Thread: D3 transmission oil change Interval and results

Thanks Tote

I'm a firm believer that replacing the fluid at 48,000 or 50,000k is the go for a longer service life too.

I had my oil tested on my Touareg with the ZF 6 speed at 120000.
The oils test confirmed condition of oil and no need to replace. It has done a lot of heavy towing.
VW tried to talk me out of having the oil changed stating it was not necessary based on the lab results.
Anyway, I still forked out to have it done as it made me feel better after reading advice on here.
Just wondering if oil tests are worthwhile ?
I plan to have my Disco changed at 80000 with a steel pan added.....it tows the same heavy weight, but has not towed as much as my Touareg.
Brett....

Oh course Tote you have only replaced about a 1/3rd of the oil in the system. I would be tempted to do a total of three changes, 1000km apart to minimise the amount of old oil still in the system.

The alternative would be to drain all the old oil out via the cooler pipes and pump new oil in but that is harder to do.

Cheers

garry

I am approaching 55000 on my 2012 D4 and I will be changing the gearbox oil at about 70000 as most of my mileage is country miles. I will also get the full flush as well.
There are too many horror stories about these boxes. I feel basically that as the torque converter locks in every gear, it is the lining from the clutch faces which tend to do the damage to the very fine orifi in the mechatronic unit and it goes down hill from there.
That being said it is the most enjoyable and smooth auto I have driven.

My D4 travels mostly country kms with the torque converter locked in top gear so by my reckoning the oil's condition should not deteriorate quickly. I normally upshift manually with reduced throttle as soon as the engine will pull the next gear so the clutches should be getting an easy life. The oil was assessed by the dealer at 90K as being like new but now with 120K I hope to fit the steel sump and do a full oil change-over within about the next 10K. However the kit and oil has been in the shed since February so I'm not making any promises to the gearbox.

My local LR specialist (independant) tells me that my 2005 D3 needs to have a transmission service done for $900.

When I rang a LR dealer in Brisbane they said the D3's don't need that as they are sealed for life, it was only the D1 and D2 that needed regular servicing.

My D3 has travelled about 156,000 kms.

I'm confused!!!

Well you LR Dealer does not know what they are talking about - the standard LR service interval in their documents is 240,000km or 10 years BUT in arduous conditions it needs to be done sooner. Arduous means towing, urban stop start driving, high speed, almost anything.

ZF, the makers of the gearbox seem to think about 80 -90,000km is the distance before serviceing.

Practical experience based on user information on forums like this seems to indicate even less.

Get the work done. My car has just done 80,000km and I will be getting it done at 84,000km.

Garry

Just serviced and added a steel pan kit to a RRS today, 87,000km and definitely due. This vehicle has done a small amount of towing, and lots of city work, it is also chipped .

I advise to change the oil and filter/ modified steel pan kit at 80 to 90k at the most. Less if towing big stuff.

JC