The Immovable Discovery (Transmission or T/Case?) - Land Rover Forums : Land Rover and Range Rover Forum

DiscoveryII · 10-13-2012, 01:05 PM

I have a 2000 Discovery Series 2 with 151,238 miles on it. Yesterday I was driving to work and all was normal, when out of nowhere the vehicle started slowing down while my rpm's remained the same, I thought this was odd so I began pulling to the side of the road. It then gave me two somewhat sluggish jerks, so I immediately threw it in neutral and coasted to the side of the road. I didnt mess with it for fear of damaging it worse. When the tow truck came to tow it up on a flatbed I learned that even with the transmission and t/case in neutral the wheels were completely locked up. So in order to get it rolling I had to remove both driveshafts (which isn't fun when you can't turn them). I am not getting any fault codes, no warning lights are on the dash, and the vehicle will still start and run normally, it just wont engage gears or roll in neutral. At 133,941 the transmission was replaced with a used transmission, oil filter and oil were brand new, the oil in the t/case was drained, flushed and new oil was put in. At 142,386 miles the oil in the transmissidon and t/case were both replaced. I checked the oil in the transmission and it was full, when I drained it it was still red and looked brand new. I cant find a mechanic or dealership that will look at it for me, so I am in need of some serious help. Any ideas??? What do I look for? Should I drop the t/case and tranny and inspect them then, or leave them in place and inspect them?

Disco Mike · 10-14-2012, 06:37 AM

Might want to start the engine and with both drive shafts off, put the tranny in drive and see if both spindles rotate at the t/case.
Then send me your number and lets talk.

DiscoveryII · 10-14-2012, 10:08 PM

Mike, with both driveshafts off nothing would rotate in drive at a normal rpm, and I didnt want to push it to see if it would at a higher rpm. I began disassembling everything to remove both the t/case and transmission and found something odd. My handbrake has absolutely no tensions whatsoever. And I cannot remove the cover on the handbrake drum. It feels like it would when you are trying to remove it when the handbrake is on. I dismantled my center console, and removed the cable from the handbrake all together, and still it feels like the handbrake is still on. Is this possible? Can the handbrake fail to where it goes on and stays on while driving? And if this is my problem, how do I get the drum cover off to find out? I would send you a PM with my number, but I dont know how to send a PM.

Disco Mike · 10-15-2012, 04:45 AM

I should have gone a step further and said with the CDL engaged.

DiscoveryII · 10-17-2012, 12:52 AM

Mike, sorry it took so long to get back to you, work has been hectic. Anyway, I finally got the stupid handbrake drum removed so I could test it out without any added problems. With the handbrake drum completely removed, and both with and without cdl engaged, the car acts the same way. Both front and rear spindles/flanges (whatever the correct terminology) will spin. But they spin sluggishly and only begin to spin once the engine is at a higher rpm than usual. I cant say for 100% sure, but it takes about 1600rpm to spin them in reverse and maybe a little less to spin them in drive. I then hooked up the driveshafts to see what it feels like trying to move. And it feels as if the brake is on when trying to move, or kind of like it is trying to tow an abrams tank. It takes a high rpm and you can actually feel the resistance. I would appreciate any help or advice. I am up for replacing anything I need to. I really need it up and running as right now I am taking my wifes car when she doesnt need it, and when she does she is stuck ferrying me to work.

DiscoveryII · 10-27-2012, 10:14 PM

Okay, so I took the car in on Monday, they said that my transfer case was shot, and that it was only the high gear that was shot and that it could be driven in low range. So, considering I had a transfer case sitting around from a 99 DI, I figured I would just swap them out. So I took the week swapping them out, figuring it would solve all of my problems. I got everything finished today. I checked to make sure both flanges on the transfer case would spin when in gear, and they seemed to work perfectly. I checked both high and low range and with the cdl engaged. Then I put my front driveshaft on and tried to move it, and the car doesnt even attempt to move??? How is that possible? With only the front driveshaft on, the rear flange on the trnasfer case will spin, but it wont move the front with the driveshaft attached. Once the driveshaft is removed, both flanges spin freely... Is this transfer case shot too??? The vehicle it was taken off of ran fine, the engine blew but the transmission and transfer case were fine.... How do I diagnose the problem? Any help would be greatly appreciated...

Disco Mike · 10-28-2012, 05:54 AM

Send me your number and lets talk.

DiscoveryII · 12-01-2012, 02:50 PM

So I ended up figuring out why the car wouldn't move when the driveshafts were hooked up, the emergency brake drum was locking up whenever the rear driveshaft was installed. I wasn't able to figure out why it was doing it. But I did notice that with the rear driveshaft uninstalled it looked as though it was warped, as it would spin off center. So I iagine once the rear driveshaft was installed it compounded this issue and made it lock up. When I removed it completely it ran and drove fine. So I ended up replacing it. It amazes me some of the problems these cars have. It seems like I am always trying to track down one problem or another. And as soon as I fix one problem, another one arises...