Thread: Urgent Help-Stuck near Yarragon VIC

Truck on its way, will post details later. Thanks

Hi Gav

Sorry to hear that you have trouble with the new L322. Lets know what the go is

Gary

Hi Gary, thanks for that.

Well, to explain a bit further. For those who don't hang around the L322 forum, I have been looking for one of these beautys for ages, and finally found the one I wanted, and money & goods changed hands on Friday night after work. Drove it home, and everywhere else I could think of that night, then drove it down the the outlaws place on Saturday morning - all good, went like a trooper. The purpose of the trip was to pick up their caravan as I was going to use it next weekend - it is only a small old one, that weighs in at about 700Kg. Struck out from the other side of Sale this morning, and it went like a charm, easily sittling on 100Kph, and I hardly noticed the weight on the back.

Got to Trafalgar no probs, but as I got up to speed again coming out of town, with no warning, - "TRANSMISSION FAIL SAFE MODE" appeared on the dash, and it stayed locked in top gear... uh oh! Managed to nurse it to the weigh bridge between Traf & Yarragon. Once there it lost all drive, although it did work again after everything had cooled down - sort of - I managed to drive it most of the way onto the truck before it died again.

Now, having spent ages researching these vehicles, I knew the trannie could potentially be a weak point, and I have read more stories of woe than I care to recount, so this is one area I checked out very well. The trannie had been rebuilt about 22KKM ago, and serviced 12 months later by the same workshop - (you know who I'm ringing in the morning about this don't you..?)

The checks I did showed nothing up (going into gear quickly from a cold start), and a chat on the phone to a well known LR service centre who had been looking after this car for the last few years didn't ring any alarm bells - they said the car was solid, and the owner had always got anything done to it that was required - it had just had a new fuel pump and compressor fitted at the last service. So based on all that info, I shelled out for it...

Now I have a very nice machine sitting in my mates workshop on his old Ford Trader, after he came to my rescue today, requiring what looks like major transmission work. I thought at some stage, owning one of these may have ment that I would have t do this one day, but I didn't expect it to be on the second day...

Oh well, will see what happens now. A couple of things I need to know now, is what part of the trannie has gone to god (I am thinking the valve body?), I have pulled apart a few trannies in my time, but older stuff many moons ago - Trimatics & Borg Warners, so I understand how the buggers work, but I won't be going near this one... Once I shell out more of my hard earned fixing this, I would expect it to be ok for a while I would hope... Any thought of a good repairer on the North West of Melbourne - Would the guy at Romsey be equipped to do this?

Lastly a couple of thankyou's. First to my Daughter who posted the original thread for me, and the first reply - I don't have a new fangled smart phone with internet on it, so I had to dictate this to her over the phone.

Secondly my mate Mick (A Triton & Patrol owner - how embarassing!) who ended up coming to get me. Originally he said his truck was out of action, as he hadn't used it in ages, and it wouldn't start, but "I'll have a look at it and let you know in half an hour". He rang me back and said he was on his way - turned out he had gone down to SuperCheap - the only place open, and bought 2 new batteries for the trader, and 4 new ratcet straps. He got the Rangie back, and wouldn't take any money for fuel or anything in return - a real mate, and a legend!! - Thanks heaps Mick.

I'll post again when I'm back on the road. Owning a Range Rover sure requires dedication!!!

Cheers - Gav

I watched this thread from when it first appeared but could do nothing to help. Good luck with the car and the trannie workshop. With luck they'll help you out.

Hi Gav

Doesn't sound good.Especialy as it was ment to have been just rebuilt. Warranty???.
What all TD6 owners fear most of all I would say. Please keep us posted as I may be in the same boat one day. Know you will want to get your baby back on the road ASAP. Check your options carefully.
If you end up with another auto I may be interested in your wrecked one.

Gary

Hi Gary - I'll keep you posted. The box is only just out of warranty, but I will be ringing them this morning to see if they want to help out, but I'm not sure I want them touching it again if they can only make it last a year a time.

If I go for a different box, I think I'll hang onto the old one anyway, as having a changeover unit on standby may not be a bad idea, and at the very least, I would want to pull it apart to see what makes it tick

Cheers - Gav