Difficulty changing from 1st to 2nd when cold

Hello All,
I've recently bought my first land rover after wanting one for years - its a 2005 Defender 90 Hardtop. Just wanted to know if the problem I'm having is inherent on all Defender's or is it something I should get checked out? When the engine is cold I have real problems changing from 1st to 2nd. It changes gear but really snags. Once the engine is warm everything is fine. Is this normal? Should I get it checked out? Is there anything I can do to improve this? Thanks, Tom

I had that problem with me 1986 110 so i changed the gear box oil for a thinner one in winter time not sure if you should do that with a newish Landie like some one will know i'm sure.!!

TGingell said:

Hello All,
I've recently bought my first land rover after wanting one for years - its a 2005 Defender 90 Hardtop. Just wanted to know if the problem I'm having is inherent on all Defender's or is it something I should get checked out? When the engine is cold I have real problems changing from 1st to 2nd. It changes gear but really snags. Once the engine is warm everything is fine. Is this normal? Should I get it checked out? Is there anything I can do to improve this? Thanks, Tom

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Isn't it still under manufacturers warranty Tom?

Riggaz

i only have the problem when parked overnite and on the first move off.

so what i do is, either park head in and reverse out which i believe helps the oil in the gear box move

OR

move off in gear 1, ****f to neutral and then shift to gear 2. once that's done it's smooth shifting all the way.

You sure your g/box oil level is correct?

Ours is like that but only in the cold weather. I believe that you can change the gearbox oil for a different type and that is supposed to improve matters.

arnt all gear boxes like that in the cold weather . in russia they light a fire under gear boxes to make the oil liquidish again !!!

See if you can see what sort of oil you have in there, someone could at some point have put in EP90 or engine oil or something daft which is too heavy, there is a reason ATF is used in these boxes and thats because they have a pump that circulates the oil...

So really there should be a thin oil in there all the time...

Could also be your detent springs and plungers... they may need cleaned up, they could be sticking when the oil/grease is cold stopping you from selecting 2nd properly...

Thanks for all the advise. Its heading into the LR dealership to find out what the problem is on Monday. Will let you know how I get on.
Thanks.