New L322 TD6 Owner With Gearbox Questions

Hi Folks,
I just bought a 02 L322 Vogue with 115K miles, the car is everything i expected and more. Of course i started searching the forums for info on the car after i had it a few weeks. Since then i obviously came across a lot of gearbox problem theads. The more i read on it, the more worried i get.
Which brings me to ask,
Do all TD6 GM gearboxes fail eventually or is it only certain batches?
Is there any preventitive maint i can do to prolong the life of it?
Is there a milage they tend to fail at?
Should I consider selling the car again while its going fine?

I appreciate these questions have probably been covered more than once in this forum, but im looking for recent info/experience.

thanks in advance.

redranger said:

Hi Folks,
I just bought a 02 L322 Vogue with 115K miles, the car is everything i expected and more. Of course i started searching the forums for info on the car after i had it a few weeks. Since then i obviously came across a lot of gearbox problem theads. The more i read on it, the more worried i get.
Which brings me to ask,
Do all TD6 GM gearboxes fail eventually or is it only certain batches?
Is there any preventitive maint i can do to prolong the life of it?
Is there a milage they tend to fail at?
Should I consider selling the car again while its going fine?

I appreciate these questions have probably been covered more than once in this forum, but im looking for recent info/experience.

thanks in advance.

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All Original GM Boxes will fail at some point....sorry!

The reason is the Valve Block it is fitted with is made of poor quality materials and the constant movement of the valves inside prematurely wears the block to the point where the valves become ineffective.

This reduces the hydraulic pressures holding the various drive clutches engaged and primarily the Lock Up Clutch starts to slip...this deposits large chunks of crap into the oil and trashes the box....

There is no preventative maintenace that can be done, but regular gearbox oil and filter changes will remove most of the crap from the box, but it won't stop the Valve Block from wearing out...only slow the process down.

Usual failure is 80-100k miles.

Only solution was found to be replacement Valve Block by one made by Sonnax, replacement Torque Convertor, Replacement Oil Cooler and some say replacing the Gearbox Oil Pump with a Sonnax one helps too....

Driven nicely, no heavy towing and regular oil/filter changes can lengthen the life of the box, but only by 20-30k miles maybe...

Some times it will give warning of failure like not selecting a drive gear when cold, or when warm, or a judder....but oftentimes than can just go pop all of a sudden without warning.

If yours is the original box, I'd suggest getting an oil anf filter change done and take a look at the oil quality and see what state it is in.

If the box does go south - Budget between £1800-2750 for a replacement fitted box.

Thanks Saint.V8,
Sounds like a for sale sign might be the best option if its a ticking timebomb.
I take it this was not a warranty/recall issue even when the cars were new.

redranger said:

Thanks Saint.V8,
Sounds like a for sale sign might be the best option if its a ticking timebomb.
I take it this was not a warranty/recall issue even when the cars were new.

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Ha Ha, It was supposedly sealed for life. Life in Landrovers book is 3 years 60K miles, after that they don't give a feck
You are sitting in a ticking time bomb

I love Range Rovers & have owned all the models from 2 door up to the later 2008 model.
My 2006 vogue has just had it's second autobox fitted within 3 years & it's not hit 100k miles yet.
They are a weak gearbox, but saying that I have customers that have never had an issue. so it's pot luck.

every car has a common fault when you start viewing forums so does this mean we walk everywhere just relax/enjoy if it fails fix it simple oh & mine failed at 93000 but £2150 later all is good again for a bit I hope

Hi, all Rangie's have their own idiosynchrasies, and I think everyone on here knows there problems. But hey it's a Range Rover, enjoy it, because if we all went out worrying about what's waiting around the corner to go wrong we would all be driving something else or just be nervous wrecks.

acc said:

Hi, all Rangie's have their own idiosynchrasies, and I think everyone on here knows there problems. But hey it's a Range Rover, enjoy it, because if we all went out worrying about what's waiting around the corner to go wrong we would all be driving something else or just be nervous wrecks.

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I agree my 2003 has 105k on the clock and has had a full transfer box/gearbox/oil n all filters changed today as well as replaced sticking rear brake calipers.

The gearbox is fine at the moment but I have done this as a *preventative/I have done as much as possible* measure. If it goes it goes.

I will harp on again about a warranty, why get rid of a great car when you can insure against an inevitable disaster.

Mine has great histor to 86k all by Hunters Hampshire with over £8k worth of invoices new turbo and loads of fluids etc then nothing so I am spending £££ $$$ getting that sorted, but she is spot on.

Today I have borrowed my garages X5 poooooooo nowhere near as nice to drive

Problem as far as i can see is the torque converter. The lockup clutch seems to be made of compressed Swiss cheese impregnated with sand that wears off and knackers the valve block. Which is made from Brie.

Lack of oil pressure is what knackers the TC caused by wear in the valve block according to the experts.

Datatek said:

Lack of oil pressure is what knackers the TC caused by wear in the valve block according to the experts.

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I'll stick with my theory for now.

You could both be right - seems to be a circle of destruction.

If you drive it with no oil and never change any filters this will happen on any car


This one is pretty fooked then

@ OP, dont panic. You hear horror stories on here because that's what this site is mainly for - problems.

My previous 2002 TD6 is on original gearbox at over 100,000 and never had a problem. Still running strong with new owner. My current Petrol V8 has 160,000 miles and is running well, but it has had 2 gbox oil and filter changes in the last 60,000 miles. regular oil and filter changes are the secret to long life. Also, whether they have towed or not plays a part i reckon so find out your's history (does it have a tow bar?)

dsuze96 said:

It was supposedly sealed for life.

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Sealed for its design life....

ZF have since revised this to be 50k mile intervals....

dsuze96 said:

It was supposedly sealed for life.

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Yep, 3 years or 60K miles, after that they don't give a feck as it's out of warranty

My 2004 TD6 transmission just croaked, as widely predicted on these pages so I wasn't that surprised, 120k miles is pretty good going by the anecdotes here. The LR dealer says that I need a replacement box and torque converter. They want to fit new which is just too much £. I'm in central Scotland, does anyone know where I can get a refurbished unit fitted within a reasonable distance?

Peasemould said:

My 2004 TD6 transmission just croaked, as widely predicted on these pages so I wasn't that surprised, 120k miles is pretty good going by the anecdotes here. The LR dealer says that I need a replacement box and torque converter. They want to fit new which is just too much £. I'm in central Scotland, does anyone know where I can get a refurbished unit fitted within a reasonable distance?

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try ashcroft transmissions for a exchange recon box they might even suggest a fitter near you

Thanks for that. The folks on this forum never fail to impress me! Just 15 minutes for a reply at this hour, you simply can't get that sort of service anywhere else.

ovalandrover said:

try ashcroft transmissions for a exchange recon box they might even suggest a fitter near you

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You can check, but I don't think Ashcroft touch the GM transmission.