D3 Tranny service

[Ean Austral]

Gday All,

Well now that im a landlubber, I can do some jobs on the D3, so am about to order the steel transmission pan kit and oil.

I haven't had any signs of trouble and with 68000 on the clock plan to just drop the oil, change the pan and filter and refill, so my question is..

Does anyone know how much oil I should have on hand, was thinking 6 ltrs, but am in 2 minds about getting enough to fill the whole system just in case.

Hoping that someone may have done this and can enlighten me on the amount I may need..its abit expensive to have it laying around if its not going to get used for a while.

Many thanks

Cheers Ean

[Mike_S]

Out of interest, where are you getting the steel pan & filter from ?

I wandered into Ritters yesterday for a chat about them that's all. They wanted about $440 for it, has a sticker on the pan saying it's for a BMW (X5 the chap said) but I'm sure I read somewhere on here that there's a aftermarket supplier who makes their own kit. My search skills aren't finding it though...

[Ean Austral]

Out of interest, where are you getting the steel pan & filter from ?

I wandered into Ritters yesterday for a chat about them that's all. They wanted about $440 for it, has a sticker on the pan saying it's for a BMW (X5 the chap said) but I'm sure I read somewhere on here that there's a aftermarket supplier who makes their own kit. My search skills aren't finding it though...

Gday Mike,

Ebay, type in automatic transmission.

There are several kits but 1 is for the range rover with the ZF6hp26 6 sp auto and the steel pan replacement kit..$326.00 or within a couple of $$$ just cant remember.. Furious 8 is the seller.
They had the same kit for the ford territory and was about $20 cheaper, but I see 1 plug is missing from that kit.

Hope you could understand my rambling.

Cheers Ean

[101RRS]

Out of interest, where are you getting the steel pan & filter from ?

I wandered into Ritters yesterday for a chat about them that's all. They wanted about $440 for it, has a sticker on the pan saying it's for a BMW (X5 the chap said) but I'm sure I read somewhere on here that there's a aftermarket supplier who makes their own kit. My search skills aren't finding it though...

Try these

ZF 6 Speed Automatic Range Rover ZF6HP26 Steel Sump Conversion Service Kit | eBay (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ZF-6-Speed-Automatic-Range-Rover-ZF6HP26-Steel-Sump-Conversion-Service-Kit-/140611155008?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item20bd13f440)


eBay Australia: Buy new & used fashion, electronics & home d (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/ZF-6HP26-6-Speed-Automatic-Transmission-Steel-Sump-Conversion-Service-kit-/150660526588?pt=AU_Car_Parts_Accessories&hash=item23141131fc)

Garry

[Nomad9]

Hi Ean,
I got my steel pan from A & B Transmissions in Dandenong, they were very helpful, I can't remember how much, it was around the prices already mentioned. The Shell lifeguard 6 oil isn't cheap............ I bought 20 litres, worked out a bit cheaper in the longer term.

[jonesy63]

They had the same kit for the ford territory and was about $20 cheaper, but I see 1 plug is missing from that kit.

FWIW, the latest model Territory with the 2.7L turbo diesel, has the 6R80 gearbox. Only earlier model (Barra engined) Territory's had the ZF6HP26 box.

[Mike_S]

Hi Ean,
I got my steel pan from A & B Transmissions in Dandenong, they were very helpful, I can't remember how much, it was around the prices already mentioned. The Shell lifeguard 6 oil isn't cheap............ I bought 20 litres, worked out a bit cheaper in the longer term.

That's it, knew I'd read of someone else doing the kit. A&B are only a few miles from where I live, I'll give them a call.

[dangermousehouse]

Save yourself the hassle and get it all from A & B transmissions.

I went through the same last leave, phoned various dealers etc etc deliberated here and procrastinated there.

I changed the filter and used about 5 or 6 litres, I think. I bought 10 so I have enough for just a drain and refill next time.

I already had the tin sump, so it was fairly straight forward.

Top tip from A & B was to fill the sump, run the engine, go through the gears a number of times and with the selector in drive continue filling the sump until it dribbles from the plug. (Obviously need 2 people here).

[Nomad9]

Hi guys,
Temperature is the critical bit, I did the initial fill on mine and took the car for a drive, checked the temp and found the gearbox was slightly overfilled. I checked the temp of the pan with an infra red gun to make sure. The temperature of the oil must be between 30 to 50 degrees C to get the level right.

Start the engine. Move the selector lever from 'P' through all gear positions, pausing in each gear position for 2-3 seconds and return to the 'P' position.

That sentence is straight out of the manual.

Easy and not complicated. Snapping off the filter tube inside the transmission and then fishing out the old bit saves disassembling anything really. By the book you should let the RH engine mounting go to get the old filter out.

Have fun.

[jonesy63]

You can read the PDF manual from ZF at the following link - from page 5 on.

http://www.zf.com/na/content/media/united_states/corporate_replacement_parts_1/service_portfolio/passenger_cars/6HP26-28_Catalog.pdf

[vbrab]

Looks like I have to consider doing my own trans service/oil change on a D3. Nearest service is over 1600k's away, and negative comments about any service option in between.
Is any trans service kit better than any other?
Does anybody know of an idiots guide to doing that change (step by step) as far as removal of original pan (I believe you have to jack up motor) and how much oil I will need to re-fill.
thanks, vbrab

[Nomad9]

Hi vbrab,
If you go for the steel pan option you don't need to jack anything up or do any other major disassembly of other parts. If you go for the steel pan option and buy from A & B Transmissions in Dandenong they supply a fitting procedure with the parts. I did find that having a set of allen key shaped torx spanners helped a lot, the screws around the cross member are quite tricky to get at with a normal torx tool.
I think I used about eight litres to do the job, maybe less I have got some left over. A & B do do mail order and they are quite efficient. The job is relatively easy, you have to give the old pan a sharp tug or push in both the North and South directions to break of the filter tube going into the gearbox. The new steel pan comes with a new set of bolts because the old ones from the plastic pan are to long.
Hope some of this helps. By the way when you drain the oil out of the old pan if you can leave the pan to drain overnight it saves those annoying drips of oil landing on you when you take the old pan off.

[Mike_S]

The chap in Ritters also made a point over the gasket, it's very thin and in his experience, 2 of every 10 changes they do will result in a leaky gasket after a short test drive. Nothing anyone's done wrong, just differences in the pan & gearbox mating faces. Looking at the gasket & the very narrow raised sealing face on the pan I could see where he was coming from.

[Disco4SE]

Spoke with my LR dealer re: a transmission service. He advised me not to go with the steel pan as they are prone to leaks.
Be interested to know others opinions.
Cheers, Craig

[Nomad9]

Hi Craig,
I've fitted the steel pan, fitted the gasket and a light smear of the Toyota black sealant, so far no leaks of any sort. I know it is a Toyota product and it is about $40 a tube but it works and it works well. I've been using this stuff now for years and never had a leak of any sort, it was recommended to me by what I regarded as a great mechanic. "Oh what a feeling".
When you use the Toyota sealant if you decide to go with it there are some pretty strict assembly instructions, in three languages no less. It is the only sealant I've used that has been able to seal the cover on the D1 tranny case, thats gotta be good!!

[Disco4SE]

Sounds like you are doing it properly Nomad9. Apparently most don't according to the service manager at my LR dealer. He sees so many leaky ones.
Cheers, Craig

[sniegy]

Originally when the Transmission service kits were made there was no mention/need of using a small amount of sealant of the transmission gasket, but after fitting many kits we were finding that some not all would leak after the R/T.
We have spoken to A&B & they now suggest a small amount of sealant to be used in conjunction when fitting the kit.

Cheers

[vbrab]

I'm planning on doing my own D3 trans service (no other near option), and had abit of info that when replacing the "mechtronic" plug seal that it is necessary to remove an electrical plug on the outside of the box.
What i have been told is that it is VERY important that you do not "bridge" any of the exposed terminals with your fingers (or anything else), as they are charged with static and bridging can damage the electronics and then interfere with how the trans runs after that.
I have not heard of this issue before and I don't know the accuracy of it, but I'm going to be very careful when I change that plug seal.
vbrab

[Ean Austral]

I am ordering my kit tommorrow and ordering the plug, haven't heard of this issue so will just be careful..


Cheers Ean