shudder from driveline in disco d2

[disco-bob]

howdy all, i am the proud owner of an auto series2a disco. she has only done 113k klms. she has a shudder in top gear only when asked to accerlerate up an incline. dealer we bought the vehicle from reckons it needs a new gearbox. looking for guidance from anyone whos had the same problem.

thanks bob

[garywinter]

Have the front prop shaft checked out

[disco-bob]

thanks mate, is front prop shaft the same as front drive shaft?

[IanP]

yes it is. I had my front shaft (non-greasable 'standard') joint replaced with a greasable unit and balanced, it cost $210 - well worth it.

Cheers
Ian

[Nankas]

Disco Bob,

When i first got my D2a auto TD5 it would hold top gear on cruise control up a hill, the car would slow and revs drop and it would not drop out of fourth the car would start shuddering quite violently, it felt like something was going to break. Cleaning the MAF sensor with contact cleaner resolved that issue and a number of other issues including inconsistent acceleration. Considering the car is new to you it is well worth your while to clean this sensor as so much of the vehicles performance relies on it. With 115k on the clock if it has not already been done then it will be very dirty.

Regards

[robbotd5]

Sounds like a gearbox/electronic problem to me. Drive shaft uni's would have to be flogged to death to cause this. In top gear only? it has to be in the box.

[disco-bob]

thanks guys, i guess the maf sensor is in the gearbox? is it easy to get to?

[biggin]

thanks guys, i guess the maf sensor is in the gearbox? is it easy to get to?

MAF - mass air flow

Black cylindrical thing situated in plastic duct between air filter and air intake manifold on motor.

[disco-bob]

thanks for everyones input so far, will take a look at maf over the weekend. just wondered if there were any tricks to taking sensor out and cleaning it and the best way to do it? i havent messed about with this sort of thing very much. any advice would be be greatly appreciated.

thhanks bob

[biggin]

From memory, on the V8, it's just clipped in. No tools are required to remove it.:)
I can't imagine the TD5 being any different.
Good luck,
Alan

[disco-bob]

thanks alan, so i just unclip corrugated hose from airfilter?

[Nankas]

Bob,

It is very straight forward the MAF sits directly between the air filter and turbo hose. Release the sensor cable, release the two clips connecting it to the filter box and use a flat screwdriver or 6mm socket to loosen the worm drive on turbo hose slide the MAF out. The sensor is the silver prong hanging in the middle, in particular the two thin foils. Yours may look black thus altering the values that the sensor is sending. spray it with the contact cleaner. Replace and hopefully notice the difference. Be careful not to touch the thin foils as they will break easily.

This is a good start at trying to resolve the problem, i personally can't see that it would be the transmission if it drives normally and tranisitions through the gears ok then my limited experience is that it would be ok

[disco-bob]

bit of an update, havent got round to taking a look at the maf sensor. but the harmonic balancer came off last weekend, smashing the fan and damaging the fan belt. not sure yet if balancer was causing the shudder or let go because of the shudder. any thoughts or comforting words whilst i contemplate the cost of repair would be welcome.

thanks bob:beer:

[Pedro_The_Swift]

didnt you mention "dealer" earlier???

[Pedro_The_Swift]

Not owning a rattler, I'm not sure of airboxes and stuff,,
BUT, in the V8 you have to be VERY carefull of the small plastic hose that comes out of the radiator near the airbox,, can be quite brittle--:eek:

[disco-bob]

i did mention a dealer but we have parted company after he told me the vehicle needed a new gearbox at 105000 klms when they sold me said vehicle 2 yrs ago with 55000klms on it and theyd serviced it exclusively (it didnt add up to me). i got onto another guy who does landrover warranty work mainly on transmissions and its been in his workshop since las sat.

[disco-bob]

got the truck back this morning, 3grand later and the shudder is still there. im at a total loss as to what to do next. do harmonic balancers let go frequently?

[wardy1]

touch wood... my harmonic balancer has never let go (235k now). What did your mechanic say about the vibration? Surely he road tested it before he took your hard earned $3k? Did you ask him to check the MAF while he had it?

[disco-bob]

i recently switched to this mechanic, didnt have any choice re 3k. h/b was completely detached from bottom pulley. my mechanic still not convinced problem is in trans. as a side point, anyone heard of ,or familiar with something referred to as lockout shudder?

thanks bob

[Tombie]

$3k for a harmonic balancer, a fan and a clutch hub????

Things to do before throwing more money.

Lock your CDL if you have one, and drop the front shaft...

Check your engine mounts...

Check rear donut and spigot bush

[wardy1]

Just a quick ad to Tomie's reply.... if you don't have a CDL....THAT will cost you about $1500 and worth every penny if you intend doing any serious off road:)
Apart from that, his advice is probably among the most qualified you'll get here;)

[Tombie]

He has a D2a so he's good to go CDL wise.

[disco-bob]

thanks guys
truck has cdl, and 1st dealer/mechanic(not l/rover factory dealer) said he dropped both front and rear shafts and problem was still there. will get engine mounts,donut and spigot checked early next week.

since fitting of new balancer the shudder only happens between 3 & 4 gears. either when going from 3rd to 4th whilst accelerating with some vigour , or when already in 4th and u come to an incline and i feed in more right foot. rev counter sits in between normal revs in fourth(2500 @ 110) and 3000rpm , which i assume means its not right back in third. not sure any of this makes any sense to anyone.

thanks for all your suggestions so far.

[Hamish71]

Just in case...I suspect you might be chasing the same thing a lot of us TD5 auto owners are, which is a vibration at about 2200-2300 rpm. Its MOST noticeable in top gear, when cruising at just below 100km an hr, but you can get it in every gear, at that rev range.

There is a lot more here:http://www.aulro.com/afvb/discovery-2/100404-ultimate-solution-td5-vibration-knocking.html

Read through that and see if this is what you are describing. If so, welcome to the club....and if you fix it...WE WANT TO KNOW HOW:):o

[disco-bob]

thanks have already gone thru that post twice. i think mine has different symptoms. ive never had any vibration at any revs between 1st,2nd,or 3rd. only between 3rd and 4th.and never happens when vehicle isnt moving. spoke to mechanic in melbourne yesterday, he thinks maybe the lockout clutch is on the way out from how ive described it. will have a think about taking it to melb over the coming week.

[dutchviking]

Any update much appreciated :)

Martin