Greetings to the forum

Like I said on my first post, I've just bought a 4.4 tdv8, going to pick it up next week. I've always read that the gearboxes are a weak link, specially because initially it was considered to be sealed for life.

the car shows 115000km ( 72 000 miles ) but I never trust on those readings. I drove the car once, it worked fine,but again, is my first auto, so not completely sure what to expect.

I've found a ZF specialist, that can do the oil/filter change, it is expensive € 516,00, but this is Portugal. They seem to be knowledgeable.

My question is, should I book the car in, or should I wait until I know the car better, have a chance to drive it for a while , so I can compare the before and after behaviour of the gearbox ?

Tito

Tito

Hi and welcome to the forum.

From information here the 8 speed is a very good box, but it is suggested that a full oil change and filter is done about 80k miles. Lot's of discusson about this if you have a search. Some say change the oil and filter, some say do that perhaps twice more and other swear by a full power flush at operating temperature. Any way the oil is very specific and expensive on its own, so if you have a specialist do the job, expect a bill of about what you have had quoted. Mkae sure they know to use the correct oil and give you a detailed breakdown of the work before you commit.

As far as I can tell the box is not a weak point, it appears to be one of the best, especially when married to the TDV8's massive torque. Check the car's service history carefully, that's very important and if you buy, run it for a while to get the hang of the 'box/engine working together.

Hope this helps. Cheers
Richard

(there are no such things as an ordinary FullFat, an ordinary cat or too many tools)
2011 TDV8 Vogue Santorini Black
Gap IIDBT

Fully agree. The box is a fantastic piece of engineering and very smooth. I have never bought this sealed for life business.

I had my oil changed at around 80k and I have to say it felt no different but its good peace of mind.

The refill process is quite a task with set stages and timings and I suspect not really a DIY thing for the average owner.

Do it!.  405 AB exec seats Baltic and Cirrus
93 RR Classic efi

Remember it's easier to get forgiveness than permission!

Gone in order:
4.4 TDV8 SE - gone to a good home
93 Classic hard dash Plymouth Blue
03 L322 Oslo Blue
2000 Disco TD5 ES Epsom Green
98 P38 Rioja Red
89 Classic Cairngorm Brown

Same here. Had it done at 85K as a preventative maintenance measure. I had it megaflushed by Bodsy on my driveway
No symptoms before or after which is what you want

Being an 'oil nerd' I would definitely say change the gearbox oil as soon as you can, it's another box ticked in the new ownership file!
I had mine mega flushed rather than a straight forward oil & filter, I listened to the Indy & he suggested a flush as just doing the oil & filter only gets 60% of the oil out (I took his word on this) so this is what I've done.
She drove fine before & she drives fine now, but, I know it's been done & that's what matters.

Hope this helps. 2012 Orkney Grey Westminster 4.4TDV8 with Ivory interior.........nice!
BMW R1200GS
Alfa Romeo Giulietta
Just one Montesa now, 349 White Wonder
Austin A40 Farina MK2
1975 Morris Marina 1.8TC

Hello

Rfjj, I bought the car, already put a deposit on it, there's some minor things that I asked the dealer to sort out, like the lack of the parcel shelf, that's why I don't have it yet !

The car was imported from the UK in 2017, strangely it is a LHD. Found a couple of stamps from a Gaydon dealer on the log book,and some invoices of work carried out where the kms at the time where written, so I'm lead to believe, a little , that what shows on the dash is the correct millage.

following you guys advice, I've booked the car for a gearbox service at a ZF specialist, they said they will connect the gearbox to a machine that will check if the gearbox is ok, and only if ok they will do the work. I'll keep you guys posted how it went !

by far this is the most expensive thing I bought after my house, I want it to last !!!

Tito

Tito

Great you have bought the TDV8 and you will enjoy it. (Hmmmm, that's not an order. just a fact of life).

Perhaps change all the fluids as a matter of prevention/maintenance as is noted often on the forum, gives peace of mind and you know its been done for the best. The workshop manual is in the Wiki along with lots of other useful knowledge.

I know how you feel about the car being the most expensive thing after your house. I'm showing my age when I say ours cost WAY more more than our first house  Cheers
Richard

(there are no such things as an ordinary FullFat, an ordinary cat or too many tools)
2011 TDV8 Vogue Santorini Black
Gap IIDBT

He is in portugal
This car will not be cheap!

Mad prices over here for stuff that would be peanuts back in blighty.....

yes, it is true, the price we pay for that extra Sun !

The road tax for this car is close to € 1000 yearly !

Just found the Service Information for the car's gearbox :


Now, what is wrong with a simple dipstick ? The procedure for checking the oil level put me off of even thinking about doing it myself !

I leave here the link, in case anyone wants to have a look

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&...4Hw8s91BNw

The procedure is simple enough just takes time. The temperature range for setting the level is the important step.

Much easier on a ramp!

Ok, took the car to a ZF authorized dealer, first they will connect it to a machine to run some diagnostic, and if everything is alright, they will do the oil change.

Fingers crossed evering thing is fine !

Just a little update ;

Spoke to the mechanic at Inter-Matic, asked if the oil he removed looked to be new, or close to new, he said that no, not at all . The dealer promised that the car was being sold with a full service, including the gearbox oil . Lesson to be learned, never trust a salesman.

The good news is that they run a full diagnostic on the gearbox, and everything is ok

Tito

Well, went to pick up the car,and no, not everything is ok

before the gearchanges were almost unoticible, now, going from 1st to 2nd, it changes like an old classic automatic, you clearly feel the change, like you get a push on your back.

Called the garage, they said is normal after an oil change, that i need to give time for a the gearbox to "get used" to the new oil

oh well, time will tell !

update please.