food for thought - 5W-30 vis 5W-40 engine oil

**DiscoDB** · 19th April 2022, 12:34 PM

Originally Posted by 101RRS

Not arguing anything or trying to have anything both ways other than to dispute this old wives tale that LR claims the gearbox is sealed for life when they make no such claims - it is in the service schedule.

I guess proof you shouldn’t believe everything you read on social media. LR did propagate this claim.

The D3 owners hand book did state the gearbox is “Filled for life”. The factory service schedule then clarified that “life” meant every 240,000kms which - coincidently - is probably the life you can expect if you never service the gearbox properly. This is the equivalent of a politician saying they “misspoke”.

BMW also claimed the same with the same gearbox, even going so far as to put a sticker on the gearbox saying this as well. At the time this was all about reducing the perception of the high servicing costs for these vehicles by claiming the gearbox was filled for life (and hence not included in the servicing costs when leased from new).

It was ZF that confirmed that the gearbox oil should be changed every 80-120,000kms.

So yes - don’t believe everything LR says you should do, and do listen to the experts on AULRO.

For warm to hot climates - I definitely believe LR got the engine oil spec wrong - as it was based on improving fuel economy at the expense of bearing life. It was the same reason for why they claimed the transmission was filled for life - to make small improvements in the running costs (in the first 5-10 years).

I prefer to follow Citreon’s recommendation to use 5w-40 B3 or B4 oil, which also suits that worn engines can benefit from slightly thicker oil. Citroen only recommend 5w-30 B5 oil for cold climates.

**DiscoDB** · 19th April 2022, 01:06 PM

The latest LR Time video just confirmed that Christian made a mistake using the FAI aftermarket oil pump. His own testing when rebuilding Fabian’s 2.7 last year showed this pump performed not much better than the worn original oil pump he previously removed from Vera’s D3.

The fact that a new aftermarket oil pump is not achieving minimum oil pressure using the LR spec oil shows why you must use a genuine Ford pump. Plus why it is also good to increase the oil viscosity to 5w-40 on a worn engine.

**101RRS** · 19th April 2022, 03:40 PM

Originally Posted by DiscoDB

The D3 owners hand book did state the gearbox is “Filled for life”. The factory service schedule then clarified that “life” meant every 240,000kms

My handbook does not say anything about sealed for life and the factory service schedule does not clarify anything - it simply states the service interval with a reduction in the interval for "arduous" use which they give examples. Same for the workshop manual.

**trout1105** · 19th April 2022, 04:00 PM

Originally Posted by 101RRS

My handbook does not say anything about sealed for life and the factory service schedule does not clarify anything - it simply states the service interval with a reduction in the interval for "arduous" use which they give examples. Same for the workshop manual.

So what is the service interval for "arduous use" according to the JLR scripture?
250 thousand K's service interval is just a sales pitch even for a Tourak tourer let alone a 4WD or tow tug.
It is little wonder why used discos have little resale value when they have been driven into the ground without a decent service regime.

**PeterOZ** · 19th April 2022, 04:30 PM

Originally Posted by 101RRS

I can find full syn 5W30 everywhere.

not to the ACEA grade required.

ACEA A3/B3 ...

**101RRS** · 19th April 2022, 04:59 PM

Originally Posted by PeterOZ

not to the ACEA grade required.

ACEA A3/B3 ...

And you can get it in 5w-40??

**DiscoDB** · 19th April 2022, 05:17 PM

Originally Posted by 101RRS

My handbook does not say anything about sealed for life and the factory service schedule does not clarify anything - it simply states the service interval with a reduction in the interval for "arduous" use which they give examples. Same for the workshop manual.

Clearly you don’t own a D3. From the maintenance section of the D3 owners handbook:

**DiscoDB** · 19th April 2022, 06:21 PM

Christian actually makes an incorrect statement when he says B5 oil should not be used because this was not around when the 2.7TDV6 was designed.

The actual spec at the time was Ford Spec WSS-M2C913-B which called for A1/B1 which is a low HTHS shear oil. This spec was then made obsolete and replaced by A5/B5 which has the same HTHS properties as A1/B1. Ford also superseded 913B with 913C which changes from A1/B1 to A5/B5 and claim this to be backward compatible with 913B.

That is Ford has always specified the low HTHS oil for this engine - but PSA and even LR have not been as strict on this.

In fact the D3 owners manual does make a very clear statement that if you can not get the Ford spec oil, you must use an oil meeting the A3/B3 spec (that is they don’t call for A1/B1 as the fall back). So should be no concern with using A3/B3 (or even A3/B4 which is also compatible with A3/B3).

The only real debate is 5w-30 vs 5w-40 which is a question of the intended operating temperature range, and how much bearing clearance you now have.

**Gravy** · 19th April 2022, 06:40 PM

Probably this has no credibility however I will throw it out there.

I am new to D4 TD6 ownership purchasing a vehicle with 120K on the clock with little documented service history.

The vehicle came with many issues one being a leaking oil cooler. After cooler replacement I exchanged the engine oil using Penrite Synthetic 5W-40 because I had it to hand from a Volvo XC60 I traded to buy the Disco.

Because I am shortly going to the Mainland towing a caravan I exchanged the engine oil although it had only been in the vehicle for 3000Ks.

I used Penrite Synthetic 5W-30 for the oil change. I am observing the vehicle appears to run smoother and start easier since I have done this. We are not into a Tassie winter yet but its approaching swiftly with morning temperatures as low as 4 degrees.

Maybe all a case of imagination running wild, but this is the oil grade LR recommends.

**Jpdv** · 19th April 2022, 07:30 PM

OK, DiscoD8 has nailed it. It's definitely not an old wive's tale... Neither for the 6 speed in the D3, or the 8 speed in the later D4s. Here's the page from the D4 workshop manual:

Screen Shot 2022-04-19 at 8.18.55 pm.jpg

First sentence under 'description'... "Normal maintenance: Filled for Life".

On the next page:

Screen Shot 2022-04-19 at 8.27.09 pm.jpg

So , whilst we can all split hairs about normal maint etc, the truth is that:

a) LR have indeed stated, both to the customer and to the workshop/dealer, that the ZF auto transmissions are filled for life, for both D3 and D4 models.

b) Accordingly, one can reasonably decide to check whether other LR recommended practices, such as selection of grade of oil, are correct - and they may not be...

The best we can all do is make as informed a decision as possible, based on as much information as we can establish to be fact, not opinion - which is where great forums and frank discussion like this are brilliant.

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