As the fateful 10 years approach (Freelander 2 TD4 dpf 112KW year 2010- 67500 Km), I would like to replace the oily fluids of the manual gearbox, the transfer case and the rear differential.

For the replacement of the fluids, I thought to carry them out by my trusted mechanic considering that they are simple operations even if they require a lot of attention in applying the foreseen procedures.

For the choice of liquids I have compiled a list that I propose below:


Recommended by LR: CASTROL EPX 80-W90 rear differential lubricant (mineral oil API 5 APPROVAL): cod. LR003156

1) CASTROL AXLE EPX 80W-90 (LR003156) mineral
2) RAVENOL Getriebeoel SLG SAE 80W-90 mineral
3) CASTROL Syntrax Universal 80W-90 synthetic
4) REPSOL CARTAGO EP 80W-90 mineral
5) Kroon Oil GEARLUBE GL-5 80W-90 mineral
6) Comma EP80W-90 GL-5 mineral
7) Carlube Driveline 80W-90 mineral


Recommended by LR: CASTROL 97309 manual transmission lubricant (all synthetic API GL-4.) Spec. LR006247- WSS-M2C200-C3 / LR024835

1) Castrol Syntrans FE 75W (lr024835 is recommended for post 2011 models, can it be used for ante cars?)
2) Ravenol MTF-2 SAE 75W-80
3) Castrol Syntrans Multivehicle 75W-90
4) Comma MV MTF Plus 75W Fully Synthetic
5) Castrol Syntrans V FE 75W-80
6) BLUE Synthetic Technician Series MTF-FS 75W-80
7) FUCHS TITAN SINTOFLUID SAE 75W-80
Q8 UNISHIFT PC SYNT 75W-80
9) KROON OIL SP GEAR 1011 75W-90
10) BARDAHL MTF 75W80


Recommended by LR: CASTROL bot 118/95 plus power transfer unit lubricant (all synthetic API GL-5 75W-90) cod. LR003137

1) CASTROL bot 118/95 plus 75W-90
2) Ravenol Transfer Fluid DTF-1 75w-90
3) Miller EE TRANSMISSION 75W90
4) Kroon Oil SP GEAR 1011 75W-90
5) Miller TRX SYNTH 75W90


Which of these do you recommend to use, or which ones would you recommend besides those indicated? considering that I use the car for 50% in the city center for short journeys and for the other 50% highway and suburban (mostly in the summer).

Give me also indications of those that are less advisable or to avoid.

Thank you in advance

Last edited by john capri on 25th May 2023 7:05 pm. Edited 2 times in total

I know of no randomised controlled trials comparing the oils we use in our cars.
So I have no evidence that one oil is any better than another of the same spec.

So I just use the cheapest that meets the spec for each application, providing the manufacturer appears reputable.
Ive recently used Smith & Allan oils for my rear diff, PTU and autobox - probably not available in Italy

But there are, probably, people on here with experience in the lubrication industry who can provide a more sophisticated answer for you. Jules

I second the Smith & Allan oils, good company who have supplied industry for a very long time, and a British company, what’s not to like? Regards

David

Lovely i6 has now gone, but not me......

Please let me know if anything in my post offends you, as I may wish to offend you again......

For the manual gearbox, mounted on the free2 before 2011, what degree of viscosity is recommended, a 75W-90 or a 75W.

The confusion arises from the fact that, on the online sites specialized for LR that sell lubricants, when I enter, in their search engines, the codes relating to the gearbox oil which are LR006247 (which should meet the Ford WSS-M2C200- specifications C3) for vehicles built before 2011 and LR024835 (which should meet the Ford WSS-M2C200-D2 specifications) for those built after 2011, they often offer castrol syntrans 75W regardless of the year of registration, for example:

https://www.advancedfactors.co.uk/adv904--...8428-p.asp

The point is that all the lubricants that I have indicated comply with API GL4 specifications, but if we read the viscosities at 100 ° and 40 ° on the corresponding technical data sheets, for example of the 2 oils taken into consideration:

Castrol Syntrans Multivehicle 75W-90 and Castrol Syntrans FE 75W we have respectively,

for the first (100 ° C- 40 ° C mm2 / s): 15.09-76
for the second (100 ° C- 40 ° C mm2 / s): 6.3-32.2

The viscosities are very different, in particular the most worrying are those which are detected at a higher temperature (100 ° C) which could be harmful if not compatible with the gearbox design. From the information in my possession, I understand that the gearbox in the two versions are not modified and have not received an upgrade, at least officially.
In addition, the same gearbox (Getrag M66 AWD 6/1) is used on many other cars including the Volvo which uses a 75W monograde oil even on models abundantly prior to 2011, look at this link, or if you like, take a little time on the forums dedicated to the Volvo brand to understand more:

www.skandix.de/en/spare-parts/acces...-l-75w/1030712/

Can anyone confirm whether the 2 lubricants indicated can be used regardless of the year of production? in case there are no problems, on what considerations should I base my choice?

On the part of LR, was it just an afterthought recommending a low viscosity oil in order to contain consumption and improve cold shift quality or something else?
Has any FREE2 owner before 2011 ever replaced the manual gearbox oil in a Land Rover dealership in order to let you know what type of oil they used?

Sorry , if I'm paranoid about this, but to this day I still have doubts and I can't get out of it.

I thank you all for the attention you will give me.

Goodmorning everyone ,

for the choice of the manual transmission oil of my fl2 I am orienting myself for the Bardahl MTF 75w-80.

Has anyone tried it? what were your impressions?

The same type of oil is also offered by Bardahl with the 75W-90 grade. In your opinion, if I am choosing well, which of the two grades is preferred ?.









For the rear differential instead I would like to use the Motul Gearbox 80w-90 (reinforced with molybdenum disulfide).

https://d23zpyj32c5wn3.cloudfront.net/imag...1301474900



I thank you in advance

Last edited by john capri on 4th Mar 2020 8:25 pm. Edited 1 time in total

The Castrol BOT 118/95 plus, from the back of the bottle, you can read that it is a 75W-90 API GL 5 and nothing else.
On the web I found the safety data sheet of the oil in question, which lists some physical and chemical properties on page 6.
If you like, I report the values below:

Viscosity Kinematic: 119.1 mm2 / s (119.1 cSt) at 40 ° C
Kinematic: 17.7 mm2 / s (17.7 cSt) at 100 ° C
Density: 873 kg / m³ (0.873 g / cm³) at 15 ° C
Pour point: -60 ° C
Flash point: Open cup: 212 ° C (413.6 ° F) [Cleveland.]
Version: 5 Date of issue 29 May 2015

As you can see even if it is a 75W-90 API GL 5 it has higher viscosity values than the others.
Such high values, although slightly different, can also be found in other brands such as Fuchs, Royal Purple, Lucas, Miller and Amsoil .

I transcribe the values as I am unable to transfer the pdf file .

Thanks for that info.
I was unable to find the spec for the Castrol BOT 118/95 (what do those numbers refer to I wonder ?)

I am thus pleased to discover that the oil I used for my PTU ( Smith and Allan Geartech FS 75W-90) has similar viscosity to the Castrol, albeit slightly lower. Jules

Today the courier delivered the fluid for the power steering that I will have to replace.
I have seen that the expiration date 05/2022 is shown on the bottles. What does this mean? That the fluid in 2 years is already to be replaced again ? or do I have another 2 years to open the bottle and use it for the first time and then use it for the time foreseen in the technical manuals?

This evening, I collected the car from the mechanic to replace the timing belt kit + water pump + auxiliary services belt and replace the manual transmission oil and rear differential oil.
Total cost of work at the trusted mechanic: 360 euros. Below is a description of the work performed with the related costs:

1) timing belt kit + water pump (Dayco): € 164.00
2) auxiliary belt (Continental): € 29.00
3) Repsol 3.5 liter coolant: € 21.00
4) replacement of manual transmission oil and rear differential (excluding lubricants that I have supplied)
5) labor: € 160.00
6) 3.74% discount: -14.00 €

Cost of lubricants that I purchased online:

1) Bardahl MTF 75W-80 2L: € 30.86
2) Motul Gearbox (reinforced with MOS2) 80W-90 1L: € 16.90
3) Demineralized water: € 4.00


Total: 411.00 euros

I still have to change the oil in the transfer case, the brake fluid and power steering.

For the replacement of the oil in the Haldex I still don't have to decide whether to do it ..... I'll think about it again.

Update of the maintenance activities for the 10 years of life of my Freelander 2 that I had carried out by my trusted mechanic on this morning:

materials purchased on the web:

2 Liters power steering fluid LR003401 Land Rover : € 30.60
2 Liter Ate SL6 brake / clutch oil : € 21.00
1 Liters oil for transfer case LR003137 Castroli for Land rover: € 42.00
n. 1 LR000578 Land Rover power steering oil tank : € 36.00

maintenance work performed by the mechanic:

bleeding and replacement of power steering fluid
replacement of power steering fluid reservoir
bleeding and replacement of brake and clutch oil
cost of interventions : € 30.00

total mat. cost + labor : € 159.60

At this point it would miss only the replacement of oil and filter viscous coupling (Haldex), but I'll think further on whether to do it or not.

This week I changed my PTU and rear diff oils again (twice now) since owning my FL2 with 183,000 kms on it; bought it last December with 150,000 kms on the ODO. Both times I used Amsoil 75W110 Severe Gear GL-5 fluid. When I drained/extracted the fluid initially, both diff oils were a wee dark but not totally opaque, no shavings on the magnetized plugs but they are the fill plugs , so take that for what it's worth. This time both fluids were very clear, zero bubbles, only 30,000 kms or so, and no shavings or cleaning needed on the plugs.

I won't change the diff fluids again for another 100,000 kms assuming all is well. Front PTU was difficult to get the drain tube inserted but I was eventually successful. Eyeballed both diffs for adding a drain plug location but not going to touch that option, too much risk especially on the PTU!!

Hi MotionInc,

I also had problems to drain the old oil because of the not easy accessibility to the filling hole. Even in my case the oil was brown but transparent (my freel2 has traveled 65200 km and is about 10 years old), I only noticed a little foam in the last drain of 100 milliliters. However, the amount added was about 750 milliliters when the oil level was at the filling hole (then I extracted 100/110 milliliters to get the correct level). For the drainage, a 100 mml syringe with a silicone tube of about 60cm (very soft and flexible) was used. A large syringe of about 500 mml was used for filling.
How did you do the job? Were you able to extract all the liquid contained in the transfer case? I think there is at least 100 / 150mml of old oil left in mine.

I was able to insert the tube, about half or slightly less than the diameter of the fill and not really flexible, down and to the right and eventually I felt it go in . I had to remove my gloves to enhance feel (this is not X rated, really it's not!!!). I removed just over 600ml on both the PTU and rear diff and that's why I changed the fluid again after only 30,000 km.

The bubbles you saw were likely just air being sucked in as well at the bottom of the case. Specs say to fill from scratch, 0.7 litre, so I know I am close to to the right levels. The diffs have breathers so I don't think you have to be 100% exact. Best to have slightly too much vs too little as there is always some left in the flex tube and I am sure not everyone uses the exact same length of tubing!

Hi all
Some great information on here about oils, thanks all.

I got in touch with Opie oils a while ago,
They Recommend

Manual gearbox
Castrol Syntrans FE 75W Fully Synthetic 75 W GL-4 Gear Oil GL4 2 litre

Rear Diff
Castrol Axle EPX 80W-90 Gear Oil 80W90 Axle Fluid 1 litre

For the front transfer box, they could not offer any alternatives to the LR spec BOT 118/95.
Reading the posts above however, it would appear that
Castrol Universal 75w-90 Semi-Synthetic Gear Oil 75W90 1 Litre 1L (GL 4 and 5) May be compatible at a quarter of the price, even though Opie sell this?
Has anyone used this themselves?
BOT118/95 is labelled SAE 75W90 API GL-5 on the back so I don’t know the difference.

Any help appreciated
Many thanks
Jim



 Brgds
Jim
2007 FL2 TD4

Some good info on this thread-

https://www.freel2.com/forum/topic29861.html

and for my PTU i use Millers Oils recommendations, you can check with your reg here https://www.millersoils.co.uk/which-oil/