Taking it for a long drive at constant speed won't do any good other than warm the fluid. When the fluid is warm you need to be driving with plenty of changes to exercise the shuttle valves.
+1, use the gear lever to force frequent changes up and down:) don't change th oil yet, give some work first.:D
 
Taking it for a long drive at constant speed won't do any good other than warm the fluid. When the fluid is warm you need to be driving with plenty of changes to exercise the shuttle valves.

thanks wammers, I guessed that would be the case so going to take a run around North Dorset/South Somerset, plenty of BIG hills here!
 
+1, use the gear lever to force frequent changes up and down:) don't change th oil yet, give some work first.:D

I am fairly inexperienced with automatic gears so do not really know what I can do apart from putting it in drive or reverse and moving. I have sometimes changed down from top to 3rd and back.
You say you use the gear lever to force frequent changes, does that mean you can change up and down 3rd the 2nd etc in automatic range? If so do I just start away in D and move the gear leaver down and back up, or do I need to adjust the speed to a lower level first?
 
The box will protect itself, so if you are in D and you change to 2 at a speed that is too high for 2, it will delay the downshift until such time you slow enough to safely engage 2.
 
Taking it for a long drive at constant speed won't do any good other than warm the fluid. When the fluid is warm you need to be driving with plenty of changes to exercise the shuttle valves.

Yes it will thin the oil and mix the thick gloop that Lucas is . Obviously on a motorway or carrage way will go to lock up but all the mixtures will be sent around the box and mix in with the oil far better,there after lots of changes might eventuly losen the Crap . But if it hasn't worked the first time chances are its too late or loosening the crap could cause more havoc.
If your going to do it do it properly .
You might have half a chance .
 
Yes it will thin the oil and mix the thick gloop that Lucas is . Obviously on a motorway or carrage way will go to lock up but all the mixtures will be sent around the box and mix in with the oil far better,there after lots of changes might eventuly losen the Crap . But if it hasn't worked the first time chances are its too late or loosening the crap could cause more havoc.
If your going to do it do it properly .
You might have half a chance .
I changed the oil 3 times and used 2 lots of Lucas and it is now pretty close to perfect. You only ever get half the oil out so changing it more than once is necessary to end up with reasonably fresh oil.
 
I changed the oil 3 times and used 2 lots of Lucas and it is now pretty close to perfect. You only ever get half the oil out so changing it more than once is necessary to end up with reasonably fresh oil.

Yes that's what we tell folk when doing a change of oil
do it twice , you can tell by the colour if its comming out fresh before you add the Lucas .
Stands to reason .
 
Sorry but those were my first symptoms. Tried the Lucas bit twice but it steadily got worse and I stuck a new box and TC in it. Some you win.

Back again on the same old theme:( When you changed your gearbox how big a job was it? Did you have access to a garage style ramp/lift? would you advise against secondhand box from a breakers? Is it achievable with a pair of high ramps?
Sorry about all the questions but need to get some idea what I am taking on if I decide to change the box, which I think is going to be necessary.
 
Back again on the same old theme:( When you changed your gearbox how big a job was it? Did you have access to a garage style ramp/lift? would you advise against secondhand box from a breakers? Is it achievable with a pair of high ramps?
Sorry about all the questions but need to get some idea what I am taking on if I decide to change the box, which I think is going to be necessary.

I think that this is the time when you have to decide if you're going to keep the car, for how long and what sort of driving that you're going to do with it.
I need an auto box, good leg room for assorted disabled family members, decent motorway manners and then a bit of offroading and snow driving as I'm frequently up in Northern Scotland. Not only couldn't I find another (interesting) car within my budget but soon discovered that the Rangie, without a working box and despite all of the work that I'd put into it, wasn't worth much more than it's scrap value unless I wanted to strip it on my drive and sell the bits.

So I bit the bullet and got a reputable local gearbox supplier to do the work - £1200 all in, with a 12 month guarantee, including off-roading. I stuck with the 22 box as I don't tow and have no plans to cross the Sahara or Alps any time soon. My original box had done 110.000 miles so I reckon that if I can get that again it'll probably see the old beast out, or until driving it is made illegal :eek:

Depending on what you're doing, and with the chip, you might want to look at fitting a 24 box, in which case you could take a chance on a decent scrapper. I'd certainly be nervous about just fitting another 22, not really knowing it's history.
I did look at Ashcrofts and all of their upgrades but I was up around the £2k mark without trying.

Sorry, this has turned into more questions than answers but it's how I ended up. I admit that my hand was forced when the box eventually stopped changing gear then lost drive one night in the middle of nowhere.
 
Thanks for your quick reply. It has certainly opened my eyes to the possible problems. Probably shouldn't have fitted the chip (isn't hide sight a wonderful thing :() No too sure what my next move will be but I don't think I will have many choices.
On our recent trip it ran really well doing 160 odd miles but on the return journey it seemed sluggish in the lower gears so I think we are nearing the decision.
A little more discussion with Datatek et al I think.
Anyway, thanks again for your help and timely answer.
Cheers
Bill
 
Bill, go for a good ZF4HP24 from a P38 4.6, it's pretty much a straight swap apart from the possible need for the oil pump to be changed. Also fit a new/re-con torque convertor.
You can find good HP24's for as little as £150 from the Likes of Emmotts. Beware a seller in Wales.
 
Hi Keith,
Trip to Luton went well, car ran fine. Seemed a bit sluggish in the lower gears but that might have been me being cautious when joining the motorways. I remember reading that you still tow your 'van even when the gearbox is flaring and thought I would ask your advice about that. I do feel inclined to do the gearbox job and keep the car (cos I love it).
I know you have looked into changing the gearbox for an 'hp24 4.6 petrol one. In terms of doing the job myself, do you think it is possible without a pit or 4 post ramp? I have a pair of high lift ramps and a 1 in 7 sloped drive which gives a fair bit of room under the car. I have changed manual boxes in the past and I am pretty good with the spanners, I was a diesel mechanic in a previous life but that was on lorries and I had a garage to work in.
You say the oil pump might need to be changed, is that dependent on age? mine is a 1999 and one of the first DHSEs.
I am sure there will be more questions, hope you don't mind.
Bill
 
Hi Keith,
Trip to Luton went well, car ran fine. Seemed a bit sluggish in the lower gears but that might have been me being cautious when joining the motorways. I remember reading that you still tow your 'van even when the gearbox is flaring and thought I would ask your advice about that. I do feel inclined to do the gearbox job and keep the car (cos I love it).
I know you have looked into changing the gearbox for an 'hp24 4.6 petrol one. In terms of doing the job myself, do you think it is possible without a pit or 4 post ramp? I have a pair of high lift ramps and a 1 in 7 sloped drive which gives a fair bit of room under the car. I have changed manual boxes in the past and I am pretty good with the spanners, I was a diesel mechanic in a previous life but that was on lorries and I had a garage to work in.
You say the oil pump might need to be changed, is that dependent on age? mine is a 1999 and one of the first DHSEs.
I am sure there will be more questions, hope you don't mind.
Bill

The box and transfer box assembly is fecking heavy Bill, but others have done it on a drive. I have a shallow pit and a transmission jack and I have yet to pluck up courage to do it.
There are 2 versions of the HP24 box, one needs the oil pump swap, the other doesn't, not sure which is which though but it's an easy job to swap the pump from your HP22.
I used the gear lever when I had the flaring problem, hold in 2nd until up to speed, lift off move stick to 3rd hold again until up to speed, lift off move to 4th. Just like a manual really, worked a treat for me.
 
Don't know which way to jump really. Think I am going to try manual changes for a while to see if the snake oil will help. Cost is a factor and so is the actual job as I don't have a flat area to work in. I might have to pay :eek: someone to do it. Sue gets her annual pension payout :D at the end of April so that might come in handy. There used to be a thing called Hire-a-Bay which was like a garage where you could hire a ramp and the other tools and some even had a mechanic on hand for advice and assistance if required. Not seen any for a very long time though, I can likely hire a transmission jack I suppose so that would certainly help.
I am going to give it run around locally towing the caravan to see how it goes so will keep you informed:p
 
I have downloaded the manual for the ZF 4HP22 if anyone is interested.
Is that the full ZF manual Bill? Or is it one of the various non ZF repair manuals? I never found a genuine ZF one, I have a good after market manual from the good old US of A. If it's pukka ZF, I'd be interested.:)
 

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