has any one found fluid that is suitable for use in the 06 up range rover 6 speed rover trannies? im trying to find an alternative for the fluid instead of getting raped by dealer prices on "land rover " fluid. i heard castrol import tranny fluid meets specs but when i emailed them they said to only use land rover product wich i know castrol is now backing up land rover so i dont know if its just a business thing they got going on. so let see what you guys come up with

 

I ran into a similar problem with my wifes Sedona, Mitsubishi Diamond Trans Fluid, Castrol Multi Import Trans Fluid meets spec.
I bet Castrol is the OEM fluid brand just renamed Land Rover since Castrol is owned by BP and all.

 

Bg transmission fluid. we buy it for something along the lines of 70 bucks for an entire transmission flush. You can buy the stuff by the barrel but no sure how much. The great thing about BG is the machines they have and the ease of use. Seriously for land rover you need a transmission machine and gear lube machine. You can buy the gear lube machine along with a thirty gallon barrel that it fits over to make changing the diff and the tc fluid easy. You can also you the machine for transmission fills. just make sure to purge the hoses. Along with a fuel injection machine you can't lose. It really gives you a leg up on the competition and the dealer. For example on a LR3, you simply take off a hose on the radiator to change the transmission fluid. others you have to use a line off the transmission. Regardless, fix issues like slight shutters at high speeds or random flares. Save alot of transmissions without the waste of time of doing a pan flush. its easier, cleaner and makes you more money cause you can walk away and do something else. The diff machine is great cause no more using a pump to fill it and the fluid can be stored without wasting the time to get extra bottles. One fluid for all of them except the transmission fluid and rear haldex fluid for the LR2. Also too, the bg guy is really great for getting you the tools you need for different vehicles like adaptors or even additional fluids or different types of fluids and products. Also too they can help with getting you brochures with the services offered and the prices. Also alot of dealers use some of the products in services like a six month service which includes an oil change, rotate, and a can of moa and fuel additive. the 15k will include bg 44k for the injectors. You will be surprised how much extra labour you sell with just the brochures and the menu. People really gravitate towards the mcdonalds menu listing of services. I was against the idea until I saw people's reaction and how easy it was for them.

 

The bg brake flush machine works, its up to you. The fluid is great though. Cheaper then alot of stuff and it works you can buy it by the barrel. Power steering machine is great for filling transmissions and the service isnt bad but you don't use it alot. They also make alot of fluids in single quarts and larger barrels. Depending on the system. The oil service stuff works including the stuff to clean the rings and get back compression. Really works trust me. You might think some of it is snake oil and some stuff doesn't work that well but the stuff I mentioned works great and fixes problem. For example lean codes in an LR3 can be fixed with a simple fuel injection service. Plus you can use the fluids in other vehicles so you can get carryover vehicles from your clients. For example using the artificial transmission service on a mercedes benz or even on a toyota or dodge. Its the fluid that can really help you when times are lean to work on other vehicles and get thru a slow period with land rover.

 

For all ZF 6HP transmissions, I use ZF Lifegaurd 6. Its still pricey, and yet still cheaper than fluid from the dealer. If customers reject service/repair due to price of the fluid, I let them take it to Bubba's garage down the street. Lifegaurd 6 is made by the people that made these transmissions, for these transmissions, which is plenty good for me. Anything else is not worth the liability.

If ZF comes out with a list of other fluids that are 100% compatible (like they did with the 5HP's) then I would reconsider.

 

The fluid for BG is basically five bucks a quart your cost and whatever you want to charge to the client. It works for all transmissions except for CVT transmissions. But that is a totally different fluid and you are required to use a different machine for those. You cant mix those fluids or your dead in the water.

 

I would be curious if the BG fluid is a re-labeled bottle of Redline D4. Redline claims the same compatibility and costs about the same.

 

Look at it this way, it comes in big jugs of 14 quarts to do a transmission flush. And the price I quoted might be lower for your area. plus you can use the same fluid to do the fill the transmissions so you end up saving money. plus if you use the power steering machine they offer you can use that to fill the transmission as well. no more pumping it. saves tons of time.
Trust me, you can charge 1.0 to 1.5 to change the diffs and tc and be done in less then an hour. You just hook up the machine and fill and you are done. Trust me I work for a dodge and jeep dealer and we use the machines all the time for services and we use the fluids and it makes money hand over foot. Although I can say it varies on manufacturers. LR and Jeep are the same so the services that you sell work the same and pay the same. They are easier to sell. Also depends on the clientele. VW people don't buy anything but they are not trained to buy anything by the manufacturer. They are trained to come to the dealer for all the services that do very little to help them with their problems. Reality is most people go somewhere else and go to the dealer for the timing belt. At land rover its different. People can go to the dealer and they will depending on the experience. They are more willing to go but that might be more from lack of experience of other shops then say money. Its like toyota people go to jiffy lube cause they dealer doesn't do enough to keep them there. At Dodge, the manufacturer sends out coupons for everything and encourages dealers to work on other models to supplant their income. Thus giving people the look at a chrysler product while they wait. Thus the dealers get more income and can support more people.
its about what the manufacturer does to help the dealers. Now LR doesn't do alot, well very little at all, they just have the expectation that the cars are complicated and no one will touch them. Same as mercedes benz or bmw.

now even as an independant you can model your business on the dodge way of selling or the VW way of selling. The dodge way you can expect to have a nice shop with more then one tech and with the VW method you get two techs max with very little sales and service cause you think they will come to you cause you are the independant and don't have the same prices. Reality is the only service you are giving is cheapness. Sounds like alot but its not really enough for people to always choose you over the dealer. Even with a good reputation its still difficult. Why cause people don't know you and what you offer. They only go to you when they have a CEL light, after that they have to decide if they want to service with you or not. The dealers expect the people to come and don't advertise because they don't want people to know there prices. They want them to see the price when they are at the dealership to trap them. You can do both by advertising even on your own website. Give them the prices of services and say brakes. Give them discounts on certain days or on certain months. Give them discounts for buying say a flush after they bought a brake job or changed the coolant. Its up to you but you get more flies with honey. I mean really as a shop owner don't you not want to work on vehicles all day. Dont you want to be in charge of a group of guys and let them make the money. Its up to you. Do you have to go the bg route no but they do make some good products and services that make it easier. Do you have to buy everything, no. But a few products like transmission machine and a diff machine can set you up to really make some money without spending lots of it on wasted services. Plus you can use the mc donalds method and itemize your services and make your website a priority. Make its deals change on a regular basis. Ever been to atlantic british website. deals are always changing. Sales come and go but the reason is to keep you looking and keep you attracted. You have to do that if you really want to take a bite out the dealer. You offer geniune land rover experience at fraction of the price. The real question is are you gonna sell it or expect them to come to you. Remember if you build it they will come.

 

I was thinking of using the Castrol ATF myself and found this post. Attached is a release from Castrol saying they recommend it for Land Rover M11375.4. Has anyone tried it? Good bad indifferent?

http://www.castrol.com/liveassets/bp...s_ImportMV.pdf