Minor maintenance - helpful for higher mileage RRS owners

[PJPR01]

I thought I would do a bit of preventative maintenance on my RRS considering the "arduous use" it gets as defined by LR day in and day out. This at 72K miles registered on the odometer, probably closer to 75K considering I'm running oversize tires for at least 45K of the 72k

So...I decided to replace the transmission fluid and front and rear differential fluids...interesting to see how these 3 boxes absorb the wear and tear differently. I had previously already changed the transfer case back around 57K.

1. Rear differential - fluid came out looking like a cafe mocha grande, certainly not clear liquid, but no metal shavings and all gears look good (shining a light into the diff box to see the teeth). Minimal pasty gunk on the magnetic filler plug.

2. Front differential - fluid came out looking like Texas crude - a completely black fluid, a bit more pasty gunk on the magnetic filler plug, but no metal fillings either. Gears look good as well.

3. Transmission - fluid still quite clear, no gunk at all...good sign!

In addition to this, I had my front sway bar bushings replaced - very easy to do, and this solved a very recent clunking sound I was hearing on some rough roads.

After all of this was done - car again is rock solid, no wiggle or clunking at all, smooth as silk...onwards to the next 75K miles!

Total Cost: $325 for parts and labor done at Land Rovers Unlimited (Independent shop in the Woodlands)

[PJPR01]

I had previously already changed the transfer case back around 57K.

I meant to say, transfer case fluid...but since I can't edit my original post...correcting here.

[gooseyloosey]

Good post, thanks. Isn't it nice what a little love will do?

Also for the DIY'r changing the diff oil is real easy to do and I have always done the diff change at 30K and the transfer case at 60K intervals. That's probably a bit of overkill as I'm sure you can extend it w the modern synthetics. The only downside is the cost of 6-8 quarts of synthetic gear lube

If you do decide to change it yourself always remove the fill plug first...before the drain plug... just in case you have a real stubborn fill plug and happen to round off the hex bolt trying to remove it... after you've drained the differential Yup, that ruined my afternoon plans.

[PJPR01]

Good advice there Goose...always pays to plan first, then execute...

[umbertob]

If you do decide to change it yourself always remove the fill plug first...before the drain plug.

[gooseyloosey]

Good advice there Goose...always pays to plan first, then execute...

As our caveman ancestors used to say, "it never pays to be the first one in a dark cave"

[sdtrojan]

Hi there, new to this forum...Is it significant to get this done at a dealership?
Or do you think any Tranny shop could get the job done?

thanks for your advice

[sjlucky]

new to the site...rrs 08 owner. Wanted to know if there are any pictures of where the drain plugs are located...manuals...or anything of that nature regarding maintenance in general. things you've described, details on fluid types, where filters are located...etc.

anything that would be helpful. I took a look under the car and it seems like most is covered by the skid plates or something. Any info would be helpful.

Thanks. Great forum by the way.

[umbertob]

For an oil change, the larger engine undershield needs to be removed to access the oil drain plug (10 bolts), then the drain plug will be visible, see below for a drawing. To change the oil filter you also need to remove the small radiator access panel (4 bolts.)

[attachment=3:1jtwv8ap]undershield.jpg[/attachment:1jtwv8ap][attachment=2:1jtwv8ap]oilplug.jpg[/attachment:1jtwv8ap][attachment=1:1jtwv8ap]radiatorpanel.jpg[/attachment:1jtwv8ap][attachment=0:1jtwv8ap]oilfilter.jpg[/attachment:1jtwv8ap]

[PJPR01]

I can almost anticipate the next question: How the hell do I remove the oil filter!

If you're lucky, it was not tightened on excessively and can be removed by hand.

Otherwise you'll need either an oil filter wrench none of which seem to fit very easily in that rather small space, or
you'll have to improvise by jamming a philips screwdriver into the body of the filter (make sure your drain pan is below the filter or the oil will leak onto the driveway) and then gently pull down to loosen the filter a bit, after which you can undo it by hand.

[beachfront]

Nice pic's!!
Make sure you tighten all the bolts up as well...

The radiator panel is what I had fly off my car on the 55 freeway after driving home from the dealership for scheduled maintenance..

Scared the %$#& out of all of us

[sjlucky]

this is great. thanks so much. what is preferred oil brand that most users here use? I've always used the mobil 1's...but manual suggests castrol. Any opinions on this?

Also...just wondering where these pics came from and whether there's anything also that i can obtain for other changes....? Air filters, cabin filters....other fluids....etc.?

Does anything need to be done with the supercharger or is that automatically tied to the same pan? I think its about 8.5 quarts with the oil filter change?
Again, appreciate the help.

[PJPR01]

8 quarts is correct, Mobil 1 is good, I typically use Royal Purple synthetic, I'm sure they're all decent enough to do the job.

Air Filter replacement is easy...about 8 screws in the large plastic housing that sits behind the passenger headlight, lift up and replace the filter.

Pollen filter is above the bottom glove box...open a swing plastic door and replace

Other filters - nothing else really to replace other than tranny/diff fluids...but that's not that frequent.

[Frisco_TX_RRS]

Great informative post. Did not see this prior to posting my earlier one on service schedule. Worth a trip to Houston from Dallas to get this done in a few months

[PJPR01]

Give us a heads up if you are coming down!