G'day fellas - doing this by proxy for my son who has a 99 Disco diesel auto. I run a Kia Sorento but in my defence, also have a Series 1 1951 L/R! He's got a problem with his auto gearbox where 1st gear holds until high revs are reached before changing up. It's got progressively worse recently and he's now taken to a shop where they have told him a changeover box is the best solution. Cheapest on offer is AUD2,500. That flattened him a bit and I wonder if this is a problem encountered by other auto diesel drivers? He's not capable of fixing it himself and has to rely on a shop to do it for him but I suppose just looking for some confirmation that this problem is not uncommon (as he has been told). Disco's done about 180,000k's.

 

What you are describing is not a common problem for the Rover trannys.
Might want to try and find a used one from a salvage vehicle.
Mike