JATCO Automatic Gear Box Solenoid Replacement?

Hi there

My 02 Freelander has been giving a little "lurch" forward when I come to a halt - if you vary how the car comes to a stop, sometimes it won't happen. I don't think the car actually moves forward as I have my foot on the brake but it clearly lurches. I did some research and decided best to let the professionals assess.

So had in to the main dealer (here in Melbourne, Oz) for a diagnosis. From the brief research I was expecting that it might be solenoids and that's what the dealer has said is the problem (two of them in fact). I asked if he could replace the solenoids and he, basically, said no. Well actually he said its a bit of a pandoras box when you open the gearbox so it wasn't possible. He suggested I just live with it - which reduces the resale value somewhat I would guess.

I then phone an independent and explained the problem and also said that the dealer had said that there were two faulty solenoids. He said he coudl replace them no problem but it didn't always solve the problem.

Can anybody provide any further advice on this? Or am I stuck with an auto box that isn't happy?

Thanks
Ian

When you say lurch forward, what do you mean? When I take my auto out of gear into neutral, it sometimes moves slightly. As if it's releasing transmission windup stress. We're talking a few inches at the most. It feels more like a rock forward as opposed to moving. Is this the same as your problem?

I think James Martin said they could be replaced without removing the box

Access through the front cover to get to the solenoids. Cooler can get in the way a bit. Several have changed solenoids. In the last 2 years there’s been a growing number of retailers selling the solenoids. Single or complete sets.

I've done a couple of them,a TD4 and a V6 with excellent results,a while ago now so I cant remember much detail.Its an easy enough job to do though.You just need to work out from the schematic diagram which ones neeed changing.A reset of gearbox adaptions on Testbook after is a good idea too.

There is a how to on here somewhere.

http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f9/02-freelander-gearbox-repair-43908.html

Hippo said:

When you say lurch forward, what do you mean? When I take my auto out of gear into neutral, it sometimes moves slightly. As if it's releasing transmission windup stress. We're talking a few inches at the most. It feels more like a rock forward as opposed to moving. Is this the same as your problem?

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Yes, the problem sounds the same, but it happens every time you come to a halt (just about anyway).

They gave me the resistance check sheet when I picked up the freelander the other day, so I've attached that. I can't tell which of the solenoids are out of spec, cause they all look out of spec to me! I'll maybe try and measure them myself and see what I get.

Thanks for the link Mad Hat Man, I knew I had seen something like that before but couldn't find it before I posted the original link.

I've also found the whole solenoid set here on ebay: JF506E 09A MASTER SOLENOID KIT VW JAG 9 PCS OEM NEW ! | eBay

Just got to decide whether I pay somebody $1000 to fix, or buy the solenoids for $400 a have a go myself.

Once again, thanks for the help.

Cheers
Ian

I'm having a problem with mine as well... but my 02 Freelander v6 autobox, seems to be slipping a bit.... mainly when it is still cold.... from 1st-2nd & 2nd to 3rd gears..... If you get on the throttle for a quick take off, it will take 1-2 seconds to shift to the next gear but the rev's do not climb but maybe 200rpms at most.... If you take off in 1st gear and take your foot off the gas slightly, it will slip right into 2nd or 3rd and everything is fine....
Could this be the solenoids as well???

KalamaZoolander said:

I'm having a problem with mine as well... but my 02 Freelander v6 autobox, seems to be slipping a bit.... mainly when it is still cold.... from 1st-2nd & 2nd to 3rd gears..... If you get on the throttle for a quick take off, it will take 1-2 seconds to shift to the next gear but the rev's do not climb but maybe 200rpms at most.... If you take off in 1st gear and take your foot off the gas slightly, it will slip right into 2nd or 3rd and everything is fine....
Could this be the solenoids as well???

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Yes.

There are 9 solenoids in total, but 3 of them are 'Duty' solenoids which control the pressures around the box. It will probably be one of these which has failed, but you may as well change all 3.

IIRC, Line Pressure, 2-3 Brake duty and Lock Up.

WSLR said:

There are 9 solenoids in total, but 3 of them are 'Duty' solenoids which control the pressures around the box. It will probably be one of these which has failed, but you may as well change all 3.

IIRC, Line Pressure, 2-3 Brake duty and Lock Up.

Click to expand...

I'll call you tomorrow.

L0kiSc0t said:

Yes, the problem sounds the same, but it happens every time you come to a halt (just about anyway).

They gave me the resistance check sheet when I picked up the freelander the other day, so I've attached that. I can't tell which of the solenoids are out of spec, cause they all look out of spec to me! I'll maybe try and measure them myself and see what I get.

Thanks for the link Mad Hat Man, I knew I had seen something like that before but couldn't find it before I posted the original link.

I've also found the whole solenoid set here on ebay: JF506E 09A MASTER SOLENOID KIT VW JAG 9 PCS OEM NEW ! | eBay

Just got to decide whether I pay somebody $1000 to fix, or buy the solenoids for $400 a have a go myself.

Once again, thanks for the help.

Cheers
Ian

Click to expand...

If those readings were mine I’d be wanting to check for myself. There’s either something in common wrong, or they’ve measured the wrong pins. Can’t remember if you count the pins by looking into the wiring harness, out looking out of it. Either way 45k ohm, or 45000 ohms is way out of spec. k = x1000 so 4.2k or 4k2 = 4200. I’ll see if I can find the pin numbering from when I measured mine. 10k ohm to ground is suspect too. Is the wiring harness damaged? Snagged or broken wires?

resistance check = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTmdkDuKZ6A

Hippo said:

If those readings were mine I’d be wanting to check for myself. There’s either something in common wrong, or they’ve measured the wrong pins. Can’t remember if you count the pins by looking into the wiring harness, out looking out of it. Either way 45k ohm, or 45000 ohms is way out of spec. k = x1000 so 4.2k or 4k2 = 4200. I’ll see if I can find the pin numbering from when I measured mine. 10k ohm to ground is suspect too. Is the wiring harness damaged? Snagged or broken wires?

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Yeah - that's what I thought when I read the report but thought I was maybe reading it wrong. I'll grab my multimeter and see if I can get some sensible numbers.

I hope the wiring harness isn't damaged because the Main Dealer apparently checked all that stuff.

I'll post my progress with the resistances next week.

Hi Guys

Just thought I'd post a follow up to this.

I wasn't able to measure the resistances myself, mainly due to lack of time, and increasing pressure from the Minister of Finances to get the problem sorted. So, put it into A&B Automatics in Melbourne (www.abautomatics.com.au).

They charge $220 for a diagnosis, which the waive if you decide to have it fixed there. There report was inconclusive as to the exact problem, although the resistances of the solenoids were within tolerances. He said that the auto fluid was discoloured and "burnt" smelling, which suggested a problem in the box itself.

He gave me the option of a valve body replacement for $1800 or a "remanufactured" gear box for $4500 (both prices are fitted prices). He didn't recommend the valve body replacement because he wasn't sure it would solve the problem and because the current box had done 180000 Kms, so something else may give up next!

The car is only worth $8500!

Anyway, we always planned selling after solving this problem so decided to take the hit and get the gearbox replaced.

So: anyone in Victoria, Australia, want to buy a silver 2002 Freelander SE 2.5V6 with a new gearbox (guaranteed for 2 years!).

Cheers
Ian

Good to hear it's fixed. Thanks for letting us know the result.

WSLR said:

There are 9 solenoids in total, but 3 of them are 'Duty' solenoids which control the pressures around the box. It will probably be one of these which has failed, but you may as well change all 3.

IIRC, Line Pressure, 2-3 Brake duty and Lock Up.

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hi,
My freelander 2 met with an accident and its out of warranty but I do have car insurance, which believes in reducing its liability. so as you can see the broken part is being replaced (justone) along with gearbox valve body . Please guide me if its okay to get these child parts replaced as I feel that these are not enough and a problem will arise (mechanical or transmission related) once the repairs are done . Moreover I want to use all my insurance money and make the car back in perfect condition that it was but how do I explain them that they have to include more parts than just these small parts.

looking forward to your reply .

Shivi skorpii said:

hi,
My freelander 2 met with an accident and its out of warranty but I do have car insurance, which believes in reducing its liability. so as you can see the broken part is being replaced (justone) along with gearbox valve body . Please guide me if its okay to get these child parts replaced as I feel that these are not enough and a problem will arise (mechanical or transmission related) once the repairs are done . Moreover I want to use all my insurance money and make the car back in perfect condition that it was but how do I explain them that they have to include more parts than just these small parts.

looking forward to your reply .

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hi

hope u don't mind me asking but wouldnt it be better to get a recon gearbox, seeing u don't know what else is wrong with it , is it worth messing around with,

seeing it's going through the ins company , if they did just replace this one part if something else went wrong would they carry on paying for it to be repaired

how was the damage caused

@Hippo is ur wizard when it comes to these boxes and can give a far more expert opinion

gstuart said:

hi

hope u don't mind me asking but wouldnt it be better to get a recon gearbox, seeing u don't know what else is wrong with it , is it worth messing around with,

seeing it's going through the ins company , if they did just replace this one part if something else went wrong would they carry on paying for it to be repaired

how was the damage caused

@Hippo is ur wizard when it comes to these boxes and can give a far more expert opinion

Click to expand...

The FL2 box is a different beastly altogether Gary. I don't know how versed Hippo is on them tbh. Personally I'd fit a reconditioned gearbox, getting the insurance to pay for it. I'm assuming it's an extended warranty type of insurance?. I'm not convinced of that, reading the post however.

Nodge68 said:

The FL2 box is a different beastly altogether Gary. I don't know how versed Hippo is on them tbh. Personally I'd fit a reconditioned gearbox, getting the insurance to pay for it. I'm assuming it's an extended warranty type of insurance?. I'm not convinced of that, reading the post however.

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did wonder how much it had changed , that's what i also thought , in not bothering messing around with it and just fitting a complete recon box

the way i also read it was, the FL2 had been in an accident , the ins company doesn't want to pay out for a complete gearbox so trying to fix it on the cheap

dont know what the skill set and availability of land rover parts are in India

Hopefully the lady can get a complete gearbox fitted

My mate did his on my driveway you dont even need to drop the oil