So in addition to our Land Rover hobby we also tow trailers, in this case mostly camper trailers. A good resource for towing knowledge is Can-Am RV. Tow vehicles deal with some of the same issues. Found the following article relative to this thread:
Hitch Hints: Learn Something New Every Year (42.7)
".......One interesting process was getting the transmission fluid changed. At 95,000 kilometers, I thought I better get the transmission fluid changed. The Jag dealer said it was lifetime fluid but couldn’t tell me whose lifetime.......
.......Speaking of fluid changes, I had a conversation with the owner of the shop that does all the maintenance on the rest of our fleet. He mentioned, “I am up to my ears in engine changes and I hate changing engines.” I then asked why and he told me about all the long extended oil change intervals that are being promoted by many manufactures. The gunk in the engine eventually builds up enough that it clogs the timing chain, causing it to skip or come off, which causes the valves to hit the pistons and generally ruins the engine.
Around the same time, I was speaking with one of our customers who has towed his 31’ Airstream all over North America a few times with his 2008 Mercedes Diesel. He was in a campground in South Carolina and was approached by a retired Mercedes employee curious to find out how he liked his Mercedes. He mentioned he spent most of his career with Mercedes and he was responsible for getting the company to supply the 3.0 L diesel in North America. His parting comment was, “think about changing the oil a little more often”.
I have always been a believer in frequent fluid changes. We change the oil every 5-8,000 kilometers and if the vehicle has a lot of stop and go or does a lot of hard towing in intense heat, we change it at 5,000. We change the rear axle, transmission and transfer case fluids at 80,000. The lifetime engine coolant is changed at 100,000........."
That's oil changes every 3K miles, especially for those that tow or see trail work.
In summary this likely is not a JLR specific issue but more industry wide as both the oil and auto industry have promoted long extended oil/fluid change intervals and "lifetime" recommendations. As the article notes, whose lifetime?
Hitch Hints: Learn Something New Every Year (42.7)
".......One interesting process was getting the transmission fluid changed. At 95,000 kilometers, I thought I better get the transmission fluid changed. The Jag dealer said it was lifetime fluid but couldn’t tell me whose lifetime.......
.......Speaking of fluid changes, I had a conversation with the owner of the shop that does all the maintenance on the rest of our fleet. He mentioned, “I am up to my ears in engine changes and I hate changing engines.” I then asked why and he told me about all the long extended oil change intervals that are being promoted by many manufactures. The gunk in the engine eventually builds up enough that it clogs the timing chain, causing it to skip or come off, which causes the valves to hit the pistons and generally ruins the engine.
Around the same time, I was speaking with one of our customers who has towed his 31’ Airstream all over North America a few times with his 2008 Mercedes Diesel. He was in a campground in South Carolina and was approached by a retired Mercedes employee curious to find out how he liked his Mercedes. He mentioned he spent most of his career with Mercedes and he was responsible for getting the company to supply the 3.0 L diesel in North America. His parting comment was, “think about changing the oil a little more often”.
I have always been a believer in frequent fluid changes. We change the oil every 5-8,000 kilometers and if the vehicle has a lot of stop and go or does a lot of hard towing in intense heat, we change it at 5,000. We change the rear axle, transmission and transfer case fluids at 80,000. The lifetime engine coolant is changed at 100,000........."
That's oil changes every 3K miles, especially for those that tow or see trail work.
In summary this likely is not a JLR specific issue but more industry wide as both the oil and auto industry have promoted long extended oil/fluid change intervals and "lifetime" recommendations. As the article notes, whose lifetime?
