Land Rover Discovery 3 - uto Gearbox Servicing

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Wed 15 Oct 2014 10:42
Land Rover Discovery 3 - uto Gearbox Servicing - MikeWynne

Hi,

I have a late 2008 Disco 3 with around 80k. Next year it will get the 7 year service - belts etc. The car is used well, often all 7 seats, and I need to keep that capacity for around another 2 years or so.

Should I look at getting the auto gearbox serviced by a specialist? Nothing is giving me any concern right now but I hear conflicting advice. Some folks say leave a working autobox well alone, whereas others will say that proper drain, flush, fill etc can do wonders for longevity as you approach the 100k mark.

Advice welcome!

Thanks

Mike

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Wed 15 Oct 2014 12:10
Land Rover Discovery 3 - uto Gearbox Servicing - Railroad.
Personally I would leave it well alone. Automatic transmission units can be finicky, and by messing around with it even with good intention could present you with problems that you'd never anticipate. The basic rule is if it ain't broke don't fix it.
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Thu 16 Oct 2014 20:56
Land Rover Discovery 3 - uto Gearbox Servicing - gordonbennet

I'm quite the opposite, transmission oil as with any oil degrades over time due to the work it has to do, i have never failed to notice the improved gearchanges after an oil change, 40k for me with 60k absolute maximum.

I used to carry lots of new midlands built high end vehicles, destined for all over the world, always made me smile when i saw the sticker under the auto box informing mechanics that the transmission was sealed for life...how American mechnaics in particular must have chortled, i wonder if they peel those stickers off every transmission they replace the oil in, and stick them onto their tool chests, fighter pilot ''kill'' style?

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Fri 17 Oct 2014 09:23
Land Rover Discovery 3 - uto Gearbox Servicing - Railroad.
In theory I would totally agree with that, but as is often the case with motor cars the theory is often very different from the reality. I remember once when I worked in a Vauxhall dealership many years ago an elderly customer insisted against our advice that we change his transmission oil and suction screen filter on a Cavalier automatic. We did as he asked and drained the oil, removed the sump, replaced the filter, replaced the sump with a new gasket and refilled with the correct transmission fluid. Everything seemed to go perfectly smoothly and we were not expecting any problems. But we were wrong. I cannot tell you how much trouble we had with it or the number of times the car came back. The customer sold it in the end.

Edited by Railroad. on 17/10/2014 at 09:24

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Fri 17 Oct 2014 12:09
Land Rover Discovery 3 - Auto Gearbox Servicing - Fernando P

My local "member of the fed of auto transmission engineers", with which I have no connection other than being a customer, tells me that the auto transmission oil should be changed (to the extent that it can be) every 50K miles. This works well for me.

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Fri 17 Oct 2014 14:04
Land Rover Discovery 3 - Auto Gearbox Servicing - John F

My local "member of the fed of auto transmission engineers", with which I have no connection other than being a customer, tells me that the auto transmission oil should be changed (to the extent that it can be) every 50K miles. This works well for me.

And no doubt for him,too.

I agree with Railroad - if it works, don't mend it. All my autoboxes have had the manufacturer's recommendation 'sealed for life' and all have worked perfectly for life. I have just seen a poster being advised to spend £300 on changing his fluid every 40,000m. If I had done that on our two old Passats [>400,000m] it would have cost half the actual cost of one of them! If it's an ancient ZF 4HP22 it might last longer on newer better fluid.

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