DC/MD/VA Repair Shop Recommendation?

DC97

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2006
124
5
Washington DC
Hoping to get some feedback from anyone here in the mid-Atlantic area.



I might be looking at a transmission replacement on my ‘08 LR3 so I’m looking for an Independent shop to do complex service items that’s trust worthy and has good rates(if that exists).



Several shops in my area get good online reviews but hoping to get better feedback / comments here:
British 4x4 (Springfield VA)
https://www.british4x4.com

4x4 Land (Chantilly VA)
https://www.4x4-land.com

Mid Atlantic Rover (Columbia MD)
www.midatlanticrovers.com

Air-Park Rovers (Gaithersburg MD)
www.airparkrvrs4wd.com

Much appreciated
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
I hope you find a good shop and I don't know any out there. But I will tell you that a trans replacement on that car is one of the worst jobs you could ever have to do. It's also not a very common failure. What is your truck doing that makes you feel like it might need a trans? The rear diff reports fail codes thru the trans ecu and comes up on the message center as a trans fault. Also the shifter has been big trouble and reports the same way"trans fault"

If its the dreaded trans seems to go into neutral at stops and engine flares is really not such a big problem at all. especially if you have a stiff feeling shifter.
 

DC97

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2006
124
5
Washington DC
Thanks for the feedback I was afraid of that. I’m pretty surprised how complex the LR3 is compared to the disco but it’s been bulletproof from 38k—90k miles. What happened last night was a complete surprise:

At first I noticed a little bit more hesitation then usual when the car was trying to upshift again on acceleration after a stop sign (we have a lot of those in DC) but nothing unusual.

All of a sudden last night on an uphill portion of a dark highway I was on I noticed a loss of power like something was slipping in the transmission.

I had to keep going because I was in fast traffic on a dark and took the first exit - The loss of power intermittently returned and I pulled over after a few minutes of 25-30 mph driving.

No – warning lights or engine temperature changes but I did have a faint burning smell and some white smoke when I pulled over. It was too dark to see if what was dripping from the engine was oil or trans fluid.

Today in the daylight I can see oil level is fine so it must be trans fluid (clear colored) and I’m assuming I must’ve blown one of the cooler lines. I just had the trans pan and filter serviced about nine months ago. But with the engine shied blocking view it’s hard to tell.

So I’m assuming it has something to do with the transmission losing fluid all of a sudden on the highway (potentially being destroyed). By the time I pulled over I had almost total loss of power.

I tried to restart the engine about 10 minutes after stopping and it just made a horrible sound and barely turned over.

That’s why I’m looking for a good shop who can diagnose this. When it comes to transmissions it’s way out of my DIY abilities.
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
I would look under the truck for any leaks. A trans cooler pipe could have rubbed thru near the left motor mount. At the rear of the trans pan look for any fluid collecting there. If it's all dry then your damage might exceed the value of the vehicle. Before you authorize any crazy expensive repair check out what it would cost to get in a like vehicle with lower miles.
Hopefully you will see oil all down the underside of the vehicle. That would be a good outcome if the trans fluid just got too low to operate.
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
One thing I forgot to mention. I mentioned the shifter being stiff or hard to move. If you look under the truck and it's all dry, and the shifter does seem stiff or harder than normal to move thru the ranges. Then drive it and try pulling backward on the shifter. If pulling back on the shifter makes it catch and start driving again, you just need about 75 bucks worth of shift bushings
 

DC97

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2006
124
5
Washington DC
Thanks for the added info. Ill look into it - i have since read a few things about other faults that can disguise themselves as a transmission failure and that’s interesting to know about.

There was visible fluid leakage so that’s what lead me to believe something burst and lost trans fluid.

Hopefully I’ll find a good shop that’s good at diagnostics so If anyone in the Mid-Atlantic has a recommendation I’d really appreciate it.
 

DC97

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2006
124
5
Washington DC
I would look under the truck for any leaks. A trans cooler pipe could have rubbed thru near the left motor mount. At the rear of the trans pan look for any fluid collecting there. If it's all dry then your damage might exceed the value of the vehicle. Before you authorize any crazy expensive repair check out what it would cost to get in a like vehicle with lower miles.
Hopefully you will see oil all down the underside of the vehicle. That would be a good outcome if the trans fluid just got too low to operate.

Couldn’t see much in the way of fluid pooling in the motor guard the next morning but it was wet.

I’ll update this thread with what the mechanic finds out. Unfortunately I don’t have a garage at home I can tow it into so it needs to go directly to a service center from where it broke down.
 

DC97

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2006
124
5
Washington DC
Circumstances didn’t allow me to thoroughly inspect the car at breakdown or the following morning but it appears now that the car had a coolant loss issue while on the highway.

The engine temp gauge read normal during the loss of power (simulating to me a transmission failure) and no warnings were reported on the dash so I’m thinking the car put itself into limp-mode automatically? With no indication? Also - Totally random but the battery also failed at the same time causing the inability to restart the car after the breakdown.


No transmission codes were reported. So luckily the transmission and engine seem fine - no prolonged overheating occurred but I’m surprised the dash didn’t report an issue during the failure and temp gauge stayed constant?

So now I’m looking into replacing all the hoses, thermostat housing and water pump.

Thought I’d post in case a similar failure happens to anyone. I’ll post an update once repairs are done.

Still seeking good shop recommendations in the DC/MD/VA area in case anyone come across this thread.
 
Last edited:

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
I haven't seen a newer ZF trans stop shifting for an overtemp condition, but the BMW Range Rover used to do that with no indication to the driver. That problem was a trans cooler water flow problem. so the engine was never hot. I don't think it would store any trans faults either.
 

SafariDave

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2008
92
0
Brooklyn, NYC
How many miles does your truck have?
Has it ever had a trans fluid/pan filter changed?
It will only fail if it had a leak that was not taken care of. Or it was not changed at over 120K miles.
I changed my trans fluid at 85K. They usually hold till about 100K before changing fluid. Plus you can only change about 8qts on it. Then you change it again at 120K or so.
A great LR shop in NYC is in the Bronx, British Auto works.
Dave
 

discostew

Well-known member
Sep 14, 2010
7,706
1,015
Northern Illinois
How many miles does your truck have?
Has it ever had a trans fluid/pan filter changed?
It will only fail if it had a leak that was not taken care of. Or it was not changed at over 120K miles.
I changed my trans fluid at 85K. They usually hold till about 100K before changing fluid. Plus you can only change about 8qts on it. Then you change it again at 120K or so.
A great LR shop in NYC is in the Bronx, British Auto works.
Dave
Trans fluid won't fix a trans unless the level is low. If the filter is restricted its the shit in the filter that should be someplace else, not the filter. I bet his trans just quit shifting cause it knew it was overtemp.
 

Narzuhl

Well-known member
Oct 19, 2004
62
0
Leesburg, VA
This thread is a little old, but try
Wally at www.LoudounRoVa.com Phone # 703-627-6594

He use to be off route 50 in Chantilly and has moved from the looks of it to Purcellville, VA.
Had him do a AC compressor on my old LR3 and it was done fast and right. He diagnosed it immediately and had me on the road in 2 days (1 days for the part to arrive).
 

DC97

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2006
124
5
Washington DC
Thanks to everyone for the good information it will definitely come in handy.

Turns out the issue was a burst coolant hose that triggered a limp-home mode and that’s what the loss of power was all about. Engine temp stayed normal throughout and so it seems there was no overheating. Replacement of all the hoses and water pump housing was all it needed. Had it failed during the day it might have been more obvious.

thought I would post this update because during this coolant system failure no warnings showed up on the dash and engine temp stayed normal in case anyone encounters a similar situation.
 

DC97

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2006
124
5
Washington DC
This thread is a little old, but try
Wally at www.LoudounRoVa.com Phone # 703-627-6594

He use to be off route 50 in Chantilly and has moved from the looks of it to Purcellville, VA.
Had him do a AC compressor on my old LR3 and it was done fast and right. He diagnosed it immediately and had me on the road in 2 days (1 days for the part to arrive).
Good to know I’ll check them out for future reference. Much appreciated
 

DC97

Well-known member
Jul 12, 2006
124
5
Washington DC
Just an update to this old thread : for those in the mid Atlantic / DC area I’ve had a few repairs done by Airpark Rovers and so far had a very good experience.

Honest, knowledgeable, and professional.

Air-Park Rovers (Gaithersburg MD)
www.airparkrvrs4wd.com