Discovery 3 Automatic Gearbox Exchange

Automatic Gearbox Exchange for the Discovery 3: a remanufactured automatic gearbox with a new torque converter and fresh fluid, adapted after fitting.

The transfer box splits drive between the axles and gives the low range that makes these vehicles what they are. The LT230 on the Defender, Discovery 1 and Discovery 2 is nearly unbreakable if it has oil in it and is routinely found without. The two speed units on the Discovery 3 and 4, the Sport and the Range Rover are electronically shifted and fail more often at the motor and the control module than in the gears, which is worth diagnosing before you buy a whole box. The Discovery 3 was the first on the integrated body frame and the first with full air suspension as standard, which is where most of its bills come from.

Specification and fitment

• Fits: Discovery 3, chassis code L319
• Engine: 2.7 TDV6 diesel and 4.4 V8
• Production dates: 2004 to 2009
• Quality: Remanufactured or New Unit
• Part number: cross referenced to the factory part number for your VIN and confirmed before dispatch, because supersessions on these vehicles are frequent and one printed number would be wrong for somebody
• The failure this addresses: harsh or slipping shifts, flare between gears or a gearbox fault warning
• Labour time: about 10 hours
• Coding: a calibration or adaptation routine is required afterwards with a dealer level diagnostic system; a generic code reader cannot do it
• Also needed: a new cooler flush
• Torque: factory figures
• Weight: about 95 kg
• Warranty: two years or 24,000 miles, whichever comes first

What arrives

• Gearbox
• Torque converter
• Fluid

Fitting

Labour guide: about 10 hours. Land Rover changes specification mid production, often by VIN rather than by model year, so send the VIN or the registration with the order and we confirm the part against the build data before anything leaves. It takes two minutes and it is the difference between a part that fits and a return. We are an independent Land Rover specialist and parts supplier. We are not Land Rover or Jaguar Land Rover and are not appointed by them; the model names are their trademarks and are used here to describe fitment. Everything we sell is chosen for vehicles that actually get used: towed with, loaded, driven through water and parked in fields, rather than for the brochure.

Which version to buy

Remanufactured is stripped to the casting, measured, rebuilt with new bearings seals and wear parts and rig tested, with a surcharge refunded on your old unit. New Unit is a brand new unit rather than an exchange, for when your old one is past rebuilding or you cannot be without the vehicle while we assess the core.