Gearbox Fault

[scott schmerge]

SO the mechanic says I need a new transmission and that a fluid / solenoids etc. change wont fix it. I am going to take it back tomorrow morning to him and see about next steps, as well as looking into another opinion to make sure.

The error codes (and what is happening on the road) are telling me that it cant shift between 3rd and 4th and basically skips 5th and then misses 6th and then just isn’t in gear. He wiped the codes completely so when we I take it back we can see what is happening from Saturday (when I took it to him) to Monday. It happened almost immediately - the issues and on my drive to and from Rockaway (12 miles each way).

Just FYI - my independent went MIA last month. Like closed up shop and I cant in touch with him so a friend of mine that is also a rover geek suggested this guy:

Weighing all my options at this point. Including selling the beast and starting over with something a tad newer / lower miles.






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Dang, that sucks. I just replaced my transmission and it was not as expensive as I anticipated. I bought it from carparts.com. It was $650 for the trans and it only had 60k miles on it. The installation was under $1700 and that included fluids, filter, pan, new bridge, and sleeves.

My advice though is to get a second opinion. Find someone that works on ZF transmissions. Like an independent bmw or audi shop. Or ask at the independent where they send their transmission work.

Feel free to pm me if you want to talk it through. I learned a ton through my ordeal.

 

[scott schmerge]

I question that it needs a new trans...I’d at least drain and refill (and give it a good service) to see if fluid has shavings and/or smells burnt. If not, you may be ok.

The risk is, you spend a couple hundred to get a good service, then you end up having to spend $2-3k on a new trans still. If it’s me, I’d explore a good service first, but no use if the fluid tells you different when you drain.

 

[wportervt]

Any updates? Wondering if you figured out what the issue is and if there is a solution other than a new transmission...

 

[nymoto]

Sorry to keep you hanging.
I just literally picked it up yesterday evening. I had the ZF transmission rebuilt. I took it to three different spots to get the general consensus. I had no 4th 5th or 6th gear by the time I limped it to the shop for the rebuild.

By the time I was done with the third shop I had verified with the dealer that it was bought from and did all the work for the previous owner that they had not done any tranny work but they DID replace the engine with a completely new one at 77,000 miles. The shop tech was all like " I remember that truck, no way we would dump a new engine in it, let me check the records, oh wait here it is, at 77,234 miles it cost 26k to put a new engine in it". So with this information verified I decided to keep it and have the tranny rebuilt.

Cost of new tranny - 7k
Cost of installation - 1800
= $8800.00 at an independent shop that deals with Rovers in queens
Closer to 10k at the dealer.

Rebuilt tranny at a shop that has worked on 100's of these transmissions as they are found in BMW, Fords, etc (thank you forum for this info):
$5,000.

SO the current state is I have a truck body with 118k miles on it with a new engine that has 39k miles on it and all the internals of the tranny with 12 miles on it = drives like a dream. I am happy, did I want to spend 5k? No, but I don't have the luxury of time and with the family needing a vehicle daily to bring the kids to surf camp I needed to make a decision and move forward. Funnily enough my loaner for the past 2 weeks while this was happening has been a friend of mines 1997 Defender 90. Its basically a tractor but OMG is it a romantic ride.

I will keep you all updated with anything else, and in a bout 1000 miles I will recommend the shop I went to, not before because I want to test this new tranny out.
I will say that driving it last night home was like a dream. It was so smooth that I wonder how long I had been having problems with the transmission. I plan on keeping this LR4 for another few years as it really is the perfect truck for us and it takes a beating while still providing lux comfort and safety.

Side note if I move out of brooklyn and get a garage I am grabbing a D90. I am hooked on the tractor.

Thanks all for your help here. Seriously.

Cheers,
Adrien

 

[nymoto]

Here is my loaner that I daily drove for the last 2 weeks!! Haha

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[avslash]

Good to hear.

That's the thing about Rovers. When they work, they are fantastic. It's keeping them working that is the trick.

 

[scott schmerge]

Sorry to keep you hanging.
I just literally picked it up yesterday evening. I had the ZF transmission rebuilt. I took it to three different spots to get the general consensus. I had no 4th 5th or 6th gear by the time I limped it to the shop for the rebuild.

By the time I was done with the third shop I had verified with the dealer that it was bought from and did all the work for the previous owner that they had not done any tranny work but they DID replace the engine with a completely new one at 77,000 miles. The shop tech was all like " I remember that truck, no way we would dump a new engine in it, let me check the records, oh wait here it is, at 77,234 miles it cost 26k to put a new engine in it". So with this information verified I decided to keep it and have the tranny rebuilt.

Cost of new tranny - 7k
Cost of installation - 1800
= $8800.00 at an independent shop that deals with Rovers in queens
Closer to 10k at the dealer.

Rebuilt tranny at a shop that has worked on 100's of these transmissions as they are found in BMW, Fords, etc (thank you forum for this info):
$5,000.

SO the current state is I have a truck body with 118k miles on it with a new engine that has 39k miles on it and all the internals of the tranny with 12 miles on it = drives like a dream. I am happy, did I want to spend 5k? No, but I don't have the luxury of time and with the family needing a vehicle daily to bring the kids to surf camp I needed to make a decision and move forward. Funnily enough my loaner for the past 2 weeks while this was happening has been a friend of mines 1997 Defender 90. Its basically a tractor but OMG is it a romantic ride.

I will keep you all updated with anything else, and in a bout 1000 miles I will recommend the shop I went to, not before because I want to test this new tranny out.
I will say that driving it last night home was like a dream. It was so smooth that I wonder how long I had been having problems with the transmission. I plan on keeping this LR4 for another few years as it really is the perfect truck for us and it takes a beating while still providing lux comfort and safety.

Side note if I move out of brooklyn and get a garage I am grabbing a D90. I am hooked on the tractor.

Thanks all for your help here. Seriously.

Cheers,
Adrien

Good to hear Adrien! Glad it worked out for you. I had the trans shop that did mine quote $5k for a rebuild too. Then I bought a used trans with 42k on it for $650 and had them put it in for just over $1000. May be a less expensive route for anyone else on here looking to do the same.

Still $5k to have a virtually new transmission is not bad, especially if they stand behind their work with a warranty. I don’t have that assurance with mine, although it does drive beautifully (and I’ve put enough miles on it to feel assured that it’s not going to fail anytime soon).

 

[nymoto]

Yes, I was trying to go that route with purchasing a used one and having it installed but I did not have the time to source, and have it shipped etc. if I had the time I would have probably done the same.

And yes the warranty on the rebuild hooked me, 2 years or 24k miles. Pretty happy with it.

Thanks again,
AG


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