Autobox oil change-as easy as it says?

[philippe]

Hello,
I have finally got my '87 Range Rover Vogue on the road after a year of repairs and am discovering its quirks and clunks.
I want to change the transmission oil and filter (ZF 4 speed) as it is not as pink as it could be. It does not smell burnt but I have a 1st gear/reverse gear clunk (worse when warm)
The car has 50K miles so may not have ever had its gearbox oil changed in nearly twenty years!
My Haynes manual says 'drain oil, remove sump, change filter bolt back together...etc'
Do I need to remove the chassis member to remove the sump, or can I wriggle it out around the exhaust as well? I have heard horror stories of having to spread the chassis legs etc....
Mr Haynes makes it look easy! Do I need to plan ahead for any surprises?
Many thanks in advance for your suggestions (great forum btw)

[cellulararrest]

50k on an 87? I want it!

[John C]

Originally Posted by philippe

Hello,
I have finally got my '87 Range Rover Vogue on the road after a year of repairs and am discovering its quirks and clunks.
I want to change the transmission oil and filter (ZF 4 speed) as it is not as pink as it could be. It does not smell burnt but I have a 1st gear/reverse gear clunk (worse when warm)
The car has 50K miles so may not have ever had its gearbox oil changed in nearly twenty years!
My Haynes manual says 'drain oil, remove sump, change filter bolt back together...etc'
Do I need to remove the chassis member to remove the sump, or can I wriggle it out around the exhaust as well? I have heard horror stories of having to spread the chassis legs etc....
Mr Haynes makes it look easy! Do I need to plan ahead for any surprises?
Many thanks in advance for your suggestions (great forum btw)

The 87-88 RR has a different x-member than the 89 and up... it sits lower and has more room between the member and the tranny. Most likely you'll be able to remove the oil filter but I'm not sure. Removing the x-meber is a piece of cake if you have a hi-lift jack, just use the jack to spread the frame a bit.

Since you mentioned it's a Vogue and a 4 speed I'm guessing you are in the UK and don't have cats on your exhaust, correct?

[philippe]

The car is cat-free. I live on the French / Swiss border just in France and bought the car via Ebay.ch thinking it was a safe bet because Swiss cars are better looked after due to tighter mandatory vehicle checks
Moral of the story is: Do not stay late at work, do not get upset and try to get revenge if your girlfriend kills your car and be very careful with impulse bidding!
On the positive side, I've certainly improved my welding skills.....and it is easy to make repair sections for 'square cars'.
I'll see if the LR bottle jack works on its side as I believe the X-member will have to come off.
Cheers for the advice

[John C]

Originally Posted by philippe

The car is cat-free. I live on the French / Swiss border just in France and bought the car via Ebay.ch thinking it was a safe bet because Swiss cars are better looked after due to tighter mandatory vehicle checks
Moral of the story is: Do not stay late at work, do not get upset and try to get revenge if your girlfriend kills your car and be very careful with impulse bidding!
On the positive side, I've certainly improved my welding skills.....and it is easy to make repair sections for 'square cars'.
I'll see if the LR bottle jack works on its side as I believe the X-member will have to come off.
Cheers for the advice

You won't be able to use the bottle jack because it's to short and not all bottle jacks work on their side. I have 3 original LR bottle jacks (one from an 88 RR, one from a 95 Disco and one from a 96 Disco) and only one of them works on it's side.

Good luck mon ami!

[scoobymick]

Hi,
I used to remove the bolts and use a copper/hide hammer to slightly rotate and move the cross member forward to give enough room to drop the pan.
Mick

[yieldsign2]

Yup crossmember should be able to be hit with a hammer and moved around enough to eventually come out.
If it's the same as US auto transmissions, your going to need a funnel to fill through the dipstick..

[glenncof]

http://landroversonly.com/forums/sho...N+FLUID+CHANGE

See my suggest on changing transmission fluid. My 1991 RR is at 171K now and running fine.

Philippe, the klunk you hear shifting into first/reverse could be U-joints in drive train.

Also when starting engine let it rev down to idle before shift from neutral.

[philippe]

I recently fitted some polyurethane bushes to the longitudunal axle location arms as the originals were shot. I retorqued them after a few days and my 'clunk' has virtually disappeared.
Could be worth other 'clunk sufferers' checking this out before condemning transfer boxes, gearboxes, propshafts etc.

Thanks for the advice. Cheers, Philippe

[andreH]

Bonjour Philippe,

According to the original shop manual you're in luck, on a 1987 it seems it is a simple bolt off, bolt on operation, no need to spreading the members nor even to remove the chassis member. I attach here two screenshots of the maunal covering the removal and replacement of the pan. If you have more questions please feel free to ask or e-mal me. Je parle le Francais mais utilise l'Anglais ici par courtoisie pour les autres membres (I speak French but use English here out of courtesy for the othe rmembers)

Good Luck, show us some pictures !!

Andre

[AdrianL]

Well, I might be wrong but I thought the car has to be perfectly leveled to get the accurate reading on how much fluid to drain and fill? Also heard that the vehicle has to be operating temp or warm stage to do the fluid drain?

[andreH]

Originally Posted by AdrianL

Well, I might be wrong but I thought the car has to be perfectly leveled to get the accurate reading on how much fluid to drain and fill? Also heard that the vehicle has to be operating temp or warm stage to do the fluid drain?

Hello Adrian,

Indeed, the car has to be level to get the reading BUT, with the Range Rover Classic, COLD to read. It is indeed better to have the oil at operating temperature when draining since the oil flows better. However, auto trans fluid is pretty liquid to start with and the extra amount you drain when hot is neglegible plus it is that much easier to work on when everything is not hot. It really does not matter too much.

Andre

[philippe]

Many thanks André. A head gasket change has taken priority, so will report soon about the autobox oil change. Vive les Ranges! Salutations, Philippe