Freelander 1 Lumpy gearbox [Auto]

Morning all,

Recently purchased a 51 plate freelander TD4 auto with 96k on the clock.

The paperwork shows a recon gearbox fitted at 60k but the thing is surging when changing. Almost like it's clunking into gear and is quite pronounced when I'm plodding along. If I put my foot down the changes are smoother but not fantastic.

Having never driven an auto Freelander before [the last one was manual] I have no idea if this is normal behaviour.

I am looking to start towing a caravan in the Spring / Summer and looking to get this sorted before then. Should I be looking at a fluid change or something more serious?

First off, best to have the fluids changed. Hopefully this will sort it. If it feels as if it is slamming into gear, it's probably a solenoid fault and will need a replacement part. Plenty of posts on here about this fault, worth a search. Best of luck. Mike

Thanks, Had a little search on the solenoid issue and it sounds like my symptoms so will look further into that

I might try and find a decent independent locally to do the oil change, not something I relish doing these days Also noticed Hippo mentions it's worth checking the contacts on the loom too so will look into that

Definitely check the barrel connectors and get the fluid changed. The fluid change is easy if you know what you are doing but it's easy to screw up the box if not. Lots of garages screw it up too so be warned. I don't bother using the LR 402 fluid. I use Carlube ATF-U as it's much cheaper and far exceeds the spec of the old mineral LR supplied stuff.