WARNING L405 OWNERS

WARNING L405 OWNERS

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Discussion

Jonny TVR

Original Poster:

4,541 posts

288 months

Monday 16th April 2018
quotequote all
I have had to replace the transfer box on my L405. I paid £2.5K at an Indie but would have cost £5K at dealer. The reason for the failure was due to me changing wheels. Although the wheel I changed to is a smaller wheel but with the recommended LR size wheel the diameter is different to the original wheels. The car was set up to the original wheel diameter and by changing to a different diameter resulted in the failure of the transfer box. Apparently it doesn't take much of a discrepancy in diameter for this to happen. So if you change you wheels get LR or a LR specialist to do it for you and change the set up diameter.

Mulsanne-Speed

569 posts

154 months

Tuesday 17th April 2018
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Good advice Jonny TVR, sorry to hear you've taken a hit.

I'm currently on 22's but thinking about downsizing to 21's / 20's for a better ride - If I do I'll get Land Rover to make the necessary adjustments.

tight fart

3,075 posts

280 months

Tuesday 17th April 2018
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Genuine question, why would that cause a failure?
I get some 4x4s will suffer if the 4 wheels have a different circumferences, but if the new wheel tyre combo are all the same why the problem.

Jonny TVR

Original Poster:

4,541 posts

288 months

Tuesday 17th April 2018
quotequote all
The difference doesn't have to be much apparently and I'm not a technical person. The first sign is when you are turning out of a junction and you hear and kind of small jumping from the tyres on the opposite side to the turn.

Cold

15,557 posts

97 months

Tuesday 17th April 2018
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Just for the sake of clarity, did you change all four wheels or just the one?

Jonny TVR

Original Poster:

4,541 posts

288 months

Tuesday 17th April 2018
quotequote all
Cold said:
Just for the sake of clarity, did you change all four wheels or just the one?
I changed all four! changed from 22 inch to 20 inch with the LR recommended tyre sizes for each.

Ranger 6

7,173 posts

256 months

Tuesday 17th April 2018
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Jonny TVR said:
.....get LR or a LR specialist to do it for you and change the set up diameter.
I'd love to know where you do that on a transfer box?

Tyre Smoke

23,018 posts

268 months

Tuesday 17th April 2018
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Sorry to hear of your woes, but I'm sorry I call bull on this.

If you change all four wheels and tyres at the same time, then the worst thing that is going to happen is your speedo is going to be slightly out. The rolling diameter will change by such a minuscule amount (I can't bothered to work it out) that your gearing all round will drop slightly.

My Sport has been rolling around on 22" wheels for tens of thousands of miles without issue at all. What sort of 'set up' is the specialist or dealer supposed to do?

The only way the problem you describe could possibly manifest itself is if you had different diameter wheels front to rear or side to side or both. And for a considerable period of time. Not just a ten mile get you home after a puncture scenario.

aponting389

743 posts

185 months

Tuesday 17th April 2018
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I would normally call bull on this too, but ive had the same problem on a BMW X3 in the past. all four wheels the same but slightly different rolling radius to original fitment = knackered transfer box

Tyre Smoke

23,018 posts

268 months

Tuesday 17th April 2018
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How?

How can changing the rolling diameter knacker a transfer box?

Pintofbest

810 posts

117 months

Tuesday 17th April 2018
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It's a sealed mechanical unit - you can't adjust it. They are sold on a VIN range basis only, not wheel size.

Jonny TVR

Original Poster:

4,541 posts

288 months

Tuesday 17th April 2018
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I was told x5's have a similar problem but more acute.

Ranger 6

7,173 posts

256 months

Wednesday 18th April 2018
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The BMW transfer box problems tend to be caused by staggered wheels (wider rears) and then owners not using OEM spec tyres. The resultant difference in rolling radius front to back screws up the transfer box.

I have 20" summer wheels, 18" winter wheels and 17" off-road wheels - which I swap between dependent on conditions and need. The staggered wheels have BMW approved tyres and the others have the same brand and wear all round. Nearly 80k miles on it and all's well so far.

I have never seen or heard of the capability to 'adjust' a transfer box to suit tyre size on any vehicle.

Jonny TVR

Original Poster:

4,541 posts

288 months

Wednesday 18th April 2018
quotequote all
Ranger 6 said:
The BMW transfer box problems tend to be caused by staggered wheels (wider rears) and then owners not using OEM spec tyres. The resultant difference in rolling radius front to back screws up the transfer box.

I have 20" summer wheels, 18" winter wheels and 17" off-road wheels - which I swap between dependent on conditions and need. The staggered wheels have BMW approved tyres and the others have the same brand and wear all round. Nearly 80k miles on it and all's well so far.

I have never seen or heard of the capability to 'adjust' a transfer box to suit tyre size on any vehicle.
This is what my LR specialist told me so you would think that they would know.

My original 22 inch wheels and tyres were LR spec. The new 20 inch alloys were LR spec for the L405 but the tyres although the same size as the LR spec weren't the same type, they are Grabber AT3's which I suspect are a greater circumference due to the tread and the fact that they now rub slightly sometimes when on full lock.

Edited by Jonny TVR on Wednesday 18th April 09:43

silentbrown

9,340 posts

123 months

Wednesday 18th April 2018
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The purpose of the centre diff in the transfer box is to cope with the inevitable slight differences in rotation speed between axles due to uneven tyre wear. road surfaces, etc.

My best guess is that your transfer box was on the way out anyway, and changing wheels coincidentally changed the the bias between axles so the planet gears had to tun in the opposite direction to whatever they'd been used to. You'd get the same effect swapping wheels front to back. Somehow the direction change exacerbated some preexisting problem...?

Francois de La Rochefoucauld

486 posts

85 months

Wednesday 18th April 2018
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This sounds incredibly suspect to me. There are many owners who run 22's and have a set of 20's for winter/off roading.

counterofbeans

1,066 posts

146 months

Wednesday 18th April 2018
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Jonny TVR said:
This is what my LR specialist told me so you would think that they would know how to relieve me of a lot of money
Indeed you would.


RRHEV

6 posts

86 months

Wednesday 18th April 2018
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Sounds to me its a case of Transfer case judder. Land Rover are aware of this issue and it requires a double flush of transfer box oil to fix.
Many people report a slight knock/judder on half lock when the car reaches the 30,000 mile mark. Quote TSB LTB00906v5 it should be done asap if you notice any slight judder or the result will be the same as OP,Main dealer cost to have this done is around £150,thats if they charge you at all,it should be done under warranty, also they now use a different oil to stop this happening in the future.I strongly recommend getting front and rear diff oil changed every 30000 miles,that will set you back around £120 all in at a main dealer as well.Hope this helps and good luck


cayman-black

12,915 posts

223 months

Thursday 19th April 2018
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so is this wheel theory a load of bull then?

Tyre Smoke

23,018 posts

268 months

Thursday 19th April 2018
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cayman-black said:
so is this wheel theory a load of bull then?
Well considering changing the diameter of the rolling wheel is only (as far as the transmission is concerned) the same as travelling faster (more revolutions for smaller wheels) or slower (less revolutions for bigger wheels) and they are all the same size, then yes. It's a big pile of steaming horse manure.

There is no adjustments that can be made anywhere to compensate for different diameter wheels - as long as the four wheels are all the same.