feyniriel
Active Member
Hi, first of all I want to thank you everyone on this forum who always comments and gives advice, they have truly been a lifesaver in many instances, from when my engine was overheating or died altogether, air suspension failing to car getting immobilized, all thanks to this forum I was able to get my car running again without the help of a mechanic many times!
I've had my 1999 automatic, diesel P38 for 2 years now and ever since I got it, there has been a grinding noise that only happens in reverse getting progressively worse. While having the car lifted and diagnosed, a mechanic touched the bell housing and deemed the grinding seems to come from the torque converter. It also jolts violently from first to second gear. When you start the car and put it in R or D, it takes a while to register it's in gear and you have to give it a bit of a revving. I have changed the gearbox oil twice, only 5 liters at a time because more hasn't come out (I assume it stays in the torque converter), both times it has been quite brown coming out with quite a bit of metal powder on the filter. The gearbox has never been low on oil though, we check it religiously.
I have not been able to figure out what the problem could be until taking it to a LR specialist the other day.
His opinion was that the problem could be low oil pressure. Thinking about it, it would make sense as the gearbox doesn't grind or jolt as much when you go at very fast speeds, only at low-medium speeds does it grind and jolt badly. So there would seem to be more pressure the more you'd accelerate, if the problem was that.
Has anyone had this problem with a ZF gearbox before and knows what could be causing it? The LR specialist said he hasn't encountered such a problem before, so it doesn't seem typical. I was thinking of contacting Ashcroft as well, but curious if it could be something obvious I'm missing? Thanks guys!
I've had my 1999 automatic, diesel P38 for 2 years now and ever since I got it, there has been a grinding noise that only happens in reverse getting progressively worse. While having the car lifted and diagnosed, a mechanic touched the bell housing and deemed the grinding seems to come from the torque converter. It also jolts violently from first to second gear. When you start the car and put it in R or D, it takes a while to register it's in gear and you have to give it a bit of a revving. I have changed the gearbox oil twice, only 5 liters at a time because more hasn't come out (I assume it stays in the torque converter), both times it has been quite brown coming out with quite a bit of metal powder on the filter. The gearbox has never been low on oil though, we check it religiously.
I have not been able to figure out what the problem could be until taking it to a LR specialist the other day.
His opinion was that the problem could be low oil pressure. Thinking about it, it would make sense as the gearbox doesn't grind or jolt as much when you go at very fast speeds, only at low-medium speeds does it grind and jolt badly. So there would seem to be more pressure the more you'd accelerate, if the problem was that.
Has anyone had this problem with a ZF gearbox before and knows what could be causing it? The LR specialist said he hasn't encountered such a problem before, so it doesn't seem typical. I was thinking of contacting Ashcroft as well, but curious if it could be something obvious I'm missing? Thanks guys!
