike the main dealer type which just sit you down out of sight. (once I see it done once or twice I get a grasp of how its done so I know for the future).

I'd love to take a course at college but I work three different shift patterns which makes it impossible to do so.

Although I do agree with you on this one, I shall stick with who I know.. Gwyn Lewis 4x4's is only up the road I should have gone to him :doh::doh:.. (why did I listen to my sister) ..one learns from ones mistakes.. just p** annoying now as I want to drive the Landy but stuck at home (essential driving only until its sorted)..

Thanks for the advice, will report back when I know more.

UKAirborne said:

He has more to do with your bog standard cars i think, I'm earning slowly.. I'm not mechanicaly minded, hardly any of my family know how to maintain vehicles (so I've never been shown how to do anything with vehicles, especialy 4x4's).

I prefer going to smaller workshops as I can see them working on the vehicle and talk to them and pick things up as I go..unlike the main dealer type which just sit you down out of sight. (once I see it done once or twice I get a grasp of how its done so I know for the future).

I'd love to take a course at college but I work three different shift patterns which makes it impossible to do so.

Although I do agree with you on this one, I shall stick with who I know.. Gwyn Lewis 4x4's is only up the road I should have gone to him :doh::doh:.. (why did I listen to my sister) ..one learns from ones mistakes.. just p** annoying now as I want to drive the Landy but stuck at home (essential driving only until its sorted)..

Thanks for the advice, will report back when I know more.

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You sound to me like a sensible sort of a bloke so I would suspect with the help of this forum you could learn to do regular servicing things very easily and quickly - after all it's not rocket science.

If I can do it, anyone can. Just take your time to research each job you're going to do, so you have the right methods, tools and parts.


DAVE

thebiglad said:

You sound to me like a sensible sort of a bloke so I would suspect with the help of this forum you could learn to do regular servicing things very easily and quickly - after all it's not rocket science.

If I can do it, anyone can. Just take your time to research each job you're going to do, so you have the right methods, tools and parts.


DAVE

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alternatively. read fishsponge`s ongoing problems. it will have been covered in great detail

xat44 said:

alternatively. read fishsponge`s ongoing problems. it will have been covered in great detail

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Please don't suggest that, he seems a decent bloke with a future. If he starts Sponge Bob's tales of woe he'll end up slitting his wrists!!!

thebiglad said:

please don't suggest that, he seems a decent bloke with a future. If he starts sponge bob's tales of woe he'll end up slitting his wrists!!!

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:d

Thanks for the kind words, the whole reason for me wanting a Landrover Discovery was the fact you can work on them yourself, it's a big vehicle for carrying my friends and kit to events, and its a Landrover!

ok a TD5 wasnt one of the best decisions due to the electronics but I've always fancied one, and theres a lot of parts/help around which I can't say the same for Mitsubishi!!

Between you guys/girls here, some other websites, Haynes manual (on occasions), few Landrover enthusiast friends, and a few Landrover specialists in the area I feel comfortable in the knowledge that what ever the problem someones around to help, and hopefully I can pick some things up as I go along..and hopefuly one day return the favour to those requesting help!

As for slitting my wrists, I wont be doing that..unless the dam sunroof leaks again :frusty::lol:

Thanks for the advice/info, will keep you posted as to the outcome, just hope it's going to be an easy fix.. got plenty of other fixes/mods to be getting on with.