If your ever in doubt on how to do something, please ask first! That is why we are here.

The transmission fluid must be below 86°. Fluid expands with heat, so if its too hot, you won't be able to put it at the correct level.

Also, the vehicle must be running. If the engine isn't running, the fluid WILL drain back into the pan and it will show very high and you will never be able to get it at the correct level.

 

Is this the same vehicle that had the broken timing chain? Either way you seem to have horrible luck when it comes to LR3s or you bought them all at a public auction...

As for the transmission. With the fluid that high I expect someone may have added something to mask transmission problems before you bought it.

 

We've bought and sold over 100 vehicles in our time, and after 5 years of owning/enjoying Jag XJ8s, we thought that the Ford-involved LRs would be good bets, too.
The 2006 has a major electrical problem where it won't even start or turn over.
The 2005 spun a timing chain sprocket on the camshaft - engine ordered for replacement.
The 2007 will get a fluid change and filter change in hopes of trying to avoid a new tranny.

The 2007 got a PPI in Detroit. Nothing would foresee a bad tranny, though, because it drove just fine.
The 2006 and 2005s drove over 2000 miles before crapping out, so the part about "horrible luck" has hit in spades.

The tranny fluid was high because the truck wasn't running, and according to the tranny shop, 11oz isn't the end of the world to lose. I'll add a quart of new fluid and drive it to them for the change. Fingers crossed on that, and on the engine swap.

The major electrical glitch will be a dealer-only deal.

Wish my first born wasn't bigger than me...I'd sell him for money!

 

I see. Hopefully your troubles don't come in threes. Are all your rigs the V6 or is the 07 a 4.4? In my experience the 4.4 has proven to be a durable engine.

 

yep, they fersure came in threes. Electrical, then Engine, then Tranny.

All are the V6 version, and the shops (both indi and dealer) commented about the V6 engines. They basically said that there weren't enough of them that came into shops, compared with the 4.4L.

Spinning a timing chain sprocket on the camshaft was a fluke, for sure. Maybe, if I'd taken it in right away, the engine wouldn't be toasted....but, it's doubtful that any shop would leave the camshaft alone; what with the keyway being wallowed out.

Either way, the guy that sold the truck to me couldn't have hidden the fault. The guy that sold the bad tranny couldn't have hidden the fault, considering that I drove it over 1000 miles back home, and have driven it quite a bit since then.

The one with electrical issues might have been a cover up. Is it POSSIBLE for fault codes to be killed for keeps by a dealer?

 

The good news is that the guts of the 4.0L should be much more common and cheaper than the 4.4. Any decent indi should be able to work and rebuild your 4.0

 

I agree with you. We'll wait until the indi has removed and inspected the current engine until we decide what path to follow.

 

If it turns out your tranny is shot, let me know I can probably get you a good deal.

 

IS it shot...is the question I'm asking myself. One day of flaring, and only when taking off from a standing start...and not always...is the history.

If I didn't have a new engine going into one of them, and an unknown severe electrical issue with the other, I'd be perhaps more inclined to just let somebody put a new tranny in an be done with it....but I'm not made of money, so how about this plan?

If a tranny flush only replaces about half the fluid...and if the fluid in there is brown and smells burned, then what about doing 3 fluid swaps, with a new pan/filter on the last swap?

If the flaring stops, then I've at the very least bought some time, right?

Used trannies are around $2000, and they have more miles on them than mine does, so wouldn't it be worth trying the fluid flush first?

 

hey, I flunked out of engineering school for a reason, lol.

Seriously, though, how can fluid be below 86 if ambient temps are above that?

However, if the truck gets started and we immediately begin the plug removal, then maybe the heat from the CAT won't bite as hard? Heck, I'm going to get a shingle to wrap between the CAT and my hand as a buffer. What do you pros use?