I need to replace the coolant, engine oil, transmission, and differential fluid with the new ones in my LR2 2009.

Especially, I am looking for a stable transmission fluid (not a genuine one) and coolant.
I would appreciate if you may recommend a substitute brand or product over the OEM ones from your experience
(e.g., Honda transmission fluid is very sensitive to other products except the OEM fluid)

 

"OEM" means two different things...

Land Rover OEM is very expensive, and should be avoided if at all possible.

But the drivetrain on this vehicle is Volvo... in most cases I'd strongly recommend the Volvo OEM fluids. LR fluids are just rebranded from whatever Volvo used and marked up by a vast margin.

Engine Oil: Any good synthetic. I've used Mobile 1 5W30. I have 160K on the car, mix of city, highway, and severe duty driving. Engine passed a compression check, borescope inspection, and oil analysis at 150K with flying colors.

Front Differential (PTU): I would use OEM, this is a specialty fluid: Castrol BOT 118/95 Plus

Auto Tranny: The tranny is made by Aisin. Use the Aisin OEM fluid: AISIN ATF-0T4 (get 22 qts for draij & fill method). Might be able to get the Toyota branded version cheaper. Be careful shopping, there are two similar specs you want JWS 3309 for the earlier version of the tranny. Your shifting will improve if the fluid change hasn't been done in 50k+ miles. Be aware that worn motor mounts will cause poor shifting as well: inspect the torque link (near the coolant reservoir) for torn rubber. If that's torn, you need to replace that and at least one lower motor mount.

Rear Diff: OEM is a dino oil, and these diffs fail a lot. I switched to AMSOIL Severe Gear Synthetic 80W-90. My second diff has lasted longer than the first one.

Coolant: You can use original spec G11 coolant or upgrade to G13 coolant. Don't use "universal" coolant. You can also use Dexcool, probably cheaper, and should be real close to OEM. I used Dexcool for a long time (that's what appeared to be in the car when I bought it), but I did have some leaks after severe duty at 150K. YMMV. Coolant discussion here...

https://landroverforums.com/forum/lr...freeze-105613/

Power Steering: Replace the P/S reservoir asap (it has a built-in filter), and use OEM Pentosin CHF 202 (full flush). Otherwise you'll be buying a new PS pump.

Brake fluid: Pentosin DOT 4 LV



This thread is helpful for maintenance planning...

https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic32504.html

 

Just a FYI for anyone interested. I use the Amsoil power steering fluid and it works great (higher temp, etc tolerances) and costs way less. I generally swap out about a liter annually since it's really easy to do that. Been doing this since I got the vehicle in late 2019.
For the Aisin tranny, just get the OEM Aisin non synthetic (I think it's the J3309 referenced above). I got mine from rockauto. The method to do the transmission properly and then set to the correct level can be googled. There is a Volvo video on it.

 

Many thanks!!!
I couldn't thank you more for the informative tips from your experience.
I think I need to return the premium coolant bought from Walmart

 

@merlinj79 Please elaborate. I wasn't aware their is a P/S reservoir filter that needs to be changed. Thanks!

 

The filter is in the reservoir which is suspended near rad above the oil filter housing. It can't be replaced by itself. The reservoir must be changed. I did mine but I did not actually need to. It's not an expensive replacement.

 

Got it. Another maintenance item I wasn't aware of ... good stuff! As simple as this replacement appears to be, someone kindly made a half-hour video:

 

actually…. the filter in the PS reservoir can be removed with a #2 philips screwdriver and cleaned… or replace the reservoir.
Original Equipment Manufacturer for fluids… are the fluid manufacturers. (both LR and Volvo and… get their fluids from a range of providers)

And be ready for the surprise. If you flush the PS system you won’t believe the crud that comes out of there.

 

I couldn't find a replacement filter, and wasn't 100% sure I could clean it completely.

I didn't look very hard though, since the res isn't very expensive.

 

Well this thread was certainly timely! Today I was replacing my oil filter and moved the PS fluid reservoir out of the way to get access. Then I heard a "snap" sound (never a good thing) and noticed that I broke the small plastic hose nipple at the center-bottom of the reservoir. Fortunately, I placed a large piece of cardboard on the floor before I started my path of destruction, and that caught the spilled PS fluid and minimized the mess.

I was going to get around to replacing this PS fluid resevoir and filter anyway based on the discussion in this thread, but I was hoping to do it on my schedule when I had a replacement in hand. I can't drive the car until I replace it, so I ordered the quickest delivery aftermarket reservoir from Amazon which will be delivered on Sunday this weekend. I would have ordered an OEM unit (LR000578) but I could not get one delivered that fast.

I'm buying a quart of Pentosin CHF202 fluid at the auto parts store tomorrow (wow, it's expensive stuff even with the Black Friday 25% discount).

I understand that I will need to perform a bleed procedure after completing the install and refilling with fluid. The bleeding process simply has the cap off while you move the steering wheel back and forth to work the air bubbles out of the system. Then top off the fluid. Sounds easy enough, hope I get through it without breaking some other brittle piece of plastic.