www.Defender50th.co.uk

[njjbailey]

Chaps - has anyone done a gearbox oil filter/magnet change? Can you get to the filter without dropping the exhaust? What about the cross member? ..is there enough room to manoeuvre it? Any advice much appreciated Cheers, Nick

[Romadog2004]

There is a good video on You Tube on doing gearbox filter change, helped me a lot before I did mine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YKCEW9hFbh0

You need to move the crossmember and exhaust as shown in the video. Whole job is then simple.

However when I last did it my sump plug broke when refitting due to dodgy thread, so it all had to come apart again to change the sump as typically the thread tap in my set wasnt the right pitch !!
So replacing the plug as it is a hollow bolt and therefore delicate, would be beneficial.

[njjbailey]

Thx for this - really useful

[What puddle?]

Jesus, there's some poor design there! Two different-length bolts (out of three) on the filter, a cross member way too close, and a gasket that doesn't sit in a groove (that amazingly didn't pop out - I've had that so many times!). Poor bloke even had to disconnect the front drive shaft. Such is engineering design. Sometimes, you just want the bloke who designed it right there with you, so that you can shake him warmly by the throat.
_________________
Barry
ex-GB292
ex-GB213
Defender-less - but big plans!

[Romadog2004]

You must remember the Defender wasnt designed to have auto box. It was just utilising parts from discovery. If you think that is bad design you need to work on an L322 Range Rover !!

[Captainbeaky]

The poor design you mention isn't Landrover - it's the ZF 4HP transmission - they are all like that...

I didn't watch the video all the way through, so I don't know if the mechanic commented on the cleanliness required when working on auto transmissions.

But I did notice that he had dirty hands when he was reassembling the pickup to the oil pan, and he appeared to use a "shop rag" when he cleaned the pick up pipe. Also, the surface he had the filter on seemed to have dirt from the underside of the vehicle on it...

I've worked on a lot of autos, and cleanliness is paramount.
The clearances are so fine ( especially in the valve bodies) , that a human hair can cause problems.

Once you have dropped the sump and taken out the filter, clean all the parts down with carb cleaner and lint free cloths.
Then clean your hands ( I use nitrile gloves, and put on a clean pair) before reassembling anything.

Make 100% sure that everything is clean going back together.
( for example, only unpack the service kit just before you need it, to minimise the chance of any foreign matter going into it).

And make sure that no dirt is introduced when you refill the transmission too - if you use a funnel, make 100% sure it is clean.

And of course, use the reccomended ATF - Dex 3 from memory I think for the 4HP.
_________________
Proprietor of Paradise Engineering in Madeira.
Owner of GB386 50th Defender v8 - being rebuilt.

2013 Honda NC700X
2005 Honda XR250R
2007 Smart ForTwo Turbo.
2010 VW Transporter camper.

[gilmore]

This is all really interesting.
What’s the recommended service interval on this job? Anyone know?
Thanks
Rob
_________________
Defender 50th Anniversary Edition GB236
Mercedes ML350CDI Sport
Honda/HM CRE300X Enduro
Yamaha YZ250F MX
Montesa Cota 4RT Repsol trials
Mercedes Sprinter 315CDI LWB

[romanrob]

It's a B service, so every 24k miles/ months. Filter is only once, after 24k miles. On that basis I haven't touched the filter on either the Defender or P38, just the ATF..
If you don't know when the fluid was last done, then put a white pail under the auto box and undo the plug, just let out some of the fluid and see if it's red (good), brown (not so good) or black and smells toasty (overdue). Also some garages may over-fill as they don't know what the levelling procedure is. If you do it yourself you can dip it first after getting to running temperature/ idle to check where the level is(P/N/R/D/3/2/1/ P etc). Then measure how much you remove, and then you have an idea of how much you're looking to replace (depending on whether you were high/ low to start with). Doing it this way you won't get the full volume out - so either you need to go to a specialist for an expensive flush procedure, or refill and recirculate the new ATF by running the vehicle, and then drain/ refill again.

Remember that what you replace is cold - once the level is at the bottom of the stick it's not v much to get to max - the bottom of the dipstick is near horizontal in the tube when fully inserted. It's easy to drop some out again if you over-fill.

When I looked last there was a video on the ZF site too, but they have a 4 post lift etc
_________________
Rob

GB065 - since 2002
RR10 - 50th Range Rover since 2018
Nanocom unlocked for GEMS
Toylander S2A

Formerly a 200TDi CSW, and a Marine blue SIII 2.25 Petrol

[gilmore]

Thanks. Great advice
Cheers
Rob
_________________
Defender 50th Anniversary Edition GB236
Mercedes ML350CDI Sport
Honda/HM CRE300X Enduro
Yamaha YZ250F MX
Montesa Cota 4RT Repsol trials
Mercedes Sprinter 315CDI LWB