water would work, but I need to set the filter in the metal pan to be fair, so I will be destroying one.

I'll do it tomorrow

but i can say that I do not believe plastic pans are cracking unless hit with a foreign object.

 

That would make sense to me, Abran....I just don't see a well-engineered plastic pan cracking without some help...but I've wanted to go metal anyway, just need to allay my fears about less capacity. Thanks for all your research!

 

Didn't get around to the comp today. Ill shoot for tomorrow.

 

That's cool, man...I've got time.

 

I have a leaking mecha...whatever sleeve. Next project is a metal pan and the sleeve - mainly because I dont want to take the time to do all the dismantling to get to the sleeve.
It's a little frustrating, since the guy I bought it from did the 100K tranny service - replacing the pan/filter but NOT the leaking sleeve. Oh well...

 

So had my Metal Pan fitted yesterday but got home and has a trans leak! To anyone with experience of the metal pan conversion what are the gaskets provided like? How well do they seal? Can they easily warp during fitting. On another note on capacity it seems that my Landy Indi used the usual 7 bottles for the full flush and refill. He charged me for six bottles and I provided 1 I had laying around from a trans service on my Jaguar. If the trans was over filled would the excess find its way out under pressure once up to operating temp? I don't think the Trans was over filled as my indi does know what he is doing just spit balling.

 

The gaskets can split at the bolt holes from over torqueing. They are a paper type gasket. Are you sure it's not residual fluid from a messy re fill process?

I use a thin film of right stuff on the outer edge of pan and trans case to make sure it's sealed correctly.

As I have stated I do not think there is a diffference in volume of the 2 and my first comparison showed this. I still need to do the final definitive comparison of pans side by side.

 

I did consider a messy refill, but there just looks to be too much fluid in the puddle, it does look like the sub frame at the rear of the trans could catch fluid when emptying but when you feel around the inside edge of the heat shield it is wet with fluid. Would they fill with the heat shield back in place? if yes then yes a possibility but it would of had to of been one very messy job. Landy back in on Monday for them to look at so will update on results.

 

Heat shield would be off during refill.

 

The link below is to a number of files regarding our 6HP26 tranny, plus a number of files on both the plastic and metal pan options.

Regarding oil fill capacity, it is difficult to say for certain how much to put back in as the amount of oil drained from the tranny is that which is not still within the removed filter, and also that which is still coating all the tranny parts, a lot of which hold oil within their passages. This is why a proper fill requires one to run the engine at idle while on the hoist to a certain tranny oil temperture - one overfills and the excess pushes back out thru the now yet closed off upper oil "fill" hole.

Regarding the filter, on the factory plastic pan, the oil filter is a part of the pan and hence replacing the pan with another plastic pan means that a brand new filter is being installed, and it is dry.

With the metal pan, the oil filter is a separate part and hence can be installed new or left in place if there was previously a metal pan installed.

Regardless of metal or plastic pan, there is a round gasket at the top of the filter "nipple" that has to be removed and a new one installed. Doubling up on the nipple gasket is not for the better. Often the old gasket remains stuck within the tranny body and does not pull out along with the oil filter nipple. As such, the gasket has to be picked out.

When you change out the pan, plastic or metal, that is the time to replace the round Mechatronic electrical connector seal where the electrical wires go thru. There is a file in the link below related to changing out that seal as well.

Regarding the gasket between the pan and the tranny, for the plastic pan, the gasket is a big O ring that sits in channel in the plastic pan rim; for the metal pan, the gasket is a flat type similar to what one is used to for metal to metal. Note that the torx screws for the plastic pan are a couple of mm longer than for the metal pan; hence the metal pan kit comes with shorter screws, so use them or suffer.

DISCO3.CO.UK Photo Gallery - ZF 6HP26 Automatic Transmission in LR3