I have a 2006 (2007MY) L322 4.4 Vogue V8 Petrol, which has the later Jaguar engine and 6 speed gearbox. This is actually a very rare car as most people when buying new back then, went for either the 3.6 TDV8, or 4.2 Supercharged variants.

I've owned the car for 8 years and wouldn't swap it for anything - It's covered 105,000 miles and it drives absolutely beautifully. My question is, do I now change the gearbox oil and filter or not? Am I opening a can of worms?

It did have 3 litres of transmission fluid oil added 3 years ago at 78,000 miles and the sump replaced following a leak, so it has had some new fresh oil added but it looks like they didn't change all of the oil, or the filter.

So do I change the oil and filter to protect the car for another 100k miles, or leave it well alone to avoid creating problems?

Your thoughts and opinions would all be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance

I'd change oil and filter, wouldn't reset adaptations...

I didn't know that was an option, or even what they are - Are they some kind of gearbox settings

if you are looking at doing a 100k i would take it and have a new filter and full flush replace all old oil with new so £350/ £400 but it is better than paying for a rebuild down the road £2.000 / £3.500 could be more new vehicle purchase
2007 supercharged 4.2 java black .sand leather vogue se trim
previous cars .
range rover classic 200 tdi
discovery 1 200 tdi
freelander 2 2008 hse
discovery 1 300 tdi
p38 4.0 ltr man r380 ex royal support vehicle on v5c
discovery td5 man off roader

You’re right to be cautious. A drain & refill will refresh the fluid without risking friction shock, especially if your solenoid adaptions are already compensating for worn solenoids. Don’t use anything other than Lifeguard Fluid 6 and a genuine IBS Filtran sump pan/filter.

Phil

Thanks for the advice Phil and also for your thoughts oggy.

It's not about the money and I do have other cars, so the 100k miles I will potentially add, will be over the next 15-20 years.

I suppose if I do change the transmission oil / filter / sump pan etc, what's the worse that can happen?

And in this event, is it irreversible, or can anything always be rectified?

The worse that can happen is that, as a result of changing the fluid, you change the friction characteristics of the fluid. The controller monitors the shift times and, if it detects that these have changed, it will try to alter the fill pressure and fill time adaptions for the particular PWM solenoids involved in the shift to bring the shift time back to acceptable levels.

The problem is that older 6HP26s are plagued with solenoid problems which mean that the solenoids are already set at the extremes of the adaption range and can go no further. You then risk excessive clutch slip and permanent damage to the transmission.

For this reason, as has already been stated, you should never reset the adaptions following a fluid change or you could trash your transmission. This would only happen if one or more of the solenoids was faulty, though, and you could determine this first by reading off the adaption fill pressure and fill time values before resetting them.

Phil

That's great, thanks for the accurate and detailed guidance - Would you expect a good independent LR specialist to know not to reset the adaptions, or should I make this clear?

I use these guys. They've been working on Land Rovers locally for more than 45 years:

https://www.groombridgesussex.co.uk/

Many thanks again for your help

Change it early, change it often

Deleted

Last edited by ur20v on 4th Oct 2021 2:51pm. Edited 1 time in total

Any opinions on Millermatic?

https://www.millersoils.co.uk/products/millermatic-atf-8-speed/ 2011MY 4.4TDV8 Autobiography Baltic Blue
TVR Griffith
Alfa Romeo Mito QV

oggy wrote:

if you are looking at doing a 100k i would take it and have a new filter and full flush replace all old oil with new so £350/ £400 but it is better than paying for a rebuild down the road £2.000 / £3.500 could be more

Deleted

Last edited by ur20v on 4th Oct 2021 2:51pm. Edited 1 time in total

When I bought my Supercharged in January the oil level was low in the box. When draining it I got less then a litre out.

I replaced my solenoids, the bridge seal and the 4 dowel like seals, fitted a new sump, filled it with fluid (It took over 8 litres of LifeGuard 6) and then reset the adaptions.

The car has felt like it’s been driving great but my gearbox lasted 2.5k miles before packing in. When draining it, it was black rather then golden like it went in and it smelt burnt so I’m convinced that resetting my adaptions killed mine despite the new solenoids. I could be wrong though.

If I was in your situation I’d replace the sump and then fill it with fluid so there’s still some old fluid in the box. I’ve bought a 20 litre drum of Smith & Allen LifeGuard 6 so that I can do smaller changes more regularly on the replacement gearbox I’m about to fit to mine.

David. 2002 4.6 Vogue SE - Alveston Red with Lightstone Leather
2007 Range Rover Supercharged in Java Black with Ivory Leather
2012 Range Rover 5.0 SC Autobiography in Indus Silver with Jet/Ivory Interior
2012 Range Rover 4.4 TDV8 Autobiography in Baltic Blue with Sand Interior

RR2B wrote:

Any opinions on Millermatic?

https://www.millersoils.co.uk/products/millermatic-atf-8-speed/