No reverse has struck my Freelander. Labour cost of box swap?

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forrest38

forrest38

Member
Posts
35
having a tough time with my freelander td4 auto over last couple of months . Back in November the pulley went (jackhammer noise) and i paid for the good corteco part and changed belts at same time . All was well until wife phoned a couple of weeks after to say it wont reverse. I have done my homework and seems it happens , cost to repair £1000 + vat here in northern ireland.

Just managed to purchase a box from Higgins there at Coleraine at 350 which seems to be the ballpark for one. Obviously the risk that it would go again and mine only had 99k on it.

Basically people what figure should i be looking at for labour cost for someone to swap it and is there anything i should watch out for .

thanks in advance
 
I would think labour over here shouldn't be too expensive for a gearbox replacement, at a guess £200/300 with a small garage. Others on here might be able to advise what to watch out for. I don't know the Freelander, did you check the reverse situation out with a specialist?
Yoy could check with Jamisons of Dervock, specialists with an excellent reputation but my estimate might not be adequate for them you could ask anyway. I also know of someone near Enniskillen who likes LR products and might do a job for you.
 
Thanks, I was recommended Jamisons by the place I bought the box, however £485 plus vat would bring it to near 600. Yikes!
Having a word with my local mechanic tomorrow to see if he’s up for it, surely any competent mechanic could swap it out or as I say , is there things to watch for which make it risky / tricky
 
It's a long old job to swap out the auto box. The IRD needs removing first, which means removing the front suspension on both sides first. Is the replacement a reconditioned unit or second hand? If the latter, then are you 100% sure it's working perfectly? Last thing you nees is to pay for a box to be replaced, that is no better than the one you have now. If you've just got no reverse, then it almost makes sense to have a new reverse band and actuator fitted to your current box.
 
It’s second hand Nodge68 , from Higgins auto Coleraine , purchased on Ebay just yesterday. It only went on a few days prior. They appear to have a good rapport from talking to a few. I seen in England on Ebay there’s a place that you drive the freelander in and they refurb it at £875 which would have been the best option. However not an option for me here in Northern Ireland . Burnside over here wants £1250, can’t justify it when I see freelanders selling for £1500 from dealers.

So my other option was scrap it or take my chances and stick a box in.

What labour time and price do you figure for local good terms mechanic to do this Nodge68?
 
Not sure where you're from but when you mention Higgins and Burnside I guess close enough to me. O'Connells in Garvagh work on cars and commercials, very nice people to speak to though not specialists. I haven't had to use them yet apart from buying tyres but they would be my choice if a job is beyond my own scope. I used Burnside years ago and had no problems but I've heard a few stories...whether justified or not, I can't tell.

I saw a link on a recent post here which described a clutch change, much the same as yours as it's still removing the gearbox, didn't look too complicated. I would expect the auto box to be heavier though. Hopefully the link will work.

http://pmmonline.co.uk/technical/how-fit-clutch-land-rover-freelander/
 
Kenbo said:
Not sure where you're from but when you mention Higgins and Burnside I guess close enough to me. O'Connells in Garvagh work on cars and commercials, very nice people to speak to though not specialists. I haven't had to use them yet apart from buying tyres but they would be my choice if a job is beyond my own scope. I used Burnside years ago and had no problems but I've heard a few stories...whether justified or not, I can't tell.

I saw a link on a recent post here which described a clutch change, much the same as yours as it's still removing the gearbox, didn't look too complicated. I would expect the auto box to be heavier though. Hopefully the link will work.

http://pmmonline.co.uk/technical/how-fit-clutch-land-rover-freelander/
Click to expand...

The auto box change is very similar to a clutch change, just without the clutch!! The auto weights about 100 Kgs, so 3 X the manual box weight. ;)
 
Well had a quote for £250 labour from my guy . Plus oil costs . Is it just gearbox oil needs changed .
Anything else that could//should be changed whilst the access is there?
 
Nodge68 said:
Just the fluid, unless you find a leaking crank or IRD seal while it's out.
Click to expand...

Aargh!!!!!! F4 flashing and gearstick change position odd .
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Well gearbox is in , everything good my mechanic said , however jumped in it this morning and it has f4 flashing with the orange descent light on dash. Also it only goes into sport mode if in neutral (i mean it wont let you manually shift up and down unless in neutral but it obviously cant change gear in neutral. When put in drive it drives as normal through the gears and very well at that as i was hitting 100mph in no time, when in neutral it does the usual, creeps froward so thats fine but strange it only lets you slide across when in neutral.
Also to get the number "1" gear, you have to effectively slam it back to select.

could the gearstick be misaligned or something but the f4 worries me more with the descent light.

saying all this it drives forward fine, changes gears automatically and reverses but she just aint 100% if the gearstick being odd and f4 flashing.

essentially my query is mechanic error or gearbox fault, just before i go getting it wrong

thanks guys
 
Might also be worth checking that the barrel connector on the front of the box is securely connected. It could be a combination of the control cable and the connector.
 
hi Nodge, i took it back down as it also had a real noise when it was idling and when i revved. something plastic hitting off a pulley, but he forgot to take a look at this gear position issue and f4 flashing. Am i right in saying this is mechanic error when he has put the "new" gearbox in . ie the f4 flashing and only goes into sport mode if in neutral. Just so i know not to be fobbed off and told its the actual gearbox and need to take it up with where i got that.
 
forrest38 said:
hi Nodge, i took it back down as it also had a real noise when it was idling and when i revved. something plastic hitting off a pulley, but he forgot to take a look at this gear position issue and f4 flashing. Am i right in saying this is mechanic error when he has put the "new" gearbox in . ie the f4 flashing and only goes into sport mode if in neutral. Just so i know not to be fobbed off and told its the actual gearbox and need to take it up with where i got that.
Click to expand...

I don't like to rubbish someone else's work, but it sounds like whoever did the work is clueless. Letting a vehicle go making a rubbing sound and the gear selection not working correctly, with F4 on the dash. Sounds like they need avoiding imho.
 
Nodge68 said:
I don't like to rubbish someone else's work, but it sounds like whoever did the work is clueless. Letting a vehicle go making a rubbing sound and the gear selection not working correctly, with F4 on the dash. Sounds like they need avoiding imho.
Click to expand...
i know, like i am on good terms with the guy so im kinda stuck.
my query is , is this something easily rectified at their end in your opinion. I mean its not like they have to take the gearbox all out again?
i dont want to just walk away as im pretty much committed and mot due soon.

thanks for your help Nodge. its been a tough road
 
forrest38 said:
i know, like i am on good terms with the guy so im kinda stuck.
my query is , is this something easily rectified at their end in your opinion. I mean its not like they have to take the gearbox all out again?
i dont want to just walk away as im pretty much committed and mot due soon.

thanks for your help Nodge. its been a tough road
Click to expand...

It's pretty difficult to diagnose without looking at it. However with an F4 fault, the first step is to read the codes to find the cause.
 
Well i just dropped it off there and found this info to hand him so i reckon hopefully this will resolve it . will let you know once i get it back, pretty sure it will resolve the gear selection issue, just hoping it will resolve the f4 issue. as i said before it drives, changes gear and pulls fine. just wouldnt switch over to "sport" mode when in drive, only in neutral. F4 and orange hill light doesnt come on straight away after startup, just does after driving a few yards

http://www.myfreelander.co.uk/Transmission/transprobs3.htm
 
forrest38 said:
Well i just dropped it off there and found this info to hand him so i reckon hopefully this will resolve it . will let you know once i get it back, pretty sure it will resolve the gear selection issue, just hoping it will resolve the f4 issue. as i said before it drives, changes gear and pulls fine. just wouldnt switch over to "sport" mode when in drive, only in neutral. F4 and orange hill light doesnt come on straight away after startup, just does after driving a few yards

http://www.myfreelander.co.uk/Transmission/transprobs3.htm
Click to expand...

That's why I suggested the cable adjustment. ;)
 
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