diff oil

h can you drain the oil out of the diffs or are they sealed many thanks sorry done seach found it but also says about ird if you takewrong plug out u can bugger gearbox howes that then

You just need to make sure you can remove the filler plug first before you remove the drain plug and remove the oil, once the oil is out you cannot drive to a garage and ask them to help you get the filler plug out as i found out to my cost.

cerenko said:

You just need to make sure you can remove the filler plug first before you remove the drain plug and remove the oil, once the oil is out you cannot drive to a garage and ask them to help you get the filler plug out as i found out to my cost.

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ah right thanks for that i will make sure i check filler plug first many thanks

cremator said:

h can you drain the oil out of the diffs or are they sealed many thanks sorry done seach found it but also says about ird if you takewrong plug out u can bugger gearbox howes that then

Click to expand...

My diff doesn't have a drain plug. It's supposed to be sealed for life though it does have a level/filler plug

there is a recent thread on here about taking the wrong plug out of the auto box, as it drops a brake band and then you can't get reverse. not sure about being able to take the wrong plug out of the ird though.

on the auto box, (i think) the wrong bolt is a 19mm torx, whilst the level/filler plug is a 5mm allen bolt.

ready to be corrected.....

picture below is of the bolt NOT to undo, courtesy of Ashcroft Transmission website. Worth a visit to:

Ashcroft Transmissions

as quite informative

This is a photo of the bolt on the auto box, which you should NOT remove, as you’ll loose reverse gear if you do. It will need to be stripped to fix it if you do remove the bolt.



The auto on the Freelander 1 doesn’t have a level plug. It does have a filler plug. The level can only be checked using a computer. From cold, you start the engine and measure the temp of the auto oil. When it’s at 35 degrees you then fill it to the correct level. Main dealer charge £110 for this.

I found out the expensive way of not running with the correct amount of oil. Naffed me auto box up. A leak caused it to go low in the first place. If the oil goes too low the torque converter starts to cavitate – air in it. At some point I run it with too much oil and the seals failed, all over, due to the high pressure in there. Replacement recon box needed.

Also, only use the Land Rover auto oil, which is specific to the Freelander 1 auto box. AFT 402 at £10 per L from a main dealer. Don’t be tempted to use any other. And certainly don’t use the dextron stuff they use in the USA, as our stuff has chemicals in it that they don’t want over there.