LR4 Transmission Fluid Change: Pan Swap Option

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JWA33

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I read in the LR3 threads that some of these pans are lower capacity than the stock plastic pan, not sure how this applies to those options.
 

Pfunk951

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JWA33: It applies, as these are essentially the same retrofits, as I understand that the LR3 transmissions have the same housings as ours.. I'm usually pretty vague on guessing these things as the village idiot on this forum, but as an aerospace engineer by career, I'll elaborate..

Ahem..

There has been nearly zero capacity analysis on the retrofit options that have been researched on this thread except for mine, on which I showed an even drain/fill ratio. From my experience of replacing the factory pan with the Britpart pan, I experienced a near zero loss of removal/replacement margin of fluid.

The main argument that suggests otherwise is that the retrofit pan appears to be smaller. On the contrary: The inner surface of the new and old pan are near identical. Subtracting the plastic fins and thicker material, the metal pan's inner surface appeared to have the same length, width, and depth of the plastic pan.

The only way to correlate this to have one of the folks here take basic inner dimensions of their pans, and I will do the same with my factory pan and we can calculate volume. My hypothesis is that the difference is negligible, but if it is a benefit to this forum, I'll do it.

If anyone out there has a new pan that is not installed, we can perform this... I have a depth mic and caliper good to .001, and if not drinking alcohol, I can calculate volume..

Mike
 

max2105

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Or you could just fill the metal pan (prior to installation) with fluid and then pour it into the removed plastic pan and see if there's a level difference....
 

JWA33

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A big thanks to @Pfunk951 for this excellent write-up. I did this pan retrofit/fluid change this past weekend and it all went extremely well. A couple tricky/fiddly steps, but it all worked out.

I used the kit from RoverParts.com and the real ZF fluid. It took me about 3 1/2 hours total. The only note that I had is that the front engine shield plate uses 15mm bolts and two of them have exposed nuts on the back sides that you have to get on. The pan that RoverParts included in their kit is the style with the drain and fill plugs on the bottom. This style includes a white plastic piece that clips onto the pan above the fill plug to repute the fill hose. Even though we don't need it as we have a fill plug on the side of the housing, I tried to leave it installed, but there's simply no way to get the pan in place with it on due to our lower frame rail, so I left it off. Mine only took about 4 1/2 liters of fluid on the refill. I think replacing the fill plug while the car was running and the cat was crazy hot was the trickiest part. It was ~50 degrees ambient when I did it and it took ~25 minutes at idle for my pan to get up to the 40-degrees Celsius target, and even then just barely.

Now the truck is shifting super smoothly. I'm at 90k miles and the fluid was dark but didn't look too bad. I did not have the brain thing that others have posted, and there wasn't much on my magnets. I noticed a bit of a vibration felt through the floorboard mainly when it would shift at normal road acceleration levels, but that hasn't changed and now I've better isolated that to being just a harmonic vibration from the engine at ~3k rpm that's separate from shifting, it just occurs at right around the usual shift point. Still, I bought this to tow a race car hauler once a month or so, so the fresh fluid at this mileage is nice peace of mind.

Thanks again for the excellent info in this thread.

EDIT: Oh, I also found that the hot setup for getting the stock bolts at the front and rear of the pan out was one of these ratcheting bit drivers with a T40 bit: http://t.harborfreight.com/8-piece-...630.html?utm_referrer=https://www.google.com/. Fits in above the frame rails perfectly and made quick work of them.
 
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Pfunk951

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Awesome, glad it went well. Yeah, getting your hand up next to the hot exaust in order to put the fill plug in is like playing that old game "Operation". You'll know when you touched the sides:laugh:

Mike
 

stufrowin

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Did you guys notice the condition of the magnets in this britpart kit? Mine had a couple chips out of the magnet don't think it will be a big deal but kind of surprised there wasn't a protective coating or something.
 

Pfunk951

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I did a buddy's LR3 about a month ago (I'm getting pretty good at this), and noticed that there were a few chips out of the magnets.. We made sure that no chips were loose in the pan and that no cracks existed, and didn't think anything about it after that..

I wonder if we could have just cleaned/reused the magnets from the original pan?

Oh well.. I agree, I don't think its a big deal..

Mike
 

tecnica

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Just did my wife's 2011 LR4. Save your self some trouble and time. Don't hacksaw the filter tube. Slide the pan towards the passenger side of the vehicle until the tube catches. If you apply a little pressure you can feel the plastic tube is springy. Give it a sharp shove and the tube will snap right off. Done.
 

Scorpion

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Thanks for the detailed post!
I was quoted $800+ from an Indy shop. I'm looking forward to changing the trans oil myself. LR3 92k

Two questions.
How critical is it to chase the pan bolt internal threads? If the mech sleeve is not leaking is it ok to just leave it alone?

The reason that I ask is that I am trying to eliminate any chance of me buggering something up.

Cross threading the aluminum trans bolts would be a bad high.

Also, that bit pry bar and tiny electrical connectors puts fear in my heart
 

Huy Tran

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Just did my wife's 2011 LR4. Save your self some trouble and time. Don't hacksaw the filter tube. Slide the pan towards the passenger side of the vehicle until the tube catches. If you apply a little pressure you can feel the plastic tube is springy. Give it a sharp shove and the tube will snap right off. Done.
Just did mine over the weekend (2010 with 84K miles). Used the kit from RoverParts and all the info from this threat. Can't emphasize how valuable all the information from the OP and individual contribution has been in getting this done so smoothly.
Here's my take
-Used a MityVac to fill the fluid (about 4.5L not sure why they provide 7L)
-Used tecnica's tip to snap the old filter off. So much easier than cutting.
-Used a 10" extension with flex joint on my socket to reach the fill plug and stay away from hot pipes.
-Like Scorpion, I'd rather leave the sleeve alone as there's no leak.

Now, someone needs to find a better way to get those front and rear bolts on and off. They are a PITA. How would you even torque them?
 

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