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