Freelander 1 ATF fluid after 50,000 miles (133,000 total mileage)

Skinny Mike · Apr 9, 2016

Well, couldn't put it off any longer. The gearbox was playing up, the wife had gone out, and I'd run out of excuses not to do it.
Took the undertray off and went for a drive.
Undid the level plug (5mm allen key),

and one and a half liters of fluid dropped out, ffs, the garage that changed the fluid last time were supposed to know what they were doing

and it looked like this,

oops!!

So went and bought this,

Undid the drain plug (the big bolt 24mm),

And this came out

Three and a half liters of cooked atf fluid

I know it was overdue and its been used for towing, but this stuff has had it.

Its supposed to be this colour,

A picture of where to place the oil catcher,

Cleaned the sump plug up,

Thankfully there were no nasties stuck to it.

Found the fill plug,

Got some tubing and a funnel,

And put three and a half liters back in.
Went for a drive,and what a transformation! went up and down the gears lovely, not perfect yet, but so much better.
Checked the level again and added about 300ml of fluid. Moved it through the gears a few times and a bit dribbled out the level plug, so put the plug back in.
The stuff that came out was still brown, so a couple more oil changes should sort it out and hopefully the auto box will be back behaving itself.

Lastly, a big thank you to @Hippo , who's photo's and write up saved me no end of time and mistakes.
Mike

Rimini-Scott · Apr 9, 2016

I'm waiting for the weather to improve to do mine.

Nodge68 · Apr 9, 2016

I see you are using my favourite fluid. It's brilliant stuff too. Give the transmission a few hundred miles and change it again. I find that 3 gallons of it is enough to do 4 changes. That's enough to get it clean and smelling lovely.
Looking at your old fluid, I'm thinking it only had a partial change last time.
Changing mine is on the to do list. I've got 4 gallons here waiting for the weather and time.

Skinny Mike · Apr 10, 2016

Nodge68 said:
I see you are using my favourite fluid. It's brilliant stuff too. Give the transmission a few hundred miles and change it again. I find that 3 gallons of it is enough to do 4 changes. That's enough to get it clean and smelling lovely.
Looking at your old fluid, I'm thinking it only had a partial change last time.
Changing mine is on the to do list. I've got 4 gallons here waiting for the weather and time.

I use Carlube all the time, engine, diff, ird and now the ATF. Fantastic value for money, and even better when I use my mates trade account

Mike

Skinny Mike · May 8, 2016

Just an update. Done the second of my planned three ATF changes. Looking slightly better, brown/red now instead of black and it doesn't smell burnt either.

Mike

Nodge68 · May 8, 2016

Skinny Mike said:
Just an update. Done the second of my planned three ATF changes. Looking slightly better, brown/red now instead of black and it doesn't smell burnt either.

Mike

Looks better than last time. Next change should see the fluid almost red.

Skinny Mike · May 8, 2016

Nodge68 said:
Looks better than last time. Next change should see the fluid almost red.

It does. And when I did the top up, the stuff that dribbled out was nearly red.
I was that happy I changed the engine oil and filter and had a cuppa.

Mike

pardec · May 8, 2016

I've got mine to change. I have a gallon of the original LR fluid should i use it or get some ATF-U?

Skinny Mike · May 8, 2016

pardec said:
I've got mine to change. I have a gallon of the original LR fluid should i use it or get some ATF-U?

Nothing wrong with the LR stuff, but oil technology has moved on.
I've been really impressed with the atf-u and would recommend it.
The choice is yours.
Mike

pardec · May 8, 2016

I was thinking the same.......moved on a lot from the 90's

Nodge68 · May 8, 2016

pardec said:
I've got mine to change. I have a gallon of the original LR fluid should i use it or get some ATF-U?

ATF-U is miles ahead of the original LR402. LR402 is Texaco 402. It is now an old technology mineral based fluid that degrades faster than modern fluids. Carlube ATF-U is a full synthetic, high spec fluid that is designed to exceed the requirements for much more modern gearboxes. The Jatco box is perfectly happy on ATF-U and being synthetic, will have a longer life then 402.

gstuart · May 10, 2016

Nodge68 said:
ATF-U is miles ahead of the original LR402. LR402 is Texaco 402. It is now an old technology mineral based fluid that degrades faster than modern fluids. Carlube ATF-U is a full synthetic, high spec fluid that is designed to exceed the requirements for much more modern gearboxes. The Jatco box is perfectly happy on ATF-U and being synthetic, will have a longer life then 402.

for the first time last year I used the millers atf and to be honest found it really good, couldn't tell the difference between the lr oil and the millers apart from the price

also done the same as you said and done 3 x changes , as when I first had the hippo the garage done it and when I then learnt from hippos great write up also found the oil jet black

seems as though a lot of garages don't know how to do the jatco gearboxes correctly , with reports of them being over or under filled

not sure how the millers and car lube compare , but as u say oils have moved on over the years , also seeing the lr oem oil is I think around 12 quid per litre , ouch

Skinny Mike · May 10, 2016

Millers oil is top notch and it's from Yorkshire you know

. I use their diesel additive, it's good stuff.
I noticed when I was on the Millers site the other month, they are recommending an annual ATF change.
How things have changed.
Mike

gstuart · May 10, 2016

Skinny Mike said:
Millers oil is top notch and it's from Yorkshire you know . I use their diesel additive, it's good stuff.
I noticed when I was on the Millers site the other month, they are recommending an annual ATF change.
How things have changed.
Mike

I'm very pleased with the results , there was me thinking with it being an overkill doing the atf every year , lol

this was the one they recommended after I rang them , very helpful

http://www.millersoils.co.uk/automotive/tds-automotive.asp?prodsegmentID=435&sector=Car#

Nodge68 · May 10, 2016

It is overkill to change ATF annually. It's designed to last for 50K miles plus, but I doing it more often won't harm the transmission, just your pocket

gstuart · May 10, 2016

Nodge68 said:
It is overkill to change ATF annually. It's designed to last for 50K miles plus, but I doing it more often won't harm the transmission, just your pocket

I do agree with u , but for the sake of 20 quid in comparison to a new gearbox and if the box did go I thought that if I at least try and do as much as I can to prevent it

suprising how much quieter and smoother gear changes it becomes after every oil change

Nodge68 · May 10, 2016

It's worth doing a few changes over a period of time like Mike. The old fluid gets more diluted every change, which I think is better for the transmission than a complete change, straight off. The TCM stores adaptive values so would likely get confused by a sudden, complete fluid refresh. By changing it 50% at a time, it gives the TCM time to adapt slightly to each change so avoiding pore change issues before adaption takes place. New transmission fluid is also a powerful cleaning agent. I think that giving the box a sudden clean could well dislodge a clump of dirt, which could block a valve port or some other orifice, causing issues. So for me, a few partial changes are perfect for the transmission, and spread costs too.

gstuart · May 10, 2016

Nodge68 said:
It is overkill to change ATF annually. It's designed to last for 50K miles plus, but I doing it more often won't harm the transmission, just your pocket

imagine you've already seen this but came across this site a while back and has got excellent pics of the jatco

http://www.deadgooey.co.uk/images/jatco/jatco.htm

gstuart · May 10, 2016

Nodge68 said:
It's worth doing a few changes over a period of time like Mike. The old fluid gets more diluted every change, which I think is better for the transmission than a complete change, straight off. The TCM stores adaptive values so would likely get confused by a sudden, complete fluid refresh. By changing it 50% at a time, it gives the TCM time to adapt slightly to each change so avoiding pore change issues before adaption takes place. New transmission fluid is also a powerful cleaning agent. I think that giving the box a sudden clean could well dislodge a clump of dirt, which could block a valve port or some other orifice, causing issues. So for me, a few partial changes are perfect for the transmission, and spreading too.

thks buddy and know ur right , i do the changes over 2-3 changes at a time , like Mike does , as I remember this came up that it was far better to do a gradual replacement , then leave it to work its way through then do it again

i bought both books in the repair and fault finding on the jatco boxes , a very helpful company , think they were called Sussex transmissions who sell all the parts and do rebuilds .

Skinny Mike · May 11, 2016

Here's one that seems to split opinions.
We put this stuff in a mates discovery with good results

It has no solvents, and has received good reviews, with a few nay sayers slagging it off, but without being able to back their arguments up.
I'm considering using it, as I still have a slip between 3rd and 4th and thought I'd be the Guinea pig to try it out on the next change.
Obviously, I'm open to opinions, so long as they can be backed up!
Mike

Freelander 1 ATF fluid after 50,000 miles (133,000 total mileage)

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