Thread: '13 Puma 90 Gearshifting/"clunking"/backlash?

Just drive it more. By the time it's done 100,000kms, it'll still be doing it but you'll hardly notice. You'll still be waving to other Landy owners and thinking to yourself how lucky you are you didn't buy a Toymota that has no character.

Originally Posted by Pickles2

I've searched the Forum, but nothing very recent on this.
Gracie is our first LandRover, & it came to me recently that my gearchanges are not very good.
I'm as gentle as I can be, and sometimes I think I've got it right, next time I think I'm changing the same way, & I get a "clunk" etc.
Seems to be Ok changing down, but changing up, especially getting into 5th or 6th, I'm not doing too well,...I seem to have difficulty matching the engine RPM with roadspeed, thereby creating clunks/backlash etc.
Does anyone have any clues for me?
Pickles.

Give it a little more time after you back off the throttle before you depress the clutch. When the engine starts to drop revs, you will find it easier to both disengage and reengage. Then was the clutch out as you power on. This will prevent the lashing. Good luck
Cheers Billy.

Pickles, my 2010 sounded very similar. I thought I could drive ok until I drove a Defender than all of a sudden all the bangs and clunks in the world. LR said it had a buggered gear box mount, but still made the noises just a to a lesser degree. I asked LR if they could have the back lash looked at in the rear diff, they said all the noises are normal. It wasn't until I changed the diff I discovered my drive line is as quiet as a mouse, and I could drive after all.
Try asking, but for a couple hundred of your own I'd be taking it to a good diff shop and getting the diff backlash looked at.

I'm pretty bad at getting a nice change from 1st to 2nd, and to a lesser degree, 2nd to 3rd.

1st to 2nd I feel like if I rev too hard then the gear change makes me dive forward, and if I change too early it bogs down the engine. But I can't find the sweet spot reliably.

Not so much 2nd to 3rd but I have to do a pause between shifts before it can slide in.

The best place to start is getting the rear diff set up properly by a good diff shop however you will find that the whole driveline contributes to the backlash and unless you replace it all you probably wont get completely rid of it.....

The thing that used to drive me nuts the most is when your off road and put the clutch in under load on a steep hill and hear the chatter travel through the vehicle.

Getting used to the vehicle will help a lot, after a while you will get a good feel for it and the gear changes will be much easier.

I've found the best explanation for SHMBO is your driving a truck not a sports car.
Don't rush the gear change, best way I found is to stop the lever briefly in neutral rather rush straight to the next gear.
This allows the motor to drop it's revs a little and makes it a lot more drivable.
I also use different revs for each change rather than at say 2,000rpm every time.
Ball park from memory(if not in a hurry]...
1->2=@1500
2->3=@1650
3->4=@1800/2000
4->5=@2000/2200
5->6=@2100/2500

Yeah Alien, I'm about in those RPM ranges.
Pickles.

I find I get used to driving the 90 and get the gear changes nice and smooth, then when I jump into the 110 it takes a while to get the right technique for the 110 just as I get it smooth I go back to the 90 and have to start again.

I find slower gear changes help. I tend to drive the 110 slower than the 90 so have less problems overall but it's so tempting in the 90 to try and whip through the gears quicker. Then it reminds me its a Defender with a massive back lash.