Thread: TD6 reliability gear box

The main issue these boxes suffer is wear to the valve body, caused by a very soft alloy that was used to build it, and Land Rover insisting the gearboxes were 'Sealed for life' so no one bothered to service them - all good for the warranty period, then the dealers don't care.

I will stand corrected if I'm wrong here, but as the valve body wears, it starts to release pressure on the plates in the torque converter. The debris this causes then increases the wear in the valve body, etc, etc until the TC literally disintegrates taking the pump, and everything else with it.

There are modified valve bodies available now, or a better option when rebuilding would be to lash out on a new valve body. These are apparently made from better materials than the originals, so along with a good rebuild, and good maintenance should last a fair time.

Mines going in for a service on the trannie soon, just over a year and 20KKM from its rebuild, so fingers crossed it still looks good in there.

I'm still thinking of sticking a new valve body in it soon, as the rest of the internals should still be in top condition, and if a new valve body now can lengthen its life, then it may be money well spent.

Still haven't got a price on the new valve body yet, so maybe once I have that, it could change my mind...

Oh, and there are members on here that are still driving around on original boxes that have done more than 200KKM but they are in the minority. 150 to 180 KKM seems to be the most common failure time for these.

Remember that these vehicles can be on the market for months before getting an offer, so play hard ball when buying and walk away if your not happy. There will be others. Mine was listed for ages and dropped $7K in 3 months. I then got a further $5K off that. If they won't haggle, give 'em the flick.

Cheers - Gav.

Gav thanks for the feedback I am really keen to get one, if I know I am going to be up for $7k know is the time to haggle with the seller,if I buy it and get a recon gearbox I would definitely go for a stronger box if available I know they do be on the market for a long time and that it self is a good bargain tool.

Thanks Declan

I could look it up for you, but when I had my box rebuilt, I sent it away and had it rebuilt with what I trust is the strongest components available including a new valve block and heavy duty torque converter. The company that rebuilt it said they had done a lot of these boxes, and that this rebuilt one was at least 30% stronger than the original unit, they had had good results too with several customers still going strong with 250k+ on a rebuilt box. Mine was a little more than the $7k that some people have paid, but the company in question have a very good reputation when it comes to these GM boxes..

Originally Posted by Summiitt

I could look it up for you, but when I had my box rebuilt, I sent it away and had it rebuilt with what I trust is the strongest components available including a new valve block and heavy duty torque converter. The company that rebuilt it said they had done a lot of these boxes, and that this rebuilt one was at least 30% stronger than the original unit, they had had good results too with several customers still going strong with 250k+ on a rebuilt box. Mine was a little more than the $7k that some people have paid, but the company in question have a very good reputation when it comes to these GM boxes..

Hi Summiitt, did you get an itemised bill by any chance? Just wondering what a new valve body ran to? Also, who was it that did the box?

Cheers - Gav

What Gav said in post #12 is right, it is wear in the valve body causing a drop in pressure, this in turn allows everything to slip more and create more and more debris and heat, catch 22 it goes.

There are a lot of people stating (including some here) that a rebuild just adds more problems, maybe a substandard rebuild might but that goes with anything – get it done properly including the new valve body made out of better metals. Have a good read of the UK sites, RRPhil is the bloke you are looking for, he knows whats what, heaps of guys don’t.

Do you think fitting a new valve body to a high mileage ( 140 000km) but otherwise working transmission would extend its useful life?

Well thanks for all the feedback lads I have took the plunge and bought the RR HSE 2002, it came up good after my mechanic did a pre-inspection and the guy was happy to negotiate on price so after always wanting one I have one know and all the problems that go with it,first up I am going to change all oils and service it, can anybody tell me which is the best diagnostic tool to get for this 4X4,one very happy RR owner.

Thanks Declan.

Good on you Declan!
There are rules though