Thread: 300tdi auto wont change when cold

Originally Posted by B92 8NW

Compared to my cable that sounds awfully tight. My kickdown cable has about 5mm free play in it whilst the throttle plate is at idle position, and it's connected to hole number 1.

Unless its chronically low, I'd have thought small differences in the fluid level wouldn't have caused it to slip in and out of gear. Sounds like all that crap inside was what was providing drive. Now that its been removed the forward clutch is probably metal on metal and slipping to buggery.

Well if yours has free play then yours is not adjusted correctly

It has to be under tension, no question as it will cause damage to the box eventually due to low line pressure.

If you dont believe me, look in your RAVE, or any service manual or ask JC or any of the other LR mechs.

Originally Posted by jeep_boy

you sound abut right coz i know it normally dont like reverse up our driveway unless i give it a boot at the bottom but it just didnt seem to wana go up ended up putting it in low range, but should i be having these problems at 130k, whats it worth to exchange for a second hand box

130k doesnt mean it will be any good, there are dozens of reasons why the trans may have failed early, No servicing, heavy towing, high temps, oil contamination lack of line pressure etc etc.

I would get a professional opinion on it before pulling the box as it may be a valve body or govner issue which can be sorted with it in.

I have seen second hand ones for as low as $600 on Ebay but there is no guarentee of their quality and anything up to about $3000 for a change over from A&B which is basically a new trans in the old case fully tested and guarenteed or anything in between to have a normal auto shop do it or more than $3k for a moded up one with 3rd lock up, 4hp24 mods for added strength, sprag mods so you dont chew out a sprag and the list goes on.

mmm my biggest issue right now is getting the fluid level right might get the missus to hold it still maybe the vibrations are making it go high and its low and thats why its playing up,

why does the car have to be running to check it

with the car both off and on it is reading an inch above full, so ill drain some a bit out and check it and keep draining small amounts till it sits level

It needs to be running so that all the nessesary componants are full of oil such as the Torque converter and pump, clutch servos etc etc and still have an adaquate amount of oil in reserve for flushing and cooling.

You cant just mark a spot on the dipstick and check when cold as some componants wont always drain down, it depends on what part of their cycle they are in when stopped (I think.....something along those lines).

If you can just wind up the idle to a nice steady 800Rpm or something like that and it should be nice and smooth, if it Idles lower than that then you probably want to bump it up anyway and if it's still a bit rough then there may be other issues.

Just thinking that if the pump relief valve was sticking open it might play havock with the level and the internal pressures in the box as it would grab prime and lose it again inconsistantly more at low revs.

Again though, it's a bit grabbing at straws, a pressure test would help a lot in diagnosing this problem.

Dont stress too much about the oil level being a bit high, better to have a bit too much than not enough.

The oil level (as long as you put as much or a bit more than what came out) should be fine and wont make any difference to how the trans changes so start looking at other possabilities and treat the fluctuating oil level as a symptom not so much a cause.

well some good news, dropped some fluid out, took it for a beatin drove it like i hate it, still wont change when cold, but once it warmed up still kept jumping at 2rpm but after about 10ks it drove like a dream i wanted to give it a pat good lil disco, so were back together now its love again

just took it for anathor drive and got home went to put it in reverse and nothing, went to put it in drive and now now i got nothing its like the selector cable broke

left it for five went back still woulden go in but went into park, put it in drive gave it a few revs and it kicked into gear at 2krpm drove it bck down the driveway and its working fine now, any ideas what it could be checked the fluid and while its warm its now reading half way beetween the dots

I would guess that the rubber O ring between the valve body and the filter has fallen to one side during installation and is not sealing properly. (The larger diameter one in the kit) This will give the same symptoms as low or no fluid, and will allow the fluid from the pump and converter to drain back to the sump after turning off, and will have to refill the converter etc before any drive happens again. Also, it will hop out of gear etc up hills as the pressure will be way too low with that sort of air leak. I would be dropping the sump and filter again and checking this O ring. If you continue driving it like this it will strip more clutch material off the packs due to low pressures.
I re read the posts and also noticed you said you had very little difference in oil level when engine was on or off. This is almost certainly due to that O ring leaking.

JC