Hi guys, the Range has suffered a massive gearbox oil leak today as I drove home - I first noticed a clunky gear change literally 50 metres from home. I parked up on the driveway and with the engine running I plugged my icarsoft in to check for fault codes and got the code 'P0730 Plausibilty Fault Incorrect Gear Ratio'.

I then popped the bonnet and saw a huge pool of gearbox oil in the under tray at the front of the engine. I immediately turned the engine off at which point I saw the huge trail of gearbox fluid snaking along the road I had driven. I walked up the road to see how long the leak trail was and I would say it was about 150 - 200 metres long which would equate to about 90 seconds of driving.

I recently had some gearbox work done (2 weeks and 500 miles ago) and at the same time had the oil cooler replaced, I'm guessing it could be one of the hose connections has had a catastrophic failure which has suddenly dumped the oil out as the oil leak seems to be in that area.

Is there likely to be permanent gearbox damage by driving the car for approx 1 minute and then parking in P with the engine running for approx 1-2 minutes? Such a bummer as the car had been driving really smoothly since the recent gearbox solenoid change and oil/filter change 2004 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 v8 LPG, Java Black, 22' Hawke Alloys, Black Beast

When my TDV8 had a leak of gearbox fluid from the join between the engine and the gearbox and lost quite a bit of fluid (not as severe a leak as yours by the sound of it, but over a longer period and with more driving) LR immediately prescribed a new gearbox under warranty. I was surprised as the car seemed to be running fine, no warnings etc, but it does suggest that driving with insufficient fluid is bad news. My experience was with the 8 speed box of course.

The great gearbox guru is RR Phil, maybe a PM to him would give the best advice. Only Range Rovers since 1988

Knightrider

I had a similar thing to you when one of the cooler pipes gave way due to rusting through. This was at just under 70k so I had the pipe replaced and a fluid and filter change. I ran the car for nearly another 30k before I sold it and the box was good as gold so it may not be as bad as you think. I can see LR saying a new box just to cover themselves. 2010 3.6TDV8 Stornoway Grey/ Black interior - gone
2005 4.4V8 (M62) Bonatti Grey/ Parchment interior - gone
1998 4.6HSE Blue/ Cream interior (can't remember exact colours) - gone
1977 White - gone (should have kept)

I called the AA out and the patrolman took the undertray off and has confirmed the oil cooler pipe connection closest to the wheel (left hand side when looking down from the front of the car) has failed/disconnected. We started the car for 10 seconds to check and no oil leaked with the engine on but as soon as I switched the engine off oil trickled out of the connection. My guess is the gearbox level is now so low there is hardly any oil pressure left when the engine is running.

I will get the car recovered to a garage and get the pipe and oil replaced then fingers crossed there is no permanent damage.

Does anyone know the part number and best place to get the part for the pipe in question? 2004 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 v8 LPG, Java Black, 22' Hawke Alloys, Black Beast

I got mine from here but I haven’t got microcat to tell me which one you want but you could ask them

https://www.island-4x4.co.uk/gearbox-trans..._3191.html

Thanks holiday chicken I've ordered both as I figure u may aswell replace both pipes at the same time. Cost me £220 for both which I think is a lot considering it's just a bit of pipe work! 2004 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 v8 LPG, Java Black, 22' Hawke Alloys, Black Beast

I've never liked the design of those push quick connects and had real issues getting mine apart and back together with confidence they weren't going to pop apart .
I ended up using stainless wire to safety tie them so there's no chance of it happening.

Top tip if you happen to be doing the job.

Following this with interest as I changed my oil cooler and radiator oil cooling thermostat the other day. Also, top tip Dingg1, I’ll do that.

Does anyone know the part number for the oil filler plug on the ZF gearbox?

TIA.

Regards

John

The excact same pipe failed on mine a few months back. Luckily no damage to gearbox afterwards. The plastic collet on the pipe had failed the same day i changed oil cooler . I used the proper tool to disconnect it but it simply failed when I was driving and the oil pressure blew it off..

Alistairh How much oil did you lose when your pipe blew off? I have no idea how much oil is left in the gearbox or whether the oil in the torque converter has been lost in addition to the oil in the sump? 2004 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 v8 LPG, Java Black, 22' Hawke Alloys, Black Beast

Just for the avoidance of doubt, the torque converter receives the majority of the oil flow drawn from the sump, which then goes through the cooler and then to the lubrication system before returning back to the sump. It isn’t a separate system to the rest of the transmission, it’s the same fluid.

If the hydraulic pressure is lost then the clutches will disengage (or the torque converter will stop transmitting drive) and the vehicle will come to a halt before the lubrication becomes critical, so you’re unlikely to have sustained any permanent damage to your transmission.

Phil

tb10 wrote:

Does anyone know the part number for the oil filler plug on the ZF gearbox?

Did mine a month or so ago. Caked up with grit and muck so washed the area first then wd40 to work them loose. Both came off no bother.
Clicked back nicely when the job was done. Much easier than messing with spanners. Probably worn 'O' rings on yours letting by. 2007 Vogue TDV8 in Zermatt Silver with Charcoal

@knightrider I ended up refilling with 6 litres new mobil oil. Bit gutted as the stuff that spewed out was months old..I changed both pipes to be safe. Cars been fine since. I dropped sump after to check for swarf and it was spotless and fitted a new filtran filter.

Hi guys to give closure to this thread I had both oil cooler pipes replaced today, the refill took 5.5 litres of gearbox oil. Have driven 30 miles since and all is well with smooth gear changes. My car has now technically had 2 gearbox oil changes within the last few weeks so at least the fluid in the box should be mostly new now and shouldn't need changing for a good few years 2004 Range Rover Vogue 4.4 v8 LPG, Java Black, 22' Hawke Alloys, Black Beast