Toprulesman
Active Member
- Posts
- 152
- Location
- kettering, Northants.
I will be draining my D2 auto box this weekend, providing we don't get the forecasted torrential rain. I understand that when draining you usually get about 4.5 litres out and need to do the oil change again in a few hundred miles time and that is my plan for my box that I actually replaced with an Ashcroft exchange box in 2012.
Firstly though I would like to explain how I managed to get all of the ATF out in one go!!! Although not for the faint hearted!
We were travelling down one of the French toll roads towing our 4 berth caravan heading towards the South of France; we were about 20 minutes passed Saint Quentin when I started to loose drive on a quite steep hill. Gradually we came to a stand as I pulled onto the hard shoulder.
I had no idea what had gone wrong. Switched it off then restarted her and the engine sounded great! What could it be? Tried 1st and 2nd but still no drive. Couldn't speak a great deal of French so was starting to panic just a little.
Decided to place my warning triangle out in rear of car so put my yellow vest on as required in France and went back and carried out protection (that's a railway term) by placing the triangle down about 50 yards in rear while the other half, who was more fluant in the local lingo, contacted the RAC.
Returning to the Landy I started to understand why we had come to a stand, I could smell the oil from the gear box and looking back along the road could see a trail of shiny wet stuff ending under my disco.
No sooner had I realised what was wrong a blue van stopped behind me and two people who seemed to be speaking double Dutch approached from the van, one handed me my triangle and gestulated that help was coming and sure enough 10 minutes later a recovery truck pulled in front of the disco. The blue van people and the recovery truck man had an animated conversation for a few minutes and I gathered that the comments being made were not too complimentary about me.
Anyway, pretty soon the disco was on the back of the flat bed and the caravan was hooked on the tow hitch of the recovery truck and off we went to who knows where! Suddenly we swerved to the right and out jumps our driver.
Have you ever seen those large metal gates regularly situated along toll roads in France. Well I found out on this day as the driver grabs a massive bunch of keys from the dashboard and opens up the gates, then jumps in pulls us through and then relocks the gates behind us.
We then spend several minutes travelling a along local French roads before we came to another set of large gates where out he jumps and opens the gates through we go and he locks up behind us. We are back on the toll road but heading back the other way!
20 minutes later we arrive into the town of Saint Quentin and turn into a small garage complex. Caravan hooked off and turned within an area about 6 inches longer than the caravan. Then the disco off loaded with many hand signals from the garage propriator. Our recovery truck driver then grabs my hand shaking it vigorously before heading off with his truck into the locale.
I didn't know the French were so good at talking but over the next few hours i saw a different way of life to that I am used to!
Very quickly our garage propriator solved the problem and found that the oil pipe at the oil cooler had come adrift. It was the crimped connector. A jubilee clip later and the pipe was fixed, but now to fill the box with ATF.
Underneath our man goes, Allan key in hand (knowledge of disco's is obvious) before being disturbed by a local. 20 minutes later after much discussion and gestulations and a shake of the hands, off goes the local.
Next along comes a friend of the garage man, on his put put, one of those 49cc bikes and there follows a lot of gestulating and French words I certainly had no opportunity to understand before our man on his put put disappears only to return 20 minutes later with a bag full of ATF oil.
Back under our man goes and fills the box with its life blood before jumping into the driving seat and starting up the engine. Then slowly moving through the different gear positions before disappearing underneath again.
A few French words we're then spouted at me before our man jumps in the seat and off he roars out of the garage, returning a few minutes later gestulating for me to join him in the passenger seat.
Next port of call was the local car wash where our man uses a jet wash to clean all the oil that is covering the passenger side of the disco. Before returning to the garage and hooking up to our caravan before summoning me into the office.
Well, I was astounded by the bill. The RAC picked up the bill for the recovery, and would have paid for a hire car or overnight accommodation. So it was our garage propriators work and oil that I had to pay for and the bill of €99 simply amazed me.
So 6 hours after coming to grief, we were on our way and to make the day even better, we had to rejoin the toll road at Saint Quentin and when we got off the toll the charge was only €3 instead of the €28 it would have been if we had stayed on without being diverted to the lovely town of Saint Quentin.
Firstly though I would like to explain how I managed to get all of the ATF out in one go!!! Although not for the faint hearted!
We were travelling down one of the French toll roads towing our 4 berth caravan heading towards the South of France; we were about 20 minutes passed Saint Quentin when I started to loose drive on a quite steep hill. Gradually we came to a stand as I pulled onto the hard shoulder.
I had no idea what had gone wrong. Switched it off then restarted her and the engine sounded great! What could it be? Tried 1st and 2nd but still no drive. Couldn't speak a great deal of French so was starting to panic just a little.
Decided to place my warning triangle out in rear of car so put my yellow vest on as required in France and went back and carried out protection (that's a railway term) by placing the triangle down about 50 yards in rear while the other half, who was more fluant in the local lingo, contacted the RAC.
Returning to the Landy I started to understand why we had come to a stand, I could smell the oil from the gear box and looking back along the road could see a trail of shiny wet stuff ending under my disco.
No sooner had I realised what was wrong a blue van stopped behind me and two people who seemed to be speaking double Dutch approached from the van, one handed me my triangle and gestulated that help was coming and sure enough 10 minutes later a recovery truck pulled in front of the disco. The blue van people and the recovery truck man had an animated conversation for a few minutes and I gathered that the comments being made were not too complimentary about me.
Anyway, pretty soon the disco was on the back of the flat bed and the caravan was hooked on the tow hitch of the recovery truck and off we went to who knows where! Suddenly we swerved to the right and out jumps our driver.
Have you ever seen those large metal gates regularly situated along toll roads in France. Well I found out on this day as the driver grabs a massive bunch of keys from the dashboard and opens up the gates, then jumps in pulls us through and then relocks the gates behind us.
We then spend several minutes travelling a along local French roads before we came to another set of large gates where out he jumps and opens the gates through we go and he locks up behind us. We are back on the toll road but heading back the other way!
20 minutes later we arrive into the town of Saint Quentin and turn into a small garage complex. Caravan hooked off and turned within an area about 6 inches longer than the caravan. Then the disco off loaded with many hand signals from the garage propriator. Our recovery truck driver then grabs my hand shaking it vigorously before heading off with his truck into the locale.
I didn't know the French were so good at talking but over the next few hours i saw a different way of life to that I am used to!
Very quickly our garage propriator solved the problem and found that the oil pipe at the oil cooler had come adrift. It was the crimped connector. A jubilee clip later and the pipe was fixed, but now to fill the box with ATF.
Underneath our man goes, Allan key in hand (knowledge of disco's is obvious) before being disturbed by a local. 20 minutes later after much discussion and gestulations and a shake of the hands, off goes the local.
Next along comes a friend of the garage man, on his put put, one of those 49cc bikes and there follows a lot of gestulating and French words I certainly had no opportunity to understand before our man on his put put disappears only to return 20 minutes later with a bag full of ATF oil.
Back under our man goes and fills the box with its life blood before jumping into the driving seat and starting up the engine. Then slowly moving through the different gear positions before disappearing underneath again.
A few French words we're then spouted at me before our man jumps in the seat and off he roars out of the garage, returning a few minutes later gestulating for me to join him in the passenger seat.
Next port of call was the local car wash where our man uses a jet wash to clean all the oil that is covering the passenger side of the disco. Before returning to the garage and hooking up to our caravan before summoning me into the office.
Well, I was astounded by the bill. The RAC picked up the bill for the recovery, and would have paid for a hire car or overnight accommodation. So it was our garage propriators work and oil that I had to pay for and the bill of €99 simply amazed me.
So 6 hours after coming to grief, we were on our way and to make the day even better, we had to rejoin the toll road at Saint Quentin and when we got off the toll the charge was only €3 instead of the €28 it would have been if we had stayed on without being diverted to the lovely town of Saint Quentin.
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