On or around Mon, 7 Feb 2005 20:30:46 -0000, "Dom J"
<
[email protected]> enlightened us thusly:
>Been having a look round for a replacement for the RRC and have found a L
>reg 300 Tdi Auto Disco sat on a forecourt. Had a quick poke round it today
>and the only thing i could find wrong with it was a small oil leak from the
>back end of the gearbox. A quick smearing of oil on my finger showed it to
>be golden in colour and clean. Should I be wary of this, and what is it
>likely to be?. Never owned an autoboxed vehicle before so it's all a bit
>new to me. What sort of things (gearbox wise) should I look out for whilst
>out for a test drive.
when you say "back end of gearbox", do you actually mean "gearbox"? Or do
you means the back end of the transmission, i.e. transfer box? Gold colour
sounds more like SAE80/90 from the T-box. Try and establish where it's
leaking from, replacing the output seals will cost, not a lot, but it'll
cost. ATF (in the gearbox) is invariably, IME, red or pink, not gold.
The ZF 4-speed is a real cracker of an auto box. I was very tempted to hunt
one to replace my 5-speeder, but I've landed a half-decent LT77 plus T-box
now, for a good price, so won't be. Had a ZF in the 110 before, though,
which was a lovely thing.
Check the oil on the ATF dipstick (orange top, in the engine bay) it should
be red or pink and clean and nice, and up to the level with the engine
idling cold, and after having moved the selector slowly (pause for a second
or so in each spot) through D-3-2-1-2-3-D and back to N.
if the transmission fluid looks brown, dirty, or smells "burnt", then either
walk away or negotiate about a grand off the price. Auto TDis are not that
common, but there are others and a failed 'box will cost bigtime - a good
recon plus fitting can be a grand... If the oil's just slightly
dirty/discouloured and smells OK (try smelling the power steering oil which
is (should be) the same stuff, and doesn't get worked hard, for comparison),
then it may just need changing, check service history - it should be changed
at 24000 intervals, and the filter in the sump too - sump-off job, not too
pricey in itself but the filter is about 25 notes.
--
Austin Shackles.
www.ddol-las.fsnet.co.uk my opinions are just that
"You praise the firm restraint with which they write -_
I'm with you there, of course: They use the snaffle and the bit
alright, but where's the bloody horse? - Roy Campbell (1902-1957)
