LR3 Transmission service flush

bentonrover

Observer
Was wondering if anyone state side done this. Seems to be big over seas. My indy quote me near $1k for a drain and fill with a new filter. Half the fluid still in the torque converter? There is a euro shop close by thats willing to do the flush with a machine for $350. Seems like a great price. My truck has 84k on it. This is my fifth rover so saving a dime is also a beautiful thing. Thanks.
 

A.J.M

Explorer
I would strongly recommend getting the oil flushed out and changed.

Mine was done at 126k but by then the old oil had broken down too much and the torque convertor has been damaged.
It has a low speed judder at a light throttle when I want to pick up speed on certain hills. £1500 bill for a new one plus fitting. :(

ZF the box maker suggest 75k for normal use and 50k for heavy towing.
 

bentonrover

Observer
Its funny that other rover sites just change the filter and mix the old and new oils. Just gonna go along with it and get it done. Thanks
 

A.J.M

Explorer
Mine was done by machine, it works like dialisis and draws dirty oil out as it puts new oil in. It takes 12 litres of oil to change over properly.

You could always give it a 2nd flush in 5k time to get most of it out if you wanted.
 

Pathwacker

Observer
I have a gm 4l80e trans I use for camper towing approximately 5000 miles a summer. I cook it on some trips in the 240 to 260f range. I just cleaned the crud in September and reflushed in December. Heavy duty application and needs to monitored when in use.
 

Mertens

New member
Although no experience with land rover, Being a repair shop owner we DO NOT flush transmissions. At least 95% of transmissions we see put on those fancy flush machines will need replaced in a year or two. If you read motor age or other automotive repair media they say it is because the "flush actually stir's sediments leaving debri in valve bodies. There fore it is almost always advised that you do a filter and oil change at regular intervals and do not so the flush.

The reason a shop willing to do the flush wants to charge you top dollar is because they are expecting that transmission to come back with issues and that initial cost is to cover their asses.


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proper4wd

Expedition Leader
Keep in mind any kind of a "flush" is going to do nothing for the dirty filter thats in there. It's quite labor intensive to change the transmission pan/filter on the LR3. $1000 is not out of line if that includes all parts, fluids, and is a firm quote (not going to go up if/when they break exhaust downpipe bolts)
 

no-pistons

Adventurer
Keep in mind any kind of a "flush" is going to do nothing for the dirty filter thats in there. It's quite labor intensive to change the transmission pan/filter on the LR3. $1000 is not out of line if that includes all parts, fluids, and is a firm quote (not going to go up if/when they break exhaust downpipe bolts)

Have you seen any LR3 transmissions go bad?


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A.J.M

Explorer
Have you seen any LR3 transmissions go bad?


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3. All around 100-125k.
Failure of 5th gear under power.
Failure and jerk of changes from 1st to 2nd.
Reluctance to change up into 60th at highway speeds.

Mine has occasional 1st to 2nd jerk, and the reluctance to change up to 6th at times.
 

rcharrette

Adventurer
Very timely post as I've been "dealing" with this myself. I have an 08' LR3 with 122K on it. It is running perfectly, no problems at all. I wanted to change the trans oil and filter because we regularly tow a 27' camper weighing close to 6K LBS. I contacted a indy repair shop and got about what I expected from a dealer, $850. So I called the LR dealer and he quotes me $300! I said "to be honest that seem cheap".
He then went onto strongly recommend I leave it alone. In his opinion the transmission was something he regarded as "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". He had 2 primary reasons for this.
1) Some of that "sediment" in there works it's way into the seals. By changing the fluid you can remove some of that and potentially cause a leak.
2) The transmission supposedly "learns" your driving habits. When this service is done the values are reset to that of a brand new trans. This can also cause problems with the older parts.
Soooo, in his opinion servicing a trans that is running fine generally does more harm than good.
I have no idea if the info is valid but that's what he told me!
 

FordGuy1

Adventurer
I don't know a thing about Land Rover, but I do have a lot of experience about trans flushing. We perform over 400 trans flushes a month and service approx 140 cars per day. Two things I can tell you. First, if done correctly, it does nothing more than what your trans does on its own, we are putting new fluid in as the old fluid just pumps its way though the normal cycle, not allowing old fluid to re-enter, big deal, nothing get stirred up any more than when you remove the pan, you just get all new fluid. It works just the same as when you dis-connect you cooler lines and do a flush at home. Depending on the mileage it is nice to get a new filter, not for clogging but many start to come apart and the fibers can cause valve body issues. Second, I can not think of one customer recheck in ten years after flushing a trans, and believe me, they would be back looking to blame someone! Our only issue is the occasional leak from the connection point, normally old o-rings.
 

proper4wd

Expedition Leader
There is no way a dealer is changing the pan/filter for $300. The exhaust needs to be dropped, crossmember removed, engine mounts loosened and engine jacked up. Watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRrBGkv4EvQ

(The fluid itself is over $20 per quart and it takes a lot of quarts)

I personally have not seen a transmission fail but I never really worked on any that were more than 90k miles. (Dealer service)
 

no-pistons

Adventurer
There is no way a dealer is changing the pan/filter for $300. The exhaust needs to be dropped, crossmember removed, engine mounts loosened and engine jacked up. Watch this video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mRrBGkv4EvQ

(The fluid itself is over $20 per quart and it takes a lot of quarts)

I personally have not seen a transmission fail but I never really worked on any that were more than 90k miles. (Dealer service)

Mine was dead at 65K. Must be lucky I guess.


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proper4wd

Expedition Leader
I did see quite a few failed front and rear differentials and even a few transfer cases in the 75-90k range. The transfer case only holds like 1.5 quarts of oil... and the front diff is less than 1 quart. Check your fluids regularly!
 

no-pistons

Adventurer
I did see quite a few failed front and rear differentials and even a few transfer cases in the 75-90k range. The transfer case only holds like 1.5 quarts of oil... and the front diff is less than 1 quart. Check your fluids regularly!

Yes sir, I agree with that!

I picked up my LR3 about a year ago with approximately 57k miles. I changed the front and rear diff oil right away. The oil came out very dark and disgusting looking, with about about 1/2" thick of shavings on the magnets.

Now approximately 9k miles later I decide to change it again to see what's going on with the oil. The oil AGAIN came out dark and disgusting, with about 3/16" thick of shavings.
 

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