I did a study of public information available on the ZF 8HP transmission, back in November or so, before I decided to buy the vehicle. There is a YouTube video of a U.S. auto repair school professor showing the parts and doing a tear down. Also, other tear down videos on you tube. The manner in which the transmission fits together and operates is worth ones time - if you like such things.

The impression left on me is that the ZF 8HP is a marvel, unlike any transmission previously -- very compact, very capable -- very scalable to handle higher torques at low incremental cost. Very creative -- and German-engineering impressive (if I may say so without being read the wrong way -- I mean it as a compliment).

It has no manner to change the fluid nor drain it -- it has a sort of "cartridge" I recall which is modular to change the fluid. Personally, I would only let a ZF approved location do the work. My plan is to follow the mfgs. (ZF's) instructions to a T and not deviate from it.

 

Land Rover claimed the ZF 6HP and 8HP in the LR4 had "lifetime" fluid. Then LR4 transmissions started having problems and it was documented that these can be avoided if you change the fluid and integrated pan/filter at 75K miles. Hopefully you can get at the Defender's pan/filter without taking the engine off it's mounts like the LR4. Or someone like AB will make a kit for the Defender with a separate metal pan and separate filter so you can just cut out the original plastic pan/filter combo.

 

There are some differences between the 3.0L you show and the 2.0L P300. I am puzzled as to why (2.0L / 3.0 L):

replace transfer case oil: 63 K miles / 105 K miles
replace rear locking diff oil: 63 K miles / 84K miles

I can only guess it has to do with the the smaller size of the cases for the smaller engine?

In any case, I will be changing my P300 differential oils every 20k miles, as I will be off-road more than most and the locking clutches will be busy.

and engine oil will be changed at 5000 miles max

as a final editorial comment -- this continuing escalation of service mileage is not understandable to me --- and I am pleased to let that "progress" pass me by.

 

I have used Mobil 1 extended performance in NA as well as turbocharged engines. I find that turbocharged whether electric or normal turbocharged runs hotter. I would not go past 15k or better yet 10k miles in between oil changes. I send my oil to black stone and usually there is still extended life in the oil but why risk it?

 

I had noticed the 2 year interval in the manual, which didn't seem right to me. In my Vehicle's Settings, my next service shows as "Not Available". Between the 21k oil change recommended interval and the increased restarts of the engine due to the auto stop/start feature... it just sounds like a recipe for an engine rebuild. I'll stick to the plan that has worked for me across cars/brands:

1) First oil change at 500 miles. I always want an early oil change during the break-in period as parts begin to seat.
2) Oil change with high quality synthetic every 7-7.5k miles.

 

OK, I am rapidly approaching my self-imposed 7500-mile deadline for my first oil change. As I feared, finding approved oil and filter from online sources besides local overpriced dealers is proving to be very difficult this early in the life of the new Defender. Until my factory warranty is up, I'd like to stick to the oil type approved by Land Rover, 0W-20 with specs STJLR.51.5122. I do have my trusty MityVac pump to vacuum the oil out of the dipstick pipe, as per workshop manual directions. An oil and filter change should require about 9 quarts of oil (8.82 liters to be exact.)

So far, I have determined the genuine oil filter part # should be LR133455. This is available from a few online dealers at a reasonable price (about $16 or so, delivered.) Amazon has it too, but for March delivery and it's actually pretty expensive. I can't seem to find quality alternatives from other manufacturers yet, such as Mahle, Mann, etc. I am sure they will come eventually.

The engine oil is a real hassle to source, as expected. Land Rover always recommends Castrol. The Castrol EDGE 0W-20 US, widely available from Amazon, Walmart and others, is not conforming to the above Land Rover specs, though. You need either Castrol EDGE 0W-20 E or EDGE 0W-20 CE, neither "flavors" appear to be available in the US as far as I can tell (outside of a JLR dealer, I guess.) Liqui Moly sells an oil that conforms to JLR specs, Liqui Moly Special Tec LR SAE 0W-20. It is supposedly approved for use in our engine and available on Amazon for $48 and change for a 5-liter jug, quite expensive - twice as much as the best synthetics from Castrol or Mobil - but not obscenely so for a German-made oil sure to be of very high quality:
Any better ideas? Like I did for my LR4, I plan on documenting my first oil change on video - and expect it to be just as uneventful and kinda fun.
1.5122STJLR.51.5122STJLR.51.5122

 

I wish we could see into the future and know if our P400 engines would be just fine with a "regular" synthetic oil like Mobil 1 EP. I know that my LR4 has been fine with it through 128K miles and your LR4 went over 200K with Mobil 1.

But this is a newer engine and we don't know what to expect. I would surely go with more frequent oil changes again. If you can afford a Defender you can afford to change the oil every 7,000 or 10,500 miles. (Don't get me started on people that buy an expensive vehicle that requires premium gas and then they put in regular gas) I agree, go with the Liqui Moly or magic LR oil through the warranty period. This way the engine is covered if anything implodes.

 

I would go with the longest guaranteed interval mobil 1 with the shortest actual interval oil change. I keep my cars long, very long and have seen no engine failures but would like to have no wear at all. I have used mobil 1 0w/20 EP on my 2003 honda pilot and I didn't see any oil use between oil changes now at 234,000 miles. Using mobil 1 5w/30 on my 2009 escalade hybrid, that engine I was able to extend the interval to 15k miles with no oil usage in between oil changes. I replaced it at 195,000 miles with a new 2015 escalade back in 2015. It now has 245,000 miles and would follow a 10,000 mile driven hard miles. This one used a mobil 1 0w/20 EP the whole time per recommended by GM. I think it is to lower mileage/emissions etc. So, what is the better oil and or oil change interval? I think if you're driving it hard, mobil 1 0w/40 would be the best of both worlds and its been used in my 2014 MB GLK350 with 20,000 mile interval.

 

I pulled up the detailed oil specifications from Castrol for the pre-2020 and the new spec (the one where no oil is available) and I found the only marked difference is there is more detergent capability in the new oil -- which I assume allows one to go from 16.5 K miles "approval" to 21K miles. I did contact my dealer and they confirmed they have no plans or knowledge regarding switching to the new specification. Also, I did compare the Castrol spec of the pre-2020 to Mobil 1 EP and found no appreciable difference.

The only other interesting learning was to appreciate that Audi and VW are specifying a different approach with the same Castrol oil we are to use with JLR. Basically, I believe they are driving to enable very high-speed driving, continuously, through specifying greater levels of shear strength in the oil. Interesting. I would not hesitate to use the VW Audi Castrol -- but, nor would I pay for it for use in my stately, slow-rolling P300 Defender. As a note, the Volvo Castrol oil specs are very similar to the JLR oil.

I have three JLR filters ordered from Amazon and three other suppliers filters -- I will let you know how they compare. My first change, at 2K (end of break-in miles) was with the British mfg. JLR filter. Nothing special -- went in fine. Will see how it looks coming out. I am at 4k now, and will probably change the oil at 5K (total), so I can get onto the 5K rotation.

Yep, thanks to the MityVac, I am going to change my oil every 5K miles -- the best insurance to a long life engine that is available. I plan to keep my Defender for at least 20 years, so this makes sense for me.

Some like to clean and polish their autos' outsides side and interior -- I get it, but not me. I am in mud season and the vehicle is a constant mess and that works fine. But, I admit it gives give me a sense of serenity to see dark honey oil come out and clean honey go in -- so it goes !!

 

Just had dealer change my P300 oil and filter at 5400 miles. Plan to do the Mityvac extractor thing as well. Noticed that our P300 filter is at the front left of area under Ingenium cover (I think). Is that correct? Did you just use a regular oil filter wrench on it? No nice fitting like P400. I was pushed over the edge when after arriving home I found an extra quart of oil in my sump. Thanks LR. Good thing I checked - so I used my extractor to remedy the situation.