Best smoker barges 1-5 large [Vol 22]
Discussion
donkmeister said:
And yet when I went to a Lexus main dealer at 60k miles with an LS460 (first car with an 8-speed... Bit of car trivia) the one job they refused to quote for was a gearbox service. Why? Because they thought it would start slipping. 
Still on the original ATF as far as I know. Gave it a sniff and a lick when I replaced the rad around 90k and it wasn't black or burnt smelling.
I’ll report back when I ask the local gearbox specialist about mine, sounds like they might refuse too. Shifts are still smooth and occasionally I’ll put it into pwr gearbox mode when warm. Still on the original ATF as far as I know. Gave it a sniff and a lick when I replaced the rad around 90k and it wasn't black or burnt smelling.
My zf8 has never been changed and it’s niggling me as to whether I should, it’s a lot of money and the changes are buttery smooth. A lot of these numbers involved in various car fluids such as viscosity, intervals etc I suspect are pretty arbitrary for most cars but gives obsessive types something to obsess over and keep various industries ticking over.
Of course I have no idea what I’m talking about but it’s just my instinct.
I don’t think my old Astra had a single oil change in its life until it caught fire at 123k.
Of course I have no idea what I’m talking about but it’s just my instinct.
I don’t think my old Astra had a single oil change in its life until it caught fire at 123k.
TommoAE86 said:
donkmeister said:
And yet when I went to a Lexus main dealer at 60k miles with an LS460 (first car with an 8-speed... Bit of car trivia) the one job they refused to quote for was a gearbox service. Why? Because they thought it would start slipping.
Still on the original ATF as far as I know. Gave it a sniff and a lick when I replaced the rad around 90k and it wasn't black or burnt smelling.
I ll report back when I ask the local gearbox specialist about mine, sounds like they might refuse too. Shifts are still smooth and occasionally I ll put it into pwr gearbox mode when warm. Still on the original ATF as far as I know. Gave it a sniff and a lick when I replaced the rad around 90k and it wasn't black or burnt smelling.
dscam said:
QBee - I can t comment specifically for East Mids, but Ian Bodsworth (Updates by Bodsy on FB) provides this as a mobile service and is highly rated by Range Rover types. His prices are reasonable, particularly since he can come to you and does the full flush rather than simply dropping what s in the pan/filter.
I'm on the fence about that. I think he charges the thick end of £500 and doesn't change the filter but the home visit is convenient. I think the ZF8 is almost black magic but with all this chat I have a bill for a replacement on my L322 due to internal pump failure, but the diagnosis wasn't by a ZF specialist so who knows?
I think part of it is that it's the middle of summer. Autotrader and carandclassic are quiet (as is this thread).
But I think there's also the fact there's a sizeable group of part-time traders out there scouring the Internet for cheap private sales or cheap auction cars and then reselling them at moderate to expensive private prices.
Less deals for the bargist looking to get his hands on a cherished but undervalued car because the Internet makes the used car market too damn efficient!
But I think there's also the fact there's a sizeable group of part-time traders out there scouring the Internet for cheap private sales or cheap auction cars and then reselling them at moderate to expensive private prices.
Less deals for the bargist looking to get his hands on a cherished but undervalued car because the Internet makes the used car market too damn efficient!
dscam said:
QBee said:
I bought my Range Rover with120,000 miles on it.
Nothing visible in the service book or the pile of invoices to suggest it has had a gearbox oil change in its life time.
Back when I bought it I had the engine oil and filter changed immediately, but the garage where I had that done were not RR specialists and declined to risk getting the gearbox oil change wrong. I have known them for 15 years, so that comment was more for everyone's safety than anything else.
Now we are a year on and at 130,000 miles I have the same dilemma and still have 10 litres of gearbox oil looking for a home.
Googling the question, I see that ZF Aftermarket recommends a change every 50,000 - 75,000 miles, which is 80,000 - 120,000 kms.
What I need now is a good transmission specialst in the East Midlands (or within 75 miles of Nottingham) to do the work and not muck it up.
Anybody have any suggestions regarding gearbox specialists within my area?
QBee - I can t comment specifically for East Mids, but Ian Bodsworth (Updates by Bodsy on FB) provides this as a mobile service and is highly rated by Range Rover types. His prices are reasonable, particularly since he can come to you and does the full flush rather than simply dropping what s in the pan/filter.Nothing visible in the service book or the pile of invoices to suggest it has had a gearbox oil change in its life time.
Back when I bought it I had the engine oil and filter changed immediately, but the garage where I had that done were not RR specialists and declined to risk getting the gearbox oil change wrong. I have known them for 15 years, so that comment was more for everyone's safety than anything else.
Now we are a year on and at 130,000 miles I have the same dilemma and still have 10 litres of gearbox oil looking for a home.
Googling the question, I see that ZF Aftermarket recommends a change every 50,000 - 75,000 miles, which is 80,000 - 120,000 kms.
What I need now is a good transmission specialst in the East Midlands (or within 75 miles of Nottingham) to do the work and not muck it up.
Anybody have any suggestions regarding gearbox specialists within my area?
https://youtu.be/sP38uj1O6pE?is=tFNQdpgTer8vne0g
About 6 minutes in
KadettE said:
I think part of it is that it's the middle of summer. Autotrader and carandclassic are quiet (as is this thread).
But I think there's also the fact there's a sizeable group of part-time traders out there scouring the Internet for cheap private sales or cheap auction cars and then reselling them at moderate to expensive private prices.
Less deals for the bargist looking to get his hands on a cherished but undervalued car because the Internet makes the used car market too damn efficient!
I have noticed a lot of private sales that really don't look like they are, it's quite amusing. But I think there's also the fact there's a sizeable group of part-time traders out there scouring the Internet for cheap private sales or cheap auction cars and then reselling them at moderate to expensive private prices.
Less deals for the bargist looking to get his hands on a cherished but undervalued car because the Internet makes the used car market too damn efficient!
I'm toying with the idea of a gearbox oil change on my CLK. Its 21 years old and has 45k on it (allegedly )
No evidence of a gearbox oil change in the s/h as i believe they're sealed for life?
The gear change is nice and smooth and my local garage says don't change the oil as it could potentially cause issues.
They aren't a merc specialist though, so unsure what to do.
) No evidence of a gearbox oil change in the s/h as i believe they're sealed for life?
The gear change is nice and smooth and my local garage says don't change the oil as it could potentially cause issues.
They aren't a merc specialist though, so unsure what to do.
siovey said:
I'm toying with the idea of a gearbox oil change on my CLK. Its 21 years old and has 45k on it (allegedly )
No evidence of a gearbox oil change in the s/h as i believe they're sealed for life?
The gear change is nice and smooth and my local garage says don't change the oil as it could potentially cause issues.
They aren't a merc specialist though, so unsure what to do.
What box is it? I had the 7G in my 2012 SL and at the first service had the fluid changed (I owned it from 2023 to 2025) and it was on just under 50,000 miles. It was absolutely fine.) No evidence of a gearbox oil change in the s/h as i believe they're sealed for life?
The gear change is nice and smooth and my local garage says don't change the oil as it could potentially cause issues.
They aren't a merc specialist though, so unsure what to do.
siovey said:
I'm toying with the idea of a gearbox oil change on my CLK. Its 21 years old and has 45k on it (allegedly )
No evidence of a gearbox oil change in the s/h as i believe they're sealed for life?
The gear change is nice and smooth and my local garage says don't change the oil as it could potentially cause issues.
They aren't a merc specialist though, so unsure what to do.
If it’s the 5 speed 722.6 box, I changed the ATF in both my SL’s for the first time at 71k and 98k miles and it made the already smooth gear change even smoother. The old ATF came out looking like Bisto gravy. If it’s the 7 speed 722.9 box, my wife’s 185k miles 09 E class has just had its fourth ATF change, and again no issues. I would certainly have it, and the filter, changed and make sure the torque converter is drained too. I used Fuchs 4134 fluid for both box types. ) No evidence of a gearbox oil change in the s/h as i believe they're sealed for life?
The gear change is nice and smooth and my local garage says don't change the oil as it could potentially cause issues.
They aren't a merc specialist though, so unsure what to do.
Venisonpie said:
Is there a market stand off for barges at the moment? I'm looking at all sorts of options and cars appear to have been for sale for months with the asking price miles above the usual trade quotes. Are we waiting for one side to blink or is it just summer?
£1.70+ per litre petrol, £800 road tax. That's two big reasons for many barges remaining unsold It costs nearly £150 to fill up my LS460 at Sainsbury's now, and with mixed driving it gets 20mpg (it can do 30-35 on a very sedate run). So that's 40-50p/mile on fuel. A lot of people simply don't see the benefit of buying a barge and THEN paying £5-6k a year for petrol and VED, when for half of those running costs they can lease something Chinese and electric that they can pretend looks a bit like the cheap Range Rover (if they drink heavily and then squint). Oh sure, they're utterly s
te (they're rusting underneath before they even get off the boat), but it gives the office dhead something to brag about.TommoAE86 said:
donkmeister said:
And yet when I went to a Lexus main dealer at 60k miles with an LS460 (first car with an 8-speed... Bit of car trivia) the one job they refused to quote for was a gearbox service. Why? Because they thought it would start slipping.
Still on the original ATF as far as I know. Gave it a sniff and a lick when I replaced the rad around 90k and it wasn't black or burnt smelling.
I ll report back when I ask the local gearbox specialist about mine, sounds like they might refuse too. Shifts are still smooth and occasionally I ll put it into pwr gearbox mode when warm. Still on the original ATF as far as I know. Gave it a sniff and a lick when I replaced the rad around 90k and it wasn't black or burnt smelling.
targarama said:
I saw a YouTube video recently where a US-based Toyota specialist said the same. If you change it from new regularly then carry on, but if it has never been changed don't touch it. Various deposits and wear at 150k miles will get washed away and the 'box will probably start slipping.
Didn't they used to sell "friction modifier" for adding to ATF to counteract the issue of new fluid introducing slip (because the old fluid was now holding 90% of the old clutch bands)?donkmeister said:
Venisonpie said:
Is there a market stand off for barges at the moment? I'm looking at all sorts of options and cars appear to have been for sale for months with the asking price miles above the usual trade quotes. Are we waiting for one side to blink or is it just summer?
£1.70+ per litre petrol, £800 road tax. That's two big reasons for many barges remaining unsold It costs nearly £150 to fill up my LS460 at Sainsbury's now, and with mixed driving it gets 20mpg (it can do 30-35 on a very sedate run). So that's 40-50p/mile on fuel. A lot of people simply don't see the benefit of buying a barge and THEN paying £5-6k a year for petrol and VED, when for half of those running costs they can lease something Chinese and electric that they can pretend looks a bit like the cheap Range Rover (if they drink heavily and then squint). Oh sure, they're utterly s
te (they're rusting underneath before they even get off the boat), but it gives the office dhead something to brag about.Old barges are an eccentric choice too, all of the benefits they grant upon the owner are experienced only by the owner "internally"; the comfort, performance, sense of enjoyment of the quality of the thing and the interior environment but they provide pretty much none of the "external" reward people get from cars vis a vis the "imagine". I don't think many long term barge enthusiasts haven't had someone ask something along the lines of "why on earth are you driving around in this old thing (15 year old V8 mega barge), you want something new and decent like my car (1.5 litre Qashqai or similar)".
If anything they just tell the world you're a bit odd at a time where people seem to be more conformist than ever in their purchasing decisions, just look at the almost complete absence of variety on the roads now in colour, style of vehicle and so on. Even on PH, supposedly an enthusiasts forum, many posters would rather eat a bowl of slugs than have a car with an interior in something other than in black, or in a loud exterior colour, or with a roof that comes down. For all the bleating about individualism when it comes to dropping a fat stack of money people are more conservative and conformist than ever.
What sort of weirdo wants to smoke around in a 15 year old Uber XL in a society like that?
Edited by GeniusOfLove on Sunday 9th August 15:53
GeniusOfLove said:
donkmeister said:
Venisonpie said:
Is there a market stand off for barges at the moment? I'm looking at all sorts of options and cars appear to have been for sale for months with the asking price miles above the usual trade quotes. Are we waiting for one side to blink or is it just summer?
£1.70+ per litre petrol, £800 road tax. That's two big reasons for many barges remaining unsold It costs nearly £150 to fill up my LS460 at Sainsbury's now, and with mixed driving it gets 20mpg (it can do 30-35 on a very sedate run). So that's 40-50p/mile on fuel. A lot of people simply don't see the benefit of buying a barge and THEN paying £5-6k a year for petrol and VED, when for half of those running costs they can lease something Chinese and electric that they can pretend looks a bit like the cheap Range Rover (if they drink heavily and then squint). Oh sure, they're utterly s
te (they're rusting underneath before they even get off the boat), but it gives the office dhead something to brag about.Old barges are an eccentric choice too, all of the benefits they grant upon the owner are experienced only by the owner "internally"; the comfort, performance, sense of enjoyment of the quality of the thing and the interior environment but they provide pretty much none of the "external" reward people get from cars vis a vis the "imagine". I don't think many long term barge enthusiasts haven't had someone ask something along the lines of "why on earth are you driving around in this old thing (15 year old V8 mega barge), you want something new and decent like my car (1.5 litre Qashqai or similar)".
If anything they just tell the world you're a bit odd at a time where people seem to be more conformist than ever in their purchasing decisions, just look at the almost complete absence of variety on the roads now in colour, style of vehicle and so on. Even on PH, supposedly an enthusiasts forum, many posters would rather eat a bowl of slugs than have a car with an interior in something other than in black, or in a loud exterior colour, or with a roof that comes down. For all the bleating about individualism when it comes to dropping a fat stack of money people are more conservative and conformist than ever.
What sort of weirdo wants to smoke around in a 15 year old Uber XL in a society like that?
Edited by GeniusOfLove on Sunday 9th August 15:53
I haven't looked carefully until the last few weeks so maybe I'm just totally out of date.
Bang on with the colour. Now I admit to having one grey car myself (in my defence, colour is quite low on the priorities list when looking for a then 16 year old performance car), but looking in the work car park last week, there was a line of about 8-10 cars, all different shades of grey at only a few years old.
Zzzzz.
Zzzzz.
GeniusOfLove said:
I think you're right, now more than ever potential Barge owners are put off not only by the bork fear, which has always been there, but the very real and very inescapable £800 RFL and petrol costs.
Old barges are an eccentric choice too, all of the benefits they grant upon the owner are experienced only by the owner "internally"; the comfort, performance, sense of enjoyment of the quality of the thing and the interior environment but they provide pretty much none of the "external" reward people get from cars vis a vis the "imagine". I don't think many long term barge enthusiasts haven't had someone ask something along the lines of "why on earth are you driving around in this old thing (15 year old V8 mega barge), you want something new and decent like my car (1.5 litre Qashqai or similar)".
If anything they just tell the world you're a bit odd at a time where people seem to be more conformist than ever in their purchasing decisions, just look at the almost complete absence of variety on the roads now in colour, style of vehicle and so on. Even on PH, supposedly an enthusiasts forum, many posters would rather eat a bowl of slugs than have a car with an interior in something other than in black, or in a loud exterior colour, or with a roof that comes down. For all the bleating about individualism when it comes to dropping a fat stack of money people are more conservative and conformist than ever.
What sort of weirdo wants to smoke around in a 15 year old Uber XL in a society like that?
Bang on the money there Old barges are an eccentric choice too, all of the benefits they grant upon the owner are experienced only by the owner "internally"; the comfort, performance, sense of enjoyment of the quality of the thing and the interior environment but they provide pretty much none of the "external" reward people get from cars vis a vis the "imagine". I don't think many long term barge enthusiasts haven't had someone ask something along the lines of "why on earth are you driving around in this old thing (15 year old V8 mega barge), you want something new and decent like my car (1.5 litre Qashqai or similar)".
If anything they just tell the world you're a bit odd at a time where people seem to be more conformist than ever in their purchasing decisions, just look at the almost complete absence of variety on the roads now in colour, style of vehicle and so on. Even on PH, supposedly an enthusiasts forum, many posters would rather eat a bowl of slugs than have a car with an interior in something other than in black, or in a loud exterior colour, or with a roof that comes down. For all the bleating about individualism when it comes to dropping a fat stack of money people are more conservative and conformist than ever.
What sort of weirdo wants to smoke around in a 15 year old Uber XL in a society like that?
Edited by GeniusOfLove on Sunday 9th August 15:53
I have had the "why are you driving this old thing?" questions, as well as the "you spent HOW MUCH on fixing that old thing?!?!". Sometimes I question my own sanity but then I end up driving something modern and realise what a downgrade it would be from a V8 mega barge/kokyusha/supa sarun.
At one point I was planning to daily a Rover P4. I still might, if I get a proper garage in my next house
donkmeister said:
GeniusOfLove said:
I think you're right, now more than ever potential Barge owners are put off not only by the bork fear, which has always been there, but the very real and very inescapable £800 RFL and petrol costs.
Old barges are an eccentric choice too, all of the benefits they grant upon the owner are experienced only by the owner "internally"; the comfort, performance, sense of enjoyment of the quality of the thing and the interior environment but they provide pretty much none of the "external" reward people get from cars vis a vis the "imagine". I don't think many long term barge enthusiasts haven't had someone ask something along the lines of "why on earth are you driving around in this old thing (15 year old V8 mega barge), you want something new and decent like my car (1.5 litre Qashqai or similar)".
If anything they just tell the world you're a bit odd at a time where people seem to be more conformist than ever in their purchasing decisions, just look at the almost complete absence of variety on the roads now in colour, style of vehicle and so on. Even on PH, supposedly an enthusiasts forum, many posters would rather eat a bowl of slugs than have a car with an interior in something other than in black, or in a loud exterior colour, or with a roof that comes down. For all the bleating about individualism when it comes to dropping a fat stack of money people are more conservative and conformist than ever.
What sort of weirdo wants to smoke around in a 15 year old Uber XL in a society like that?
Bang on the money there Old barges are an eccentric choice too, all of the benefits they grant upon the owner are experienced only by the owner "internally"; the comfort, performance, sense of enjoyment of the quality of the thing and the interior environment but they provide pretty much none of the "external" reward people get from cars vis a vis the "imagine". I don't think many long term barge enthusiasts haven't had someone ask something along the lines of "why on earth are you driving around in this old thing (15 year old V8 mega barge), you want something new and decent like my car (1.5 litre Qashqai or similar)".
If anything they just tell the world you're a bit odd at a time where people seem to be more conformist than ever in their purchasing decisions, just look at the almost complete absence of variety on the roads now in colour, style of vehicle and so on. Even on PH, supposedly an enthusiasts forum, many posters would rather eat a bowl of slugs than have a car with an interior in something other than in black, or in a loud exterior colour, or with a roof that comes down. For all the bleating about individualism when it comes to dropping a fat stack of money people are more conservative and conformist than ever.
What sort of weirdo wants to smoke around in a 15 year old Uber XL in a society like that?
Edited by GeniusOfLove on Sunday 9th August 15:53
I have had the "why are you driving this old thing?" questions, as well as the "you spent HOW MUCH on fixing that old thing?!?!". Sometimes I question my own sanity but then I end up driving something modern and realise what a downgrade it would be from a V8 mega barge/kokyusha/supa sarun.
At one point I was planning to daily a Rover P4. I still might, if I get a proper garage in my next house
Hi guys, sorry for the late reply. Been out for a nice drive ( a 250 mile round trip), which was an absolute breeze. In complete comfort and 30 mpg+ (and wasn't hanging around on the way back as wanted to go the pub 
)
The combination is the v6 320 (m112 petrol engine?) with the 5 speed gearbox. Allegedly bombproof according the Internet..
But would it need a gearbox oil change at 21 years / 45k miles ?
According to the service history, the engine oil has been changed every 5000 miles
)The combination is the v6 320 (m112 petrol engine?) with the 5 speed gearbox. Allegedly bombproof according the Internet..
But would it need a gearbox oil change at 21 years / 45k miles ?
According to the service history, the engine oil has been changed every 5000 miles
Gassing Station | Car Buying | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff