Maverik Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Hello folks, I've got a mad idea to get an auto... and what looks to be a reasonable early D1 300tdi auto has come up locally, I'm pretty o fay with your standard ageing discovery ailments, but I've zero experience with any kind of LR autos, not looking for a project but a usable vehicle for me for the short term, said truck has elegadly full service history, it looks straight with 108k on the clock... Any pearls or realistic advice for me... Cheers Mav Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveturnbull Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Don't plan on getting anywhere quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPendrey Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Pearls of wisdom? No. But I can tell you about two issues I had with mine, so you can look out for them... or the lack of them more precisely. The selector on mine wouldn't line up quite with the numbers on the centre console, so you had to pull past 2 (for example) then push forward to get 2nd gear restriction. Not a major problem, but annoying sometimes. I also had an issue with mine (along the lines of the above) where Park couldn't always be selected. I think this contributed to the parking pawl being broken off (my guess as the gearbox would click and the car would roll). Both of these, once you knew about them, didn't pose problems but were annoying. Scott Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SPendrey Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Oh yes, and if you plan on parking facing down a steep driveway, be prepared for low range or lots of revs to reverse back up first thing in the morning! Having said the above, I found it more sedate on and off road, but more flexible too. With the manual and 235/85/16 tyres I have to use low range much more than the auto did. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Brock Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Scott, Did you try replacing the "nipple" on the cable adjuster to box lever, mine was really wobbly on the pin, changed it and the selecter was much more precise ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alland Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 hi maverick nothing wrong with an auto but check gears shift up and down ok and when its ticking over have someone inside put into drive when foot on the brake ok and listen for ant clinking or mettalic noise and try to look at flywheel plate as theyre prone to cracking as i had one and you can get the flywheel plate but its box off job , and have a look at box oil see if its redish and does not smell burnt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Les Brock Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 "and listen for any clinking or mettalic noise" What's that a symptom of ?. mine did that the very first couple of times I put it into park after building it all up and running it through the gears, never happened again....can I expect doom and gloom lol it was like a chinnnngggg noise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverik Posted February 17, 2015 Author Share Posted February 17, 2015 Good advice, thanks chaps, where can one expect too find the gearbox oil filler? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alland Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 hi les i bought my premium es 300 tdi few years back with 104 thou on it it was lovely but the chap failed to say hed been towing heavy plant machines hmmm anyway mine developed a like you say a chieeen noise every now and again i thought it was thrust bearing or rings but closer inspection was the flywheel plate it cost me 250 quid labour and 120 quid for the part it had cracked nearly all the way along . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alland Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Good advice, thanks chaps, where can one expect too find the gearbox oil filler? the oil filler is the dipstick tube i believe you check it when at running temp ,put foot on brake and run through all gears one at a time moving it from park to 1 twice and then leave in neutral leave engine running it will give you a correct reading then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I've got a mad idea forget it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mudmonkey Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 If the box sticks in first until it has warmed up slightly then its an early warning that youre going to have a catastrophic breakdown. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teabag Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 the oil filler is the dipstick tube i believe you check it when at running temp ,put foot on brake and run through all gears one at a time moving it from park to 1 twice and then leave in neutral leave engine running it will give you a correct reading then Check the fluid level when it's cold it's the correct way. Move the selector to position 1 and then back to P while the engine is running at idle speed, then go and pull the dipstick to check the fluid level. More info can be found in the owners handbook. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Pretty sure it is supposed to follow that procedure, but then be put in neutral, not park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teabag Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Pretty sure it is supposed to follow that procedure, but then be put in neutral, not park.So what difference do you think it makes? I've done it in both N and P many times in the 27 years of LR autos and haven't see any difference in fluid levels. It must be a safety thing, and when giving info to help others it should be correct, not "pretty sure" or "I believe" therefore better to quote a fact and therefore what Land Rover states on the subject. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muddy Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I had one of the early ones with mechanical fuel pump, the diaphragm had a 1/4 turn and it tickled along nicely on 235/85 grabbers. We put about 20k on it and sold it with 260 odd on the clock and afaik it's still going strong. All I did in that time gearbox wise was change the oil and filter. Previous to myself it did plent of lighter pay and plays English greenlaning and went around Croatia Portugal ect on two separate occasions laning. We have moved on to a td5 auto wich is better but Ive no ill feelings to a 300 although I would prefer non EDC if I was to buy one. Will. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wanger Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 if its a later electrnic fuel pump you can retro fit the manual pump and tune the engine a bit. they go real well when tuned. alot faster than a manual. I have a 200tdi auto D1, its the best combo LR made IMHO. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Okay teabag, be like that, not sure it was really deserved, was only quoting the way I read it in the workshop manual. Dunno if you're having a bad day, but it was a bit of a bitey post. I'll be sure not to reply to any of your posts again, don't worry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hebdo Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 I loved my 300 tdi auto. Tweak the fuel pump and turbo a tad and they are fine. As long as they have the diesel auto gearbox in them. As with any secondhand car buy, try and turn up a little early. Start from cold. Drive it a reasonable distance. Personally when test driving an auto I drive it a bit harshly, checking kick down as well as manually changing from 1 to d revving it out a bit and selecting the next gear. Auto box when warm or cold check for.T Thunk, clunk, slipping, ( not technical terms but you own a landrover so will know what I'm talking about) gear selection. Does it change smoothly, not jerking into gear or sort of slipping in and then biting? Gently come on and off throttle to show up any lash in drivetrain. Most old autos are a little sluggish from cold as very few people change the oil and filter. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ally V8 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 If its all in good nick and well set up there is nothing at all wrong with an auto against a TDI. Careful adjustment of the kickdown cable makes a big difference to how well they drive. Fuel consumption is the downside,along with being useless with a stone cold engine... Probably more reliable than the clutch and R380 over the life of the car. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bowie69 Posted February 17, 2015 Share Posted February 17, 2015 Here's how to check the fluid level: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boydie Posted February 19, 2015 Share Posted February 19, 2015 My 300Tdi started out it's life a as an auto, it performed well, I then switched it for an Ashcroft zF4HP22/24 a brilliant box and the build that should have been used in the first place - with the large 24 oil pump. The best thing about the auto is that is almost impossible to bog it in deepish sand, clutch in a manual and you bog, simple as that, the worst thing about an auto is unless you are an expert (and I'm not) it's almost impossible to repair it roadside, which is why I exchanged it for a manual which I can fix. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheffield Posted February 21, 2015 Share Posted February 21, 2015 i have had one for some four years now and it is fine. By modern standards performance is poor, but it is a relaxing vehicle to drive, and I want to keep it in the long term. Changing the oil and filter screen is a bit of a pain, as I have to remove the chassis cross member and one gearbox mount to get the sump pan off. Worth doing I think, but I have seen suggested that if the oil has not been changed as it should changing the oil can dislodge accumulated muck and cause problems. One thing, you can not bump start an auto, so there is a need to keep the battery in good condition. Also if it is an EDC engine, as most UK automatics are, parts including injectors are becoming a problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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