transmission is leaking, dang
 

Well when I bought our LR3 I knew that it had an issue a leak at the sleeve on the transmission. It wasn't showing anywhere that I could see. Well it has been parked for a week on our driveway while my wife was out of town, slight slope uphill. When I finally took it out for a quick drive, there was a four inch oil spot in the driveway. I got under it and saw oil/tranny fluid across the crossmember, dripping off of the rear of the heat shield and along the rear of the transmission pan. I called around today and was given quotes of $700 to $850 for an indy shop and as much as $1250 at the two dealers in the county. All included a new pan, new fluid, around 5 quarts and the new sleeve. The indy prices look fair, considering the work involved. It is more than I want to tackle without a lift.

Any thoughts on anything more to do while the crossmember, the skid plates and the heat shield are out? other than that the truck is running great, other than my wife refuses to go back to the land cruiser now that she has gotten accustomed to the land rover. She never had the same affection with any of the three discoveries that we had! Thank in advance. Phil

That's not a bad price including the pan, I'd consider a metal pan, as it will make subsequent filter changes easier. I'd go with the independent, preferably one that specializes in ZF transmissions.

Don't forget to change your transfer case fluid (every 60k)

Differentials every 30k miles or so.

Tranny oil change was probably overdue anyway.
 

You are demonstrating the correct attitude I would say. The link below contains a fair bit of material regarding our ZF 6HP26 automatic.

While there are always differing views, the general consensus is that the oil and pan/filter combo should be changed somewhere between 50 and 80 thousand miles - in other words, after the factory warranty on the vehicle expires. As to the sleeve, it is a known leakage failure point and even if not leaking, should probably be replaced during the pan removal process.

The dollar numbers you have been quoted are fair numbers; a dealer is always over a thousand and the independent under a thousand.

Often the dealer subs the work out to a local independent shop; in my case, I had my oil change done by the shop my dealer uses.

About the only point of discussion might be the oil. In my case, the independent used the official LR branded ZF oil. It costs more, is probably not worth the extra money over the alternatives, but seemed like a good idea.

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

Maybe replace the Transmission Noise Capacitor
 

While you have the tranny exposed, you may wish to consider replacing what is called Capacitor Assy - Radio Suppression part number LR020488.

This radio noise suppression capacitor is a little black box that is bolted on down beside the right side of the transmission case. In itself, it is not very necessary, however it is failure prone and when it fails, blows the 10 amp Transmission Electronic Control Unit power fuse, F30E in the engine compartment fuse box.

When that fuse blows, the transmission quits. The engine will start etc, you just cannot get into gear. If the capacitor does fail and you are stranded, just disconnect the capacitor electrical connector and install a new fuse and you can drive with no apparent problems. Some do not even bother to replace the capacitor; myself, I tend to value capacitors as I see them as electrical shock absorbers.

The capacitor costs about fifty dollars.

Thanks for the suggestions, greatly appreciated. The shop got the truck in and out in less than three hours. Runs like a top! The informed me that I am missing the front-most skid plate, splash guard and the engine compartment battery cover. I called the last shop to do any work on the truck, sadly, no dice on the missing parts. Dealer has them for around $35 each. With the $150 I saved on the transmission service, I can buy the replacement parts. Thanks again for the insight. This is a great forum! Phil