Freelander TD4 Auto Sport 2004

hi own a Freelander TD4 Auto Sport 2004, i want to replace the automatic gearbox oil. it specify's in hayes manual that its either one of the two

Texaco ATF N402
or
Unipart ATF 403E

7.0 pints

but the problem is i can not fine any of them for sale??

help

hi a good quility auto gearbox fluid will be fine do not buy cheap stuff if you manage to get all the fluid out which you will not altogether it will be 8.5 ltrs thats quoted from dry but you will need upto 4 ltrs good luck

Auto oil for the Freelander 1 jatco is special - LRN 402. Don't just buy any old auto oil or you'll fek it up. Sold buy LR dealers - part no STC50531. Eggspect to pay about £12.50 per L, and you need 4L. Specific process to follow. MAKE SURE YOU USE THE CORRECT LEVEL PLUG and not the nut on the rear which if removed you'll loose reverse gear. Look here:

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/jatco-automatic-gearbox-69336-3.html

as a matter of interest why would you think dexron 2or 3 would would bugger gear box,does it eat seals etc ive spoke to a few in gear box trade ,wondered what info you had,bearing in mind lr and others changed oil specs to fill for life,not for gearboxes long life but to lengthen and cheapen services ,the clutch packs are std ,epyclic gear sets live long on atf valves are hardened steel ,block is aluminum,only unkonown for me would be seals on pistons etc

Good questions. Some years ago when having problems with my auto I was told it had to be LRN402. Apparently the USA v6 versions had a different auto oil, the dextron stuff, due to LRN402 having some chemical or content that was said to be banned in the USA. Hence no “agreed” import of that oil. All this came from researching on the web, and seeing info from different sources saying the same thing. Stumbled across someone having problems and him wanting to move to UK spec oil, as the other stuff was said to have not been as good. Talk amongst several owners and their garages about this, but consensus was to use our red stuff. Not sure what damage the other stuff caused, but they didn’t last as long as our auto’s. This was in the USA.

In the uk garages had problems with rover 825’s (I think) as this had the Jatco fitted (different ratio’s I guess) and they were using the same oil as they did previously, on the rover 800’s (I think). The oil spec in the newer auto’s had changed and it was said that not all garages had realised, or the norm was to use the same one as they’d always used in auto’s for many years. They damaged some auto’s by doing this. Not all rover garages involved. Result was a reconfirmation of what oil to use. When looking for oil myself, I found many suppliers saying they couldn’t supply their own as they didn’t have the correct spec. Then found the LR dealers would sell it to the public. Didn’t realise they did that. LR dealer tech told me he’d been on a course for the Jatco one day when we took mine for a test drive. His words were along the lines of whatever you do, don’t use the wrong oil. They’ve had many, which they claim are contaminated by using the wrong stuff. History has taught them to replace and give the recon agent the problems.

Have contacted Jatco in the past but don’t have he emails anymore. They said the LRN402 was the right part number to use, and didn’t offer an alternative. So that sort of left me stuck with thinking.. all these said to be bad cases, in several areas, must have something in common. That being their wisdom of LRN402 being the preferred oil. I’ve had many owners contact me saying their oil is black, and not red. Their garage has said this is the fault, and ask me why. I’m told you can’t burn oil to make it black. I don’t know, and couldn’t say for sure. I’m a bit lost with this, and the final straw came when a local LR independent known for rebuilds and custom tuning etc said it was all bollocks and they used dextron. Unfortunately they weren’t able to quote on time for my auto replacement, as they subcontract Freelander auto replacement to another garage. They also subcontract cam belts on the v6 too, quote they repair main dealer **** ups, and up their business which fails to gain my confidence. What he really meant to say was he didn’t know what he was talking about.

When asking dextron direct if their oil is suitable for the LR service list of half changing the oil at 60k miles, they didn’t reply, on many occasions. I would like to have the opportunity and proof to change my opinion, but it all seems to point to use as god, shorry land rover intended – LRN402 auto oil. That said I’ve also been told you can use the ford oil, as they have the Jatco in the galaxy, by a Freelander owner who insisted at the time it was ok. In his replacement auto the garaged fitted the red stuff. Could all be hyp, but I feel there’s something there. Garages seem to confirm this, along with many cases on the web. Many quote the Jatco as being unreliable, but the car industry seems to think it’s reliable. LR dealers do too. Common factor for wrong oil is wrong level plug too. As said, would like to have a different opinion, but history dictates LRN402 is the only way forward. It will be for me regardless as I’m not going to be the one to test any other oil.

oil goes black in autos for one reason only burnt clutch pack ,only reason for this is too much torque as in its common for autos to loose clutch packs associated with setting off and reverse,or lack of pressure as in poor seals in pistons ,oil pump wear as in gm box on l322 ,jatco has had problems with that clutch basket/piston cracking loosing the pressure burning out clutch as in video the other day apparently very common problem but i have only done a habd full not enough to judge,you wont get a straight answer from either company ,they couldnt admit to fault even if known ,as if was faulty piston for instance it would stick even if fixed whereas wrong oil fault doesnt,lr and other companies to out source problems ,through lack of expertise with rebuilding units and cost and time/responsibility,even i have done work in rebuilding units for local dealer ship,i will get to bottom of it when ive done a few more

This post has some interesting info: http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/1332682-post62.html

My auto oil comes out looking as below. Should be red. Hence there’s some wear inside which isn’t good, but not much I can do about it. After reading about the filter being inside and none serviceable for the life of the auto… that got me thinking.

I plan to do the usual auto oil change soon. This only exchanges 3.5L ish or 42% of oil. Was planning on passing what came out through some paper filters to see out of curiosity what sediment was in the oil. Then new oil in. But further to this I was wondering if it would be a good idea to remove 3.5L, filter it then put back in the auto. Run it on tick over for a minute or two to circulate the auto oil, then remove 3.5L again, then filter and refit again, in order to try to clean sediment out of the oil. If I were to find anything that concerned me when filtering, like magic gems which help the auto work, then stop at once and continue as normal with the annual 3.5L replacement. I do my oil change yearly at about 4000 miles.



New:

filter is serviceable ,but does require box out so making it only serviceable at such times which is only going to be when box or engine are broken hard to see from photo but is oil milky,auots dont usualy produce much sediment in box they tend to either be clean or bust

Hi

Haven't got a good pic for comparison. Only new and used below. Auto seems to run ok. Used oil seems to be the same consistancy, but it's discoloured. The LRN402 red stuff when new smells sweet. Mine is brown, but still smells like new auto oil, just a bit weaker in smell. Not milky. Part of me wonders if the main dealer put something in to try to get rid of the squeal, like they did on the IRD, and it hasn't washed out yet with the oil changes.