By Scott on Monday, December 03, 2001 - 03:39 pm: Edit

I recently purchased a '96 SD with 51k miles. I've noticed that the 1-2 shift seems a little lazy and sometimes is accompanied with a small 'shudder'. The PO last changed the fluid at the 30K service, so I drained and refilled with Valvoline Dex III. No change. Should I be worried?

By Mike Rupp (Mike_Rupp) on Monday, December 03, 2001 - 04:00 pm: Edit

I have a similar situation. Accompanying the 1-2 shift is a slight vibration when accelerating at low-medium throttle. At full throttle the shift is fine. The vibration has been the same before/after OME HD spring install. I thought something might be loose underneath, but the front and rear driveshafts are tight. Any ideas?

By Scott on Monday, December 03, 2001 - 04:07 pm: Edit

Yep - sounds like the same situation. I forgot to mention that when I changed the fluid, it looked good with only a few shavings on the magnet.

By Tate (Tate) on Monday, December 03, 2001 - 04:26 pm: Edit

I've got a third one on a 98 D1 with 70k miles, stock height.

By Clint on Monday, December 03, 2001 - 05:45 pm: Edit

It might be your kickdown cable adjustment. Shuddering is when the engagement is too slow.
I don't know, but I'll bet $5 you just need to adjust your cable.
Search the archives under "tune up your tranny" or just search "cable" and you'll find my thread on how do do it. It takes 5 minutes.
Try it and Let me know...

By Ira on Monday, December 03, 2001 - 05:46 pm: Edit

Have you tried adjusting the transmission shift cable??? You should be able to find the article in the tech section.

I hope this helps...

By D Cantrell (Discodad) on Monday, December 03, 2001 - 05:56 pm: Edit

I had a similar occurrence with my 97 Disco minus the metal particles.
Was there a burnt smell? Is this the first fluid change.

With mine I dropped the Pan and replaced the filter PIA but look at the alternative, Flushed x2. It has been running fine since.

I have always done that every 12 to 15K. My last RR had 189k on the clock before the engine gave out. But the tranny is still alive. Keep clean fluid in the ZF it will last, at least mine have.

Another preventive measure I replaced all the tranny hoses last week, It does appear to be running even smoother. Driveway is cleaner at least.

By Tate (Tate) on Monday, December 10, 2001 - 01:35 pm: Edit

Clint,
I adjusted the kickdown cable and it did seem to help the 1-2 shift. I need to play with it a little more and see if I can make it even better. Thanks for the suggestion. It's all about positioning the little stopper away from the barrle adjuster. Much like a bike derailleur, on which I'm also working to get the shifting correct.

4-wheeling in a Land Rover is much like mountain biking in philosophy, but about an order of magnitude more expensive! Hehe.

Tate

By Scott Kopiec (Skopiec) on Monday, December 10, 2001 - 03:06 pm: Edit

I also adjusted the cable with some success. Initially I went too far and it made the 2-3 shift harsh. I'm slowly backing it off until I hit a happy medium.

Scott

By Chris Browne on Tuesday, December 11, 2001 - 04:07 pm: Edit

Have fun with my ZF box at the 90k fluid and filter change and again at a fluid only 15k later I lost for a few days after these changes the upchange from 2-3.
The valves that control where the fluid goes and therefore which gear you are in are aluminium in a steel body. Tiny debris particles can lodge in these valves potentially damaging them. Once the fluid warms up it frees up the valve (differential heat growth) and normal service is restored
My tranny was a LRNA rebuild after the first one was messed up during a service. I suspect I got a rebuilt tranny not a new one and do wonder how many miles it had on it before......