We have an 08 reg FL2 with 93K miles and recently my son bought a 10 reg FL2 (eco) with 35K miles. He complains that the newer one's gearbox is not so smooth and sometimes feels "notchy" compared with the old one. The guy next door has a brand new reg FL2 (eco) so they compared them and his feels similarly "notchy". We had a close inspection and saw that there is some extra connector stuck on the front of the eco box version so my question is. "Is there a difference between the gearboxes on the old and newer models? Perhaps the ratios are different etc?" Any comments welcome.

The extra connector might be to do with the stop start system the old models didnt have?

have a browse of the microcat and see if the part numbers are different

http://www.freel2.com/forum/post92272.html#92272 Former Mod/Member, with the most post & Chicken George Arch nemesis

Mona Geeza wrote:

The extra connector might be to do with the stop start system the old models didnt have?

Extra sensor on gearbox is a neutral position sensor for stop start system.

For 11My engine came in 2 power outputs, went from 160ps to 150 for TD and 180 for SD, at same time torque went from 380NM to 420Nm so guess gearbox was uprated, most probably with new synchros to take extra torque so that could account for these gearboxes being slightly notchier.

Unnecessary quote removed


Good point, my son is an agricultural consultant (agronomist) and drives a lot off road. He has driven both and thinks that the newer ones have been remapped for road use and more power but don't have so much low end torque that you need for off road use. Goes with the move of LandRover towards urban lifestyle vehicles like the Evoque which are only advertised driving around town.

trevorb1 wrote:

For 11My engine came in 2 power outputs, went from 160ps to 150 for TD and 180 for SD, at same time torque went from 380NM to 420Nm so guess gearbox was uprated

I have the the 13MY manual and the the gears are smooth, first to second seems to be a dark art but other than that its fine. 21MY Defender 90 S 3.0 D200

Threads elsewhere on here suggest that a good greasing of the linkages with a lithium grease can have a marked effect on the smoothness of the changes. Worth a try for those having problems.