eddmco · Jan 18, 2015

Howdy troops. Surprise surprise the snow arrives and the disco dies on me again, every time it snows it breaks down with one problem or another, every year.
This time the auto gearbox on my 53 plate Td 5 failed, has been leaking oil occasionally, usually I top up with a litre or so and it does the job for the next six months.
This time i topped up with a litre a few weeks ago, did the trick, then a few weeks later topped up again, worked for a week then playing up again, so I added Lucas transmission fix this time? ran the best it's ran since I had it, then bang, after a mile or so of perfect driving lost all drive, well nearly all. Pulled into side of the road switched engine off, then attempted restart, wouldn't start, battery seemed to be dead but the battery is fairly new, slipped into limp mode also. Noticed puddle of oil on the road coming from the passenger side of the gearbox with a burning smell from the oil. Didn't want to risk anymore damage so had the RAC tow me home.

My questions are have I caused severe damage to the box by horsing it along the road trying to get to work indicative of the burning smell form the oil?

Did the Lucas transmission fix cause more harm than good?

Will I have to remove the gearbox to repair it? will it be a simple fix of replacing the oil seals? Or something more severe? I would imagine the gearbox is pretty bulletproof and a full seal change and oil change would be enough.

Thanks guys, any information is of great gratitude as always.

eddmco

Bridge of Weir Renfrewshire Scotland.

gemsdad · Jan 18, 2015

eddmco said:
Howdy troops. Surprise surprise the snow arrives and the disco dies on me again, every time it snows it breaks down with one problem or another, every year.
This time the auto gearbox on my 53 plate Td 5 failed, has been leaking oil occasionally, usually I top up with a litre or so and it does the job for the next six months.
This time i topped up with a litre a few weeks ago, did the trick, then a few weeks later topped up again, worked for a week then playing up again, so I added Lucas transmission fix this time? ran the best it's ran since I had it, then bang, after a mile or so of perfect driving lost all drive, well nearly all. Pulled into side of the road switched engine off, then attempted restart, wouldn't start, battery seemed to be dead but the battery is fairly new, slipped into limp mode also. Noticed puddle of oil on the road coming from the passenger side of the gearbox with a burning smell from the oil. Didn't want to risk anymore damage so had the RAC tow me home.

My questions are have I caused severe damage to the box by horsing it along the road trying to get to work indicative of the burning smell form the oil?

Did the Lucas transmission fix cause more harm than good?

Will I have to remove the gearbox to repair it? will it be a simple fix of replacing the oil seals? Or something more severe? I would imagine the gearbox is pretty bulletproof and a full seal change and oil change would be enough.

Could I manage a gearbox removal job on the drive without a ramp, pit etc?

Can anyone offer this service at a decent rate cash in hand?

Thanks guys, any information is of great gratitude as always.

eddmco

Bridge of Weir Renfrewshire Scotland.

Iused that lucas item in my p38 auto box,it cured the problems it had,so i doubt it was that which caused your failure,cannot see how it could,have you ever changed the g/box filter?.

thebiglad · Jan 18, 2015

I had a similar problem with a D2 auto I had a few years ago where it spat out all it's autobox oil on the M1 - losing all drive.

Got it lifted back to my mates and when we checked out underneath (passenger side) one of the oil pipe retaining collars had come undone and allowed all the oil to pish out. Replaced the oil and all was good.

Good luck

Dave

jamesmartin · Jan 18, 2015

you need to find out if lack of oil is causing loss of drive, what colour oil in box is if black box needs rebuild or replacing

eddmco · Jan 18, 2015

Spot on with that diagnosis Biglad !!

That's exactly what's happened, some how the top cooler pipe had came loose, it was only on finger tight, so i can only guess how it managed to loosen itself off. It was a right bugger to get to also.
I think I would have struggled getting a spanner on to it. Ive ordered a new pipe, didn't see any damage to the original, noticed there was no o-ring present though. Oil seems to be a darkish brown rather than black but smells like a coal fire.
I'm hoping to refit the new pipe and top up the box and see how it goes, anyone recommend a good spanner to retighten in such a tight hard to get place?

jamesmartin · Jan 18, 2015

usual practice is to remove mounts and let box tip back on a jack, id change the oil dirty oil doesnt help the box

thebiglad · Jan 18, 2015

+1 on changing the oil.

Re tightening up the oil-pipe nut I just did it with an an adjustable, 1 face at a time (after getting it finger tight of course). Torque setting required according to Rave is 42 N/mtrs so not really very tight.

Dave

dove · Jan 18, 2015

Best to do the gearbox oil filter aswell ,if the oil is that bad.

Orch · Jan 19, 2015

thebiglad said:
I had a similar problem with a D2 auto I had a few years ago where it spat out all it's autobox oil on the M1 - losing all drive.

Got it lifted back to my mates and when we checked out underneath (passenger side) one of the oil pipe retaining collars had come undone and allowed all the oil to pish out. Replaced the oil and all was good.

Good luck

Dave

Same happened to me. New pipe and all good.

eddmco · Feb 8, 2015

Fitted new pipe, refilled gearbox with oil and all is well! Running like a dream, even managed a few overtakes lol! The plan is to run a few hundred miles then drain the box, change the filter then refill.
I did encounter a few problems along the way though!

Firstly I hadn't attached the cooler pipe properly at the oil cooler end, took it a test drive, only a few hundred metres and the oil ****ed out all over the road again, due to the restricted space I hadn't clipped the pipe on properly, one to watch out for.

secondly re tightening at the gearbox end was an absolute nightmare! After endless attempts to catch the thread with my fingers I managed to get it half on, tried with a 3/4 Spanner to tighten the rest from the engine bay, lying on top of the engine and reaching in to the top of the bell housing, I tore away most of the sound deadening material, this helped a bit with more access, bent the spanner to get a bit better fit, but no use, managed to buy a 19mm- 3/8 crowfoot spanner on the end of a wobbly joint and this did the trick!

Was a good test of my patience but got there in the end, so I hope these pointers are useful for someone else who has the same problem.

Thanks for the valuable advice guys, this is why I love landyzone!

eddmco · Feb 8, 2015

Oh and another thing, an excellent tool for refilling the gearbox is a 5 litre weed killer spray bottle ebay £9.99. Just remove the spray nozzle a few pumps and your good to go.

eddmco

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gemsdad

NOT BOTHERED.

thebiglad

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eddmco

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