Hey all, first time poster here.

I'm looking at buying a disco series 1 and have found a good looking 95 auto in my budget (including leaving me some coin to get some lockers and a few other mods).

However I have heard that the ZF auto gearbox is prone to over heating and having issues when you push them off road.
I'm driving from Perth to Queensland in a couple of months to do the old telegraph track and some other fairly hectic 4WD tracks and because it will be pushed through its paces a bit (water crossings, mud, sand etc) I wanted to know if any of you have/had a 300Tdi with a ZF auto box and if you had any issues with it off-road??

If so, I am considering the option of an auto to manual conversion, but would rather avoid the cost and time needed to do so if possible.

Thanks heaps in advance!

Todd.

 

Hey Todd,

I own a 300Tdi Discovery with Auto transmission for the last 2 years.
Every Auto transmission will heat when you push it off road, that is not a specific issue with the ZF/Disco.
In order to avoid it, replace the transmission oil and filter and use the LOW range of the transfer while you are off road.
The only heating issue I had with the transmission box was on road, driving on a long hill right after I bought the car, after that, I changed the oil and filter, no issues since.
Saar.