Thread: Help/advice please - gearbox/transfer case problems

Sounds typical of the clutch not disengaging , why did you have to change the diff was it a failure of some sort ?. Might just be a coincidence that you now have clutch trouble. You did put your foot on the clutch before attempting to select a gear ? I had to ask because you never mentioned it in your report. When my slave was leaking fluid sometimes after sitting for a while I would have to pump the pedal several times quickly ( without bleeding ) to get a firm pedal before getting it into gear without it clashing. I only did this for a few years before fixing it, was a good antitheft feature if someone wanted to play a joke on themselves by trying to steel my rig. Officer they stole my Landy, he says we will give them an hours head start and then make chase .

IF youve still got the assisting valve acummulator thingy between the master and slave, thats likely to be your first problem, turf it (the threads are the same on the valve and the slave just extend the line down from the MC to the slave) rebleed and get back to us.

If that doesnt cure it and you're not loosing fluid your MC is reciculating or not closing the fast fill port reliably.

Changed the diff because the last one blew the bearings around the pinion. Was driving to work when it happened, seemed lack of oil was the cause...Yep, engaged clutch pedal before changing gears, tried pumping it a few times, nothing. Just does not want to go into gear.

Dave - will check tomorrow and see how I get on, thanks for the suggestion. Gotta shut up shop for the night and spend some time with the rest of the family :-)

Just drained the clutch fluid from the bleed screw on the slave cylinder, fluid was clean, but not as much as I was expecting. Looked in the master cylinder and noticed there was some black gunk at the bottom - guessing the seals have gone in either the slave or master. Would this be the cause of my problems not being able to get it into gear - air getting in somewhere through a leak? Have not noticed any clutch fluid leaking and level had stayed the same.

Have found that I can put her into gear with the engine off and without touching the clutch pedal - guessing this means my clutch isn't disengaging? Could a buggered slave cylinder cause this? Have ordered a new slave, hopefully that will fix the problem. Failing that, what else could I be looking at? New clutch? Gearbox problems?

My experience of clutches is that if the slave or Master cylinder has failed and there is dirty fluid in it, then chances are the other end either the slave or master will fail soon thereafter!. So might be worth buying both ends just in case.


One other option that has been mentioned is that the clutch for pivot has punched through the clutch fork. In that case it's a gearbox out job. (But I'd start with the hydraulics first.)

Oh - One thing - again based on 6 hours spent under a defender in a puddle of brake fluid, and lots of swearing, bleeding a land rover clutch can be a complete bastard if you are inexperienced.. (As I am..) If it's not bled properly it won't work and the peddle feels quite floppy and less stiff than normal - is that how yours is? I ended up calling a friend who is a mechanic to bleed it, first the master cylinder then the slave. Then it worked. (I now own a air powered vaccuum bleeder - and cannot wait for the next time I have to bleed a clutch to try it out.)

Originally Posted by BilboBoggles

My experience of clutches is that if the slave or Master cylinder has failed and there is dirty fluid in it, then chances are the other end either the slave or master will fail soon thereafter!. So might be worth buying both ends just in case.


One other option that has been mentioned is that the clutch for pivot has punched through the clutch fork. In that case it's a gearbox out job. (But I'd start with the hydraulics first.)

Oh - One thing - again based on 6 hours spent under a defender in a puddle of brake fluid, and lots of swearing, bleeding a land rover clutch can be a complete bastard if you are inexperienced.. (As I am..) If it's not bled properly it won't work and the peddle feels quite floppy and less stiff than normal - is that how yours is? I ended up calling a friend who is a mechanic to bleed it, first the master cylinder then the slave. Then it worked. (I now own a air powered vaccuum bleeder - and cannot wait for the next time I have to bleed a clutch to try it out.)

Will get a new master cylinder too, I put a new one in about four years ago, and pretty sure there are no problems with it at the moment, but having said that it is probably buggered! Have bought a new clutch fork just in case it is that, hoping not because I don't like the idea of dropping the gearbox, but, if that's what has to be done...


Certainly no expert in bleeding clutches, (have only done it once before when I changed out the master cylinder) and when we bled this yesterday I wasn't entirely convinced that we had bled all the air out of the slave, but had put through easy three times the volume the master cylinder holds, and figured if it does have a leak I will never fully bleed it. (have this problem at work all the time with pumps etc). But the clutch pedal feels the same as it always did, not particularly soft but not rock hard either.


And you are right Bilbo - complete bastard of a job. I keep thinking there has to be an easier way, and keep coming up with the same answer - there is, get someone else to do it. Unfortunately my boys aren't quite old enough for me to get them to do my dirty work. Bugger.