'02 Freelander not shifting

[dave0mary]

Just bought an '02 for real cheap ... because the engine 'freewheels' when it wants to shift to 3rd. 1st and 2nd pull real good - then 3rd, and nothing. Engine just revs. Before I go the expensive route, can anyone help? Something besides an overhaul? Thanks!! Dave

 

[sandman]

check the fluid but sounds like a bad tranny.

good luck trying to find parts for it.

they only come as an entire unit.

you can look up codes and see if any codes but free wheeling in third sounds like the tranny.

 

[Shermie]

Jatco Box woes

Hi:

There are a number of things that can go wrong with the automatic transmission on the Freelanders.

Firstly and starting from the factory recommended fluid change interval, it was and still is too optimistic. I would not run the transmission for 60kmiles as specified in the manual. Not because it is 100% incorrect, but how can one accept a first fluid changed at 10kmiles past the factory warranty... hummmm. LR never gave me a straight answer on this caveat. It's better to change LRN-402 fluid every 30k to 35k miles at the most, keeps the transmission clean and free of moisture accumulation, the tranny does have an open breather tube and the fluid gets watered-down in humid climates quite fast.

Second, if your transmission has never had the LRN-402 fluid replaced, you may have low fluid level (a slow leak) or maybe there is too much fluid (incorrect fluid replacement procedure). There is no dipstick. The method to check LRN-402 fluid level required some tools and an exact factory procedure that is not simple. Best to have a qualified LR mechanic do this. Or the fluid may have lost it's chemical properties and has become a brown, rusty mess. Once this happens, it's almost always a disaster to change the fluid, it may result in transmission failure.

Thirdly, the Jatco box depends on the proper operation of a soleniod pack that is bolted to the transmission body itself. The solenoids for 3rd, 4th and 5th gear tend to be the first to go bad. They are not simple to change. The complete solenoid pack costs 780USD from LR. Not sure how much to swap but at 90$ per hour, probably takes 3-4 hours. You can also have a qualified transmission shop change only the defective solenoids.

Finally, if your Jatco box is defective, the best route is to buy a reconditioned Jatco box over the internet. A LR place in Minnessota has them for $2500 each with a 2 year warranty. You can find them on Ebay as well. The Solenoid pack costs about $550 on Ebay.

It's a pure shame that my LR dealer refuses to repair my Jatco but wants $7500 to swap out the old Jatco for a new one.

I am going to relpace the Solenoid pack and hope for the best. My car slips on 4th and 5th and has been doing this for 8 month's now.... If my Jatco box was totally broken, then why does it still get me from point A to point B... ?

LR cars are really only as good as your local LR service center, and believe me they are not all the same.

Yesterday I bought a Oil Filter... peeking through the window at the car stalls, I was shocked to see a 90K Range Rover with the front brake Caliper dangling from the hose. The LR mechanic was whistling and oblivious... No wonder these cars break, the mechanics don't care and often do more damage than good.

I started to change the brake pads myself as the LR dealer did not install them correctly and they used to wear out every year. Now I have them last at least 18 month's.

Most Jatco boxes suffer from defective solenoids and LR most always want's thousands of dollars to swap out the unit. Why they don't offer to repair them is beyond me. Maybe it's too economical?

The solenoid on your 3rd gear may not be actuating properly... but then again I am only a knowledgeable owner, not a certified LR technician..

My LR shop is really bad.... is your's any better?

Hope this helps..

 

[Shermie]

Follow-up

I recently had a long conversation with an experienced LR mechanic. He told me that the Freelander Jatco boxes in 02 to 04 models are not very reliable.

Foremost he indicates to me, and re affirms my original fear, the 60kmile LRN-402 transmission fluid change interval is excessive. In his best estimate, this transmission box should have it's fluid changes once every 25K to 30k miles, not any more than this.

When LRN-402 reaches these mileage levels, depending on the driving condition and humidity and heat in the environment, the friction material inside the transmission will break down and eventually the car will fail in the upper gears.

It will be typical for these Jatco boxes ro fail in 3rd, 4th and 5th as these are the gears most commonly engaged in day to day driving, with 1st and 2nd gear only engaged for short time periods.

As you car does not engage 3rd gear at all as you say, try the Steptronic manual mode and when in 2nd gear, and at about 2500 RPM, push the shifter forward two steps quickly and see if the car can engage in 4th or even 5th gear with an additional push.

Then slow down and come to a complete stop to see if the transmission settles into 2nd gear automatically. This will let you know if your transmission controller and solenoids are OK.

Most probably your transmission has worn out the upper gears as the fluid lost it's properties, it's a slow death. Most transmissions will last up to 70kmiles without a fluid change, beyond that it's a race till it breaks and an expensive repair bill ensues, almost always beyond the short warranty period of 4 years or 50 kmiles, carefully designed by Land Rover to be 10kmiles under the 60kmile change interval, slick stuff, but I believe totally unfair.

The 60k mile first transmission oil change is ludicrous and results is chronic Jatco failures. Apart from this add the fact that the LRN-402 is impossible to find outside of a LR parts department in most countries.

I understand that Toyota's use an equivalent fluid in their transmissions, but one must be careful. It's best to buy real LRN-402.

Sorry about your tranny, we are all on the same page with massive failures of everything from leaky thermostats to blown head gaskets due to coolant loss.

Depressing when one knows that after the last car payments are made, the $34K lemon end up costing over $48K.

Once again a sad reminder of how catchy Land Rover advertising has fooled literally thousands of customers into believing that these cars are and I quote "The best SUV's on earth". I say BAH HUMBUG.

The best route, buy a reconditioned transmission for $2490 with a 2 year unlimited warranty and change LRN-402 every 25kmiles...... Freight on this will run you $200 USD or so. Heck a brand new Jatco will only comes with a 60 day warranty from the Land Rover dealer ! Another nail in the coffin if you ask me.

Here's the link... any competent transmissio shop can swap this. You will need to buy O rings and some other parts if you want a quality job. The shop can tell you what to buy extra. A new Oil Cooler and hoses is not a bad idea also.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/e...STRK:MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=160195204769&rd=1