I’m collecting my (new to me) L322 4.4 TDV8 in a few days time. It’s my first Range Rover, but far from my first older car.

I’d kept some of the budget back to take the chosen car to a specialist once I’d got one, knowing that I’d want some peace of mind after taking the plunge.

The one I’ve gone for is on 95k, has a lovely full dealer history, and lots of invoices totalling up to much than I’ve paid for it. However, while lots of the usual suspects have cropped up, there’s no record of gearbox oil being changed.

Researching my local specialists, I’ve enquired about the costs of a power flush. Two of the most helpful conversations I had did end up contradicting each other though and it’s left me a little stumped.

Specialist 1 said: Don’t bother with power flushing. All you do is push oil through the existing filter. The proper way to do it is to remove the oil, the sump pan, replace the filter and refill. The estimate for that job was £800.

Specialist 2 said: The filter is just made of metal coil in that gearbox and only designed to stop anything big. A power flush is perfectly fine and he’d done hundreds of them. The price I got on that was £360.

Aside from the obvious cost difference, and my apparently incorrect assumption that a power flush would be more expensive than a filter change, I’m not 100% which direction to go in now. I’m aware I’m not going to get consensus from a forum, but I’m keen to hear some owner thoughts… What do you think? 2011 L322 4.4 TDV8 Vogue
1999 Mercedes R129 SL
1995 Peugeot 106 Rallye

True that the filter is a fairly wide mesh
Lifeguard 8 is fairly expensive- £25 a litre is an average price, and you need 6 or 7 litres for a drain and refill
Drain and refill only changes ~60% of the fluid in the gearbox. A power flush heats the gearbox / fluid up so that a complete fluid change can happen, which takes 12 litres
Sump (which contains filter) can be bought from a sponsor - advanced factors. I think around £150 pounds
Labour is 2-3 hours

There are cheaper alternatives to Lifeguard 8 - i think Bodsy uses an alternative

I have had both normal drain and refills and power flush done on mine.
I don’t think ZF recommend a power flush, but i noticed no adverse effect on mine.

Specialist 1 price looks expensive
Specialist 2 price looks cheap - is this with sump / filter replacement and with lifeguard 8? Anyone know what bodsy charges? I think bodsy is quite close for Worcester?

If yours has had no gearbox fluid change, I would get it done. I change my fluid now every year (drain and refill) and change the sump / filter every second year.
I am now on 125k miles.
First gearbox service was done at 30k miles, then 60k miles….no gearbox issues so far.

At 60k miles I went through the process of dropping the oil and refilling 3 times over the course of two weeks, driving it circa a hundred miles between each oil drop. On the final drop I also then changed the filter. The oil went from black to almost bright green as the new oil was over the course of the process. I would estimate I have changed 90% or more of the oil and given it a good flush through.

I bought 20L of the correct oil from Smith & Allan. Oil was just over £100 and I used a genuine filter that was £120.

It drives super smooth and felt that it was a job definitively worth doing. It’s not a hard job to do if you are even slightly competent with the spanners.

I would certainly change the filter though, and gives a good opportunity to inspect for sludge, debris etc.

Get in touch with Bodsy. He does megaflush. I had that done in March, with both diff oils and transfer box oil. £500 odd. Can’t go wrong.

Search Bodsy on here….

Obviously folks have done various methods and will have their preferred approach. Up to you. Imagine any option is better than leaving it. Should be done at 10 years old according to ZF.

 2011 Range Rover Vogue SE 4.4 TDV8

Previous cars :
2003 Range Rover Vogue TD6
1999 Discovery Td5 ES
1995 BMW M5 3.8 6 speed
1992 Range Rover 3.9 Efi Vogue
1992 BMW M5 3.8
1988 BMW 735i SE
1989 Ford Sierra XR4x4 2.9i
1981 Ford Fiesta Supersport

Whatever you decide to do I’d recommend it involves genuine ZF oil. IMO ‘flushing’ is unnecessary and simply replacing a good proportion of the oil with genuine ZF fluid and replacing the pan is enough on these boxes which are very reliable and will usually outlast the rest of the car. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

I’ve had two mega flushes, one at 82k when I bought her 5 yrs ago & then had Bodsy come down to the sticks this year & had another mega flush done at 105k. Overkill? Probably, but for piece of mind 99% of the oil is replaced via a mega flush.
You have to go with your gut feeling, simple. 2012 Orkney Grey Westminster 4.4TDV8 with Ivory interior.........nice!
Alfa Romeo Giulietta
Just one Montesa now, 349 White Wonder
Austin A40 Farina MK2
1975 Morris Marina 1.8TC
1973 Honda CB250 K4

I don't trust 'gut feelings' when it comes to car maintenance but whatever makes you happy
BTW - Does Brodsy use genuine ZF fluid in his Mega-flush? 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

Did my filter replacement a few weeks ago, easy job and not worth paying £800 for. I dont really see the point if you arent replacing the filter. Also there are magnets on the filter base and will most likely have a thin film of metalic sludge on them so you are replacing those magnets as well and helping them perform better in the long run. The flush is just an oil change. 2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue Grey/Ivory

Just use Bodsy and be safe in the knowledge that he knows what he's doing and has done literally hundreds of them.
He's mobile out of Telford so not far from you...
I had my 8 speed flushed twice by him. Perfect  Gone to a good home: 2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE Buckingham Blue with Ivory and clear glass = "Rory"
2025MY Defender D350 90 in Silicon Silver on coils
1974 Series 3 Lightweight = "Millie"
Many, many other Landies over the years
My preferred specialist: www.glenrands.co.uk
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Anxiety…

Why not take your RR to a ZF service centre?
Solihull…Walsall aren’t too far from Worcester

https://www.advancedfactors.co.uk/lr065238...8462-p.asp

It's easy enough done, took me maybe an hour under the car, then went and did some other jobs while it cooled to check final level. Best if you have something like the IID tool to check temp, but could leave overnight. Just over £200

ZF don't manufacture oil so in a way its all rebranded. Happy with anything to spec.