Hello all, this looks like a fantastic forum and I look forward to contributing

Myself and my partner have been looking for a couple of years for a suitable L322.

In that time we have moved from looking at the early 3.0TD BMW engines (had one in an e39 and know the engine well, also had the gearbox grenade itself!)

We have now moved on to a 3.6 TDV8 and are going to look at one this week.

It has done 160,000 miles.

We do 90% of the work our vehicles require ourselves. We wont tackle things like gearboxes.

As such, in anticipation of getting the ZF gearbox serviced, I called a well-respected localish independent Land Rover specialist about pricing.

They told me, if the box is not displaying issues, leave it alone as they have seen serviced boxes causing issues after servicing. They told me they don’t want to turn business away but wouldn’t recommend doing it if there are no issues.

Does that ring true to any of you with experience?

Rightly or wrongly I don't believe that changing the fluid can make the gearbox fail. My own theory is that there will be loads of gearboxes that that get neglected by owners who wont spend the money to maintain them. One day they start to misbehave in some way, the owners who have neglected them then decide to get the fluid changed in a effort to "fix" the problem, most likely with the cheapest fluid that they can find and then the gearbox fails.
It's then easier to convince yourself that the box failed because of the fluid change rather than accept it's down to neglect.
I think this is one of many motoring myths that exist - I'll be happy to be corrected but I would change the Fluid with the correct stuff.

Thanks for the reply.

What you say makes sense, 100%

I am all for preventative maintenance, prevention is better than cure etc
I was fully expecting and budgeting to get the fluid and filter changed and use the ZF recommended spec items.
I am now a bit thrown by the indys thoughts on the matter, as stated, years in business and excellent rep.

It depends, if it hasn't had a couple of gbox oil changes already there's a school of thought that says changes at 160k will be detrimental, but if it has had regular changes keep it going every 60k and it'll last for ever.

If no documented change by 160k I'd keep in mind your going to be putting a new box on it at some point.....

As for the gearbox fluids, a lot of people on here have had the gearbox filters changed / flushed properly by various companies and by the well known 'Bodsy'. To date I have not seen any posts that highlighted problems AFTER this procedure. ( Someone correct me if I am wrong, I have not read any negative comments after having work carried out by Bodsy )

If you do down this route there are a few parts, seals etc that can be changed at the same time to improve long term reliability, a search of posts ( plus Wiki ) will tell you which parts to renew. At the end of the day gearboxes require maintenance like engines, transfer boxes, diffs etc. Some people argue against the more expensive preventative maintenance items being renewed / serviced, and wait until something fails, but if a gearbox does fail, then it is expensive to fix.

Just my own opinion, from a marine engineer, not a FFRR expert.

Why a 3.6 and not a 4.4 - amongst other things you won't have to worry about is the gearbox. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

Thanks all, detailed and very helpful replies.

Everything that has been said makes total sense to me. I can see the thinking of if it has got to 160k then leave alone and wait until it goes wrong. Not that I would have done that if it were in my ownership.

So with that, a couple of questions. At what sort of milage would you all expect a new or rebuilt (what's the prevailing wind on that also?) box? I understand its a string question as each vehicle will have led a different life but I know from the GM unit, it's rare they see past 150k.

What are the warning signs of a box on borrowed time?

As to why we are not looking at a 4.4, number of reasons. Hard to come by here in Ireland at reasonable money. Even harder to tax at €2350/year. Budget, want to leave space for issues when they arrive. Milage won't be more than 5000 km/yr

Vibration under load is the first sign the TC is on it's way out. Harsh gear changes up or down are not good sign. At 160k I'd also worry about the turbo's. 3.6's can cost a lot more to own than 4.4's as it's the big stuff that fails on them. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

Thanks again.

I know it's an engine out job for the turbos iirc, any ideas on a ballpark figure for the job?

Is it also something that owners do preemptively?

I've seen quotes around £6-8k. Nobody replaces them preemptively as it's not worth the cost. EGR valve failure is also an issue but at that mileage you have to assume/hope they have already been done. 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)

Bodsy did mine at 83K and then again at 120K. No issues before or after.
Nothing will fix a gearbox that has been neglected and already . Simple concept as pointed out above already  2011 4.4 TDV8 Vogue SE Buckingham Blue with Ivory and clear glass = "Rory"
New Defender D300 90 on order so "Rory" will be going to a new home....!
1974 Series 3 Lightweight = "Millie"
My preferred specialist: www.glenrands.co.uk
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I had a megaflush performed at 92k on my 4.2SC ZF6HP26 gearbox and it failed with an E-clutch fault at 100k. Cause or effect? Probably just worn out and all the megaflush did was exchange old overheated oil for new ZF Lifeguard 6, but still in a worn box. I’m not saying preventative gearbox oil and filter changes/megaflushing aren’t worthwhile, just that gearboxes do wear out eventually. Budget around £3.5k for an overhaul, or £4k including a new transmission oil cooler.

fanders
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2009 4.2 SC Buckingham Blue
2021 Hilux 2.4

@P&D - did you or didn't you? 2012 TDV8 Vogue (L322)