Hi there, I have an automatic 1997 Discovery with 122,900 miles on it that I had bought maybe three months ago now. I had only put 1900 miles on it myself, and when yesterday driving home going about 55 it just seemed to lose power no matter how much I pushed on the accelerator and acted like it was going to stall out and there was a rattling sound so I pulled over into a parking lot. I wasn't sure what it was, I checked all the fluids and they were all good. One thing that confused me was that the transmission fluid on the dipstick came halfway up the stick, but I thought it was only supposed to come up to those two little notches at the bottom. I'm probably wrong though. But anyways, I shut it off while I checked fluids and started it up again, and there was a hissing sound that I wasn't used to hearing, but otherwise it started up just fine and sounded okay. I put it into drive and only got so far before it started shaking and heard something grinding so I stopped. I tried the lower gears 1 2 and 3, which felt like they worked at first but then they too did the same thing. Reverse seemed to work fine though, so I parked it and there it sits until I can get it towed tomorrow. From what I can tell there is something up with the transmission, and since this is my first Land Rover and my first automatic vehicle, I'm not really sure how it all works or what to look for to tell what exactly is wrong. I had driven it for about 5 hours the day before on a trip to the Grand Canyon of PA so I was going up lots of hills and up the mountain, could that have been too much stress on it that it quit out like that? I'm doing research on this issue but I figured I would ask you guys and see if you had any advice for me on what to do. My dad owns a garage so I was going to put it on the lift to see what I can find out about it if it's something stupid, or would it just be the best to take it to a transmission garage right away? And if I should take a look, what exactly should I be looking at to see what the issue is and what steps should I take to diagnose the issue? Thank you for all the help, I appreciate it.

 

So far I have come across a couple things to try and do before even thinking about overhauling the transmission: change the transmission fluid/filter, and that it might just be the A-clutch that's shot since reverse still works. Does that sound like a good place to start?

 

did you check the fluid with the trans in neutraL engine running? yes it should be in the notches, if overfilled will not work right

seen a few posts about the valves int he trans sticking, check the level then dump in seafoam drive a few miles then let it sit a few days before you drain the trans, if nothing else it should help your fluid change be more effective

 

I thought the owner's manual said check the fluid level cold with engine idling in neutral (after shifting through the gears and back to park) I assumed the level would be higher when warm.

Is Seafoam recommended before a fluid change? Or just if you are having major problems? Getting ready to drain mine is why I ask.