Hi everyone and a thanks to the experienced posters who have helped me save a lot of money over the past few months ( yes I've only owned my RR HSE 03 a few months and yes I've spent thousands but still I love her) ok. So I bought a 03 RR hse with 118k miles on the clock but she is gorgeous with the upgraded head and tail lights, chrome side bars, chrome quad exhaust and RR sport alloys, anyway... she ran great for a few weeks then I ended up with first spend which was front upper n lower suspension arms, ball joints and tracking rods. Also changed gearbox fluid and filter etc. Everything was fine for another couple of weeks until one day I was close to the curb and turned the steering wheel n heard a pop noise from the front, few minutes and the steering wheel started to get hard and I looked under and found all the fluid on the ground.. after inspection it turned out to be one of the pipes had ruptured (which I thought was odd) but changed the pipe and it is working fine but with a whining noise i cant seem to get rid of no matter how hard i bleed it. Still not my main tragedy, a few weeks later I am driving along when smoke starts rising from under the bonnet so I parked straight away with my heart in my mouth as I thought she might have overheated and because it was a burning smoke not steam. Turned out to be engine oil on the exhaust and lots of it. Through one of the posts here I learned all about the pcv valve and decided to get intimate with my baby.. changed the valve n pipes, cleaned the cyclonic oil separator and put in new spark plugs as well as the cam cover gasket.. must say I enjoyed it although my arms and hands are tore up... now for my tragedy.. poured fresh oil in and crossed my fingers as I started her up. Plume of smoke to be expected, went back to engine bay, purring nicely, opened cooler resevoir and found oil seeping into it.. quickly turned off engine and thought the worst (head gasket) only to learn from here that the main culprit is the oil cooler. I foolishly drove the car to the garage because by the time I got there the coolant had turned to sludge so I'm sure its gonna be hell to flush it after new oil cooler goes in... sorry for the long essay but it means s#%% to me as I said I love her. My million dollar question... if GB oil has gotten into the cooling system does that mean coolant has gotten into the gearbox? Should I inspect the gearbox? Or is it impossible? Thanks anyone for reading and pls put my mind at rest either way.
gold rover
Well-Known Member
Firstly, yep you've posted in the right place. Secondly, the gurus may be in the land of nod. So have a read around, see if you can find anything that helps. If you're lucky a guru or two may sleep walk in. If not I'm sure @Saint.V8 , @holidaychicken , @Henry_b or one of the others will pick up on the thread.
Thanks pal... it's one thing flushing out goo from the coolant system but if the opposite applies and coolant has gotten into gearbox I might have to park her up for a while before I can source a new gearbox
gold rover
Well-Known Member
Worst case scenario, I'll provide the marshmallows
Save me a bag if that's the case and a place beside you at the fire
So it is possible... yet anyone who has posted about the oil cooler failing has never mentioned doing that? It's only said to replace the cooler and flush the system.. never any mention of coolant possibly getting into the gearbox.. another quick question.. it is the transmission cooler that does it right? Or is there a engine oil cooler that can do it too?
RangeRoller dt
Well-Sprung Member
What engine/fuel is it?
Gearbox you can open the filler plug and dip a piece of paper in it, see what it is like. Oil should be clear, maybe a little black but not sludge.
Gearbox you can open the filler plug and dip a piece of paper in it, see what it is like. Oil should be clear, maybe a little black but not sludge.
Shes a petrol 4.4 .... will that be enough to inspect? Meaning a tiny bit of water will discolour the whole amount of oil in the tranny right? If contaminated it will be milky right?
Henry_b
Think outside, no box required.
Yep.. the BMW engine.. I think I read his write up on how to change it but no mention of a failed cooler and if this could lead to coolant in tranny.. I'd really love to know but either way I'll be checking tomoz.. but if it is somehow impossible to happen which I am hoping then I'd love to hear and ill leave the tranny alone
Henry_b
Think outside, no box required.
Nope not really heard of that I'm afraid usually when they fail the transmission overheats very readily.
She never got a chance to as I watched it fail in front of my eyes and saw the first drops of oil enter the coolant resevoir... anyway cheers bud
RangeRoller dt
Well-Sprung Member
Saint is a busy man, he will see this and know what it is.
Too late for me bud but you’ll be okay, just watch this space.
Too late for me bud but you’ll be okay, just watch this space.
It's like a light brown coffee colour.. didnt smell it to be honest as I have sh$% sense of smell.. the coolant is green... green + red tranny oil = brown?? I'm guessing
gold rover
Well-Known Member
Mornin' our 'enry. Thought you might be up and about
Thanks pal.. appreciate your help.. take care n good nightSaint is a busy man, he will see this and know what it is.
Too late for me bud but you’ll be okay, just watch this space.
Henry_b
Think outside, no box required.
ZF5hp24 oil is a straw colour when new..
Brown when dirsty and black when horrible..
I'd also consider the headgasket, not an impossibility with the M62
Henry_b
Think outside, no box required.
Mornin' our 'enry. Thought you might be up and about
Aye im like an owl lol..
How are you
