Outer Limits 4x4 Board

had our vitara auto gearbox just recod and they recon it needs to be serviced( change oil, filter) every 6 months. seems exessive to me. any mechanics ( not bush mechanics thanks) who can clarify this for me pls.

gumtree wrote:had our vitara auto gearbox just recod and they recon it needs to be serviced( change oil, filter) every 6 months. seems exessive to me. any mechanics ( not bush mechanics thanks) who can clarify this for me pls.

Depends on usage, and how long you wanna keep it
Do they mean a full system flush, or just the oil changed.
For the warranty time, I'd do what they said

If your unsure, call another auto place, play dumb. tell em just bought the 4B which has had a reco box fitted before you got it, and whats their recommendation for servicing.

i called another reco place this morn and they said yearly is more than enough with driving under 20,000k per yr. on the penrite bottle it says up to 160,000km, now fat chance someone will do that in a year.

they said full change i think including filter.

im a bush mechanic, but id say id do it every 6 months or so, depending on how hard it is being used, learn to do it your self and save a fortune, tranny oil can get burnt/contaminated, etc.

IF you can tell when gear changes are getting sloppy and jerky, then you will know its over due for a service.

add up how much a service or 6 will cost versus the cost of a new reco box plus down time, etc.

i will go to hem for the 1st service for warrenty reasons but after that i can do it myself.

anyone else who can comment on when it should be done. i normally use penrite and would assume every 2-3 yrs or 30-40,000 kms. bottle says up to 160,000 so 40,000 isnt that much but i would like to be sure.

What sort of driving are you doing
Lots of:
Towing
Low range rock climbing
High speed highway
Water crossings
or grandma around town

These things will affect your service intervals. It also depends on the oil you use as even though the oil may look fine the additives in it break down over time and it becomes ineffective.

The only guaranteed way of telling if it is still good at 12 months is to drop a little at 6 months and again at 12 months; then send them both for a comparison test verse the new oil. That will tell you how much it has degraded at the 6/12 month intervals and you can choose your service intervals based on that data.
Most people won't both as it costs a couple of hundred dollars to do but it is cheaper than a rebuild

its grandma around town, approx 10-15000 km's per yr. that test is too much hassle thats why i want to know what mechanics normally recomend as they know how long it last and the norm driving ppl do in a yr and get a rough figure from this generalisation.

hell my last car nissan pintara i owned for 7 yrs and never changed it and did well over 100,000km's so i know for a fact that this 6 month bs that the reco guy is says is to make them money.

Should be alright with 12 monthly just make sure your oil has good "climbing" properties. You see the little test boxes at some of the auto shops where they have gears setup in a box you can turn to see what happens.
You want a good climbing oil so it climbs the gears and lubricates quickly; also something that doesn't emulsify quickly (gets bubbles in it and looks milky). Air pockets are bad