LR4 Transmission oil change... mixed feelings.

Having read all the articals I can throw several spanners in the works.

When I had the annual serive in march on my LR4 I was advised that next year (year 9) I will have to have transmission oil and filter changed at a cost of £600 plus VAT = £720. He also said that LR recommed this at year 9 or 144,000 miles by which time the box is shot at. Being keen on perventive maintenance I shopped around and found a Company would do a back flush and oil change for £385 plus 20% VAT. This sounded a great idea so had it done at 91k miles but since then when going down hill at 5-10 MPH the engine revs drop to tick over (750 RPM) then transmission drops out and car runs away with no engine braking. So far I have thrown nearly £1000 at it but the problem is still there, has anybody else had this problem. I do have a failure warranty so next is to see if they will pay for the box to be replaced.

Having looked at the ZF web site they recommend oil and filter change at 100,000 KM (60.000) miles or sooner if used for towing.

I have spoken to a guy who specialises in all auto boxes and the first thing he said was DO NOT CHANGE TO A METAL PAN as the plastic pan is designed to dissipate the heat far better. When changing the oil the old oil must be flushed out of the torque converter as not all the oil will be changed by draining the pan. Therefore you have a mix of old oil and new oil which is not ideal.

I feel the reason that LR don't recommend an early oil change is because you have to lift engine / gearbox to change the plastic sump due to the chassis cross member a £652 job.

FWIW, and I am not some ******** wrencher, I've read for 20 years that if you have not changed your transmission fluid frequently (never before 100k miles), you are better off not changing it. The reason was that at that point, the fluid is so old that some fluid has caked onto surfaces and the new fluid will break those loose.

https://community.cartalk.com/t/can...eplacement-cause-a-transmission-to-fail/49696

https://www.transmissionrepaircostguide.com/topic/should-i-change-my-transmission-fluid/

Anyway, when it comes to AT's, I've always heard that you either do it often (every 30-50K miles) or don't do it at all. The LR4 is a PITA, so that is annoying, but still.

As for the "plastic dissipating heat," that makes no sense from a materials science/heat transfer perspective. Plastic is an insulator. The metal pan will dissipate heat better.

Does anyone know what a dealer in the US would charge for a transmission fluid change?

I have a lift at home, but I gotta say, that looks like a real PITA to replace with the OEM pan.

Anyone had any issues with the aftermarket pan?

My dealer gave me a verbal quote of $900 - $1000 to replace the transmission fluid & filter, said it was about $400 in parts and 5 hours labor.

I really wish ZF had installed a drain plug on the torque converter to allow a complete fluid change, instead of only being able to change what's in the pan. Otherwise you have to drain / refill 2-3 times (driving a bit in between) to get ~90% fresh fluid in.

gsxr said:

My dealer gave me a verbal quote of $900 - $1000 to replace the transmission fluid & filter, said it was about $400 in parts and 5 hours labor.

I really wish ZF had installed a drain plug on the torque converter to allow a complete fluid change, instead of only being able to change what's in the pan. Otherwise you have to drain / refill 2-3 times (driving a bit in between) to get ~90% fresh fluid in.

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Yeah, that's ridiculous.

The price is also ridiculous. But it is a PITA, so I am not terribly surprised.

I came from the Volvo world before I got my 1016 LR4 - Volvo does not have a trans filter - we figured out a way of detaching the fluid outlet from the radiator .
Got it down to a science - pumps out all the fluid - you end up using a bit moe but you will get it all out of the torque converter

on Life time - its the quantity that matters - the transfer case on the Gen 2 Volvo Xc only holds a liter. Not good -

Not sure how this works for my LR - but it would make sense to change

Pfunk951 said:

Spawnywhippet- That is huge information, thanks for posting that.. There isn't a lot of talk here of people getting into the solenoids or the Mechatronic plate, so there is very limited knowledge of what issues these replacements will fix.. The Mechatronic plate is as far as I have researched, beyond that lies the abyss of clutches, rings, and seals that (to my knowledge) involve removing the transmission..

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No transmission removal or messing with rings and seals required. Most of the work is just dropping the pan, which I did by cutting the neck off the old one and converting to the metal pan. Once the pan is dropped, the mechatronic unit is immediately visible and is the next part that drops out from the transmission when you undo about 10 bolts and disconnect the wiring harness. Pull the mecha unit out, pop out the old solenoids and pop the new ones in. I also replaced the harness seal collar at the same time, while I had good access. If there is sufficient interest, I could write it up as a DIY.

anyone know if this is the same with 2014 on ZF 8 speeds? I looked at AB site and they dont list any kits for the 2014 and on. I am at almost 60k miles and this may (or MAY NOT) be an issue. I don't even see which ZF part number we have in the HD LR4 with the 8 speeds as ZF makes many 8 speeds, depending on torque needs.

I did my fluid change at around 168,000 kilometers (Equivalent to 100,000 miles) , I had the slight **** btw 1 and 2 before the tranny fluid change and it still continued after the fluid change, Did someone mention a software update can fix this issue ? I don't believe in the sealed for life BS, if the tranny had a dipstick where i could fill up from the top i would do a tranny fluid change once every year as i have done on all my cars, I have never had a tranny fail on me in 30 years of driving.

Spawnywhippet - I am interested in the instructions on how to change the solenids and also where you bought the kit from.

We might have pieced together a possible failure mode on these transmissions..

On another thread, Huy Tran said this:

Huy Tran said:

I had the transmission rebuilt due to bushings/stator related to the E clutch failing. This caused the LR to go into limp mode at high speed as it cannot shift up into 5th gear. Prior to that, the transmission had occasional hard shifting and clunking between 2nd and 3rd. That harsh shifting is mostly caused by perishable rubber seals and bridge between the valve body allowing fluids to leak internally and lose pressure. Overtime, this also leads to the E clutch failure.

The ZF 6HP26 transmission is good. But does have issues that could be avoided by some preemptive measures.

As many have recommend, changing the fluid and filter is a must. I also would suggest replacing the valve body seals while you're in there as the parts are extremely cheap. If you're gonna do it yourself, take extreme care with the mechatronic and make sure everything is torqued to spec and clean. You'll also need to reset adaptation with a tool like IID.

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I've seen a bunch of posts with people complaining of rough shifts- perhaps this is a sign that these seals are beginning to fail, and causing excessive pressure on the bearings/clutches. Apparently (at least in Huy's experience), this led to failure..

Spawnywhippet, I'm starting to think that either an 1. Addition to the the transmission fluid/ pan swap thread, or 2. A new thread addressing the solenoids and seals is in order.. And we need to continue gathering info on failures and fixes..

Mike

Fwiw I complained about the tranny hard shifting between 1 and 2 on a rolling start at the end of my warranty. LR Encino sent a tech out with me to do a ride and see what I was talking about as they couldn’t replicate it. I got it to clunk a couple times rolling start down a slight decline. The tech said oh yeah that’s just normal for these transmissions and not to worry about it.