So the story so far...

Took ownership of Gloria on 14 Jan, a week spent replacing both Front Air Suspension and learning how to use GAP IIDTool.

Mid-week did a round trip one evening to Ipswich, 60 miles each way with a 90 minute stop mid journey - Gloria ran perfectly both ways, only surprise was that the temp gauge after engine was off for 90 minutes was immediately back at full mid-scale normal working temp ie the motor seems to retain a great deal of heat...

Next day drove up to Yorkshire around 110 miles, all seemed good again, maybe towards the end of that trip, a hint of judder from gearbox especially under mild engine braking coming to a halt (urban area driving), nothing major though.

Fueled up with LPG and next a 30 mile leg and oh dear.....

So first 5th gear decided it had ceased to exist then 4th gear also exited stage left - no scary noises from anything mechanical or otherwise so pressed on regardless, doing around 4000 RPM at 40MPH - even shifting to Manual Mode and selecting 4 or 5 the dash display would light up the chosen number for maybe 1 second then flick back to 3 ???

Arrived, parked up, did a GAP fault read, forgot to email to self, something bout "noise on the signal to transmission" or something like that.

Cleared faults, waited maybe an hour then did a test drive with a mate - everything all good again

Drove 80 miles same afternoon, all good, Next day drove 80 miles back absolutely fine then 110 miles back to base after a couple of hours stop, all fine. Reading GAP faults, nothing showed up to do with Transmission at all.

Apparently the transmission oil and filter was really done end of last summer so I'm wondering if there is anything else (magic anti-judder juice?) that can be done to protect the transmission as much as possible on a 129k FFRR?

Oh and bought a full set of Vogue seats and interior trim so now have a spare original set in Ivory White .... an upcycled sofa and two (one armed!) armchairs project perhaps  "Gloria" 2002 L322 Voguish V8 LPG - carcass
"Jessica" 1996 Disco 1 300 TDi Auto
"Harriet" 1994 Disco 1 300 TDi Manual - Gone
"Daisy" 1992 Disco 1 200 TDi Manual - Gone

I would check the gearbox oil level and would also be tempted to squirt a tube of Dr Tranny in to see if that would help.

Jim

Thanks Jim

Is there any info hereabouts on how to check gearbox oil level (I don't see a dipstick like my 300TDi D1 has...)

I was wondering too whether replacing the oil cooler (Nissen aftermarket unit on sale for £87 at ECP), thermostat (£30) and backplate (£30) could be a solid plan, as I don't believe this was done when the oil flush was done last summer? "Gloria" 2002 L322 Voguish V8 LPG - carcass
"Jessica" 1996 Disco 1 300 TDi Auto
"Harriet" 1994 Disco 1 300 TDi Manual - Gone
"Daisy" 1992 Disco 1 200 TDi Manual - Gone

Oil cooler always a good idea to do. Also try flushing your radiator through. The bottom bit cools the gearbox and fills with sludge thus reducing cooling. Plenty on Here about it.

Much appreciated DolphinBoy  "Gloria" 2002 L322 Voguish V8 LPG - carcass
"Jessica" 1996 Disco 1 300 TDi Auto
"Harriet" 1994 Disco 1 300 TDi Manual - Gone
"Daisy" 1992 Disco 1 200 TDi Manual - Gone

Sounds like your transmission fluid is overheating so the clever ECU is implementing its cooling strategy mode that keeps the engine speed (and therefore the pump flow) much higher than normal - this happens because at low revs the pump flow is working at 20% and this is not keeping your transmission fluid cool enough !

In order of likelihood :

1) Main radiator ( 9 times out 10 this is the problem ) - the bottom 8 tubes supply coolant to the transmission oil cooler

@PC
Thanks - a more scientific and factual answer than mine.

We have a 2003 4.4V8 L322 and exactly the same thing happened. When I did some searching on here I discovered that between a certain VIN range (ours was in that range) the radiator had a known problem where the bottom 6 rows would collapse internally blocking the fluid flow to the gearbox cooler.
Our solution was a new radiator and we've never had that problem since (loads and loads of other issues though!!)


VIN Numbers 100042-175505

You might find this of interest.

https://www.fullfatrr.com/forum/topic20319...rbox+modes

Very helpful thanks Paul, my VIN is in this range so new rad it might be!

Took Gloria for a spin earlier with GAP live data enabled on phone, and once warmed up to steady state:

Oil (Transmission) Temp = 122'C
Coolant Temp = 108'C
Radiator Temp = 53'C

Coolant Temp seems a bit high somehow?

I've got one of my local mechanics to take a look tomorrow daytime at where and what oil is slightly leaking, then decide on how much plumbing is due for replacement.

Is there a preferred option for Radiator makes eg Hellla OE or Britpart as good I wonder? "Gloria" 2002 L322 Voguish V8 LPG - carcass
"Jessica" 1996 Disco 1 300 TDi Auto
"Harriet" 1994 Disco 1 300 TDi Manual - Gone
"Daisy" 1992 Disco 1 200 TDi Manual - Gone

pcourtney wrote:

Sounds like your transmission fluid is overheating ...

Great explanation thanks PC  "Gloria" 2002 L322 Voguish V8 LPG - carcass
"Jessica" 1996 Disco 1 300 TDi Auto
"Harriet" 1994 Disco 1 300 TDi Manual - Gone
"Daisy" 1992 Disco 1 200 TDi Manual - Gone

We had ours done by a gearbox specialists in Westbury. As far as I know they replaced the radiator with an OE unit and put in a new transmission oil cooler as well.
The guy at the transmission place told me that some of the quick Japanese cars (Nissan 350z etc) have up to 5 transmission oil coolers!

yep, my vin is 165xxx - and the bottom 6 tubes were shot to pieces

managed to get a great deal on a refurbished ally BEHR radiator, that had been pressure tested 3x more than is normally required, and all has been OK since

Last edited by pcourtney on 8th Apr 2022 6:14pm. Edited 1 time in total

Very nice that Direnza Rad

Have you noticed any cooler running since you fitted this item I wonder?

I took Gloria out just now for a 40 mile run, a wide mix of country roads, 30MPH residential zones, random 5 minute idling stops plus some spirited acceleration (0-60 in 9 seconds seems accurate, which is impressive for an 18 year old!

So, watching the GAP live data (wish there was some way to make a video of the chosen widgets or screen capture or ideally a CSV file to then input into a spreadsheet/charting app, but I digress!).

Ambient air temp 6'C, dry conditions and altitude from 0ft to 150ft AMSL, headlights on and heater set to 50% fan and 24'C output throughout.

(Transmission) Oil Temp rose from say 20'C up to 108'C in 5 minutes from start; At the end of the drive this value peaked at 120'C and settled mostly around 116'C; end idling period saw 119'C

Coolant Temp rose in step with Transmission Oil Temp and settled at 108'C for the remainder of the driving, then rose to 110'C on final 5 minutes of stationary idling

Radiator Coolant Temp sat at two levels - between 22'C and 26'C or between 33'C and 42'C, with final stationary idle showing a peak value of 55'C

Not entirely sure what to make of the above numbers, though the coolant temp of 108'C steady state does seem high when compared to other engines but maybe this is normal for M62 motors?

The Radiator Coolant Temp almost suggests there are major coolant blockages or at least serious flow restrictions between block and Rad (I wonder where these temp sensors are precisely located?) - or could be the thermostat perhaps? "Gloria" 2002 L322 Voguish V8 LPG - carcass
"Jessica" 1996 Disco 1 300 TDi Auto
"Harriet" 1994 Disco 1 300 TDi Manual - Gone
"Daisy" 1992 Disco 1 200 TDi Manual - Gone

it is high at 108c, it should nearer 100c

If it rises higher than 105c then have a quick look at these 3 things first

1) the possibilty that the coolant is old and needs replacing
2) there could be some air in the system
3) check all hoses and double check fixings

Yes, hopefully get some answers on your last list soon and will report back here on the findings.

Looking like rad, new set of hoses, oil cooler, thermostat backplate and thermostat, plus check tranny oil and inject some tranny lube just for fun - if we get another roasting summer like last year, I want the cooling to be... cool  "Gloria" 2002 L322 Voguish V8 LPG - carcass
"Jessica" 1996 Disco 1 300 TDi Auto
"Harriet" 1994 Disco 1 300 TDi Manual - Gone
"Daisy" 1992 Disco 1 200 TDi Manual - Gone