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- Location
- Mid Yorkshire
- First Name
- Simon
- Elgrand
- E51
- Region
- Yorkshire
If the high mileage E52's have been used as taxis it's interesting that the taxi companies used 3.5 E52's as opposed the more economical 4 cylinder 2.5 E52's... This is speculation but maybe rather than 'taxi' we're talking executive transport for airport runs etc, at a higher hire price than a standard taxi or lower spec vehicle, with profits high enough and level of 'customer service' high enough to warrant a very rigorous service schedule - Pete @WhatsThisFor 's scenario of multiple gearbox changes might be correct, perhaps including gearbox changes even if nothing seemed wrong with the gearbox when it was replaced.
My dad's uncle was a rich bloke, in the 70's or 80's he fancied buying a brand new Rolls Royce but decided not to because the Rolls Royce service plan included changing the gearbox after a certain mileage or vehicle age (I forget which) even if the gearbox seemed perfectly fine, which he thought was 'bloody ridiculous'. Just a GM gearbox but with a Rolls Royce price tag for the unit and Rolls Royce price tag for labour. They were reliable transmissions and could do high mileage anyway, but less likey to fail in a Rolls Royce that had done a certain mileage than in a GM car that had done the same mileage, though only because the Rolls Royce at that mileage probably had the transmission changed at half that mileage or the owner would miss a stamp in the service book lol.
I reckon regardless of how many oil changes a CVT in a 3.5 E52 had during 300000km, if I bought that E52 then used it to tow my caravan / boat over a few hills I'd be worried about not making it to the destination.
For me even if the CVT can last for high mileage with regular fluid changes, if those fluid changes cost (say) £300 every 10000miles I'd be thinking about the CVT costing 3p per mile in servicing costs, £5592 over the 300000km. I would rather have a strong conventional transmission that could go that distance without the regular fluid changes (perhaps no fluid change, perhaps just 1 or 2 fluid changes) and that I could confidently tow with. Especially if the conventional gearbox was also far easier to source and far cheaper to buy 2nd hand and if I'd be far more confident of a 2nd hand replacement not failing again. A good reliable slushbox automatic is one of those components on a vehicle that doesn't need a lot of maintenance and seldom fails, in that respect regarded similar to the diff(s) on a vehicle, I could never think of a CVT in the same way.
There were a few reasons why I got into E51's after a string of Chrysler Grand Voyagers but the main reason was because the Grand Voyagers use an infamously weak gearbox (A604), it is very common knowledge that those gearboxes are weak and the subject is much discussed on many forums all over the internet. I found/suffered the same and have swapped several A604 gearboxes, on one occassion I made one good A604 out of 2 failed ones. I got fed up changing/fixing gearboxes but at least the A604's were plentiful and cheap, available for around £100 from many scrapyards. I knew all the tricks to make those gearboxes last, change their fluid, change their solenoid pack, run 'fill volume learn procedure', fit a second ATF cooler, use 3rd gear when towing instead of 4th, don't spin the wheels (weak diff too and spinning the wheels could see the diff pin fall out) but they still failed. If I'd driven them gently I'm sure they would have lasted longer but towing stuff uphill implies not gently... and other gearboxes were available in other models of vehicle that could handle it all so why take chances with a vehicle that uses the A604. I would have steered away from Grand Voyagers a lot sooner if the gearboxes were not so available and/or cost 40 times more than the £100 to buy. I've done over 100000 miles in my E51 Elgrands including towing heavy stuff 10's of thousands of miles over hills and never had a gearbox problem. Bought my black E51 with less than 80000km on the clock, it has now done over 186000km and I've used it to tow my heavy boat / caravan 10s of thousands of miles, I haven't even changed the ATF on this one yet, will be doing that soon but there are no problems with the gearbox at all.
My dad's uncle was a rich bloke, in the 70's or 80's he fancied buying a brand new Rolls Royce but decided not to because the Rolls Royce service plan included changing the gearbox after a certain mileage or vehicle age (I forget which) even if the gearbox seemed perfectly fine, which he thought was 'bloody ridiculous'. Just a GM gearbox but with a Rolls Royce price tag for the unit and Rolls Royce price tag for labour. They were reliable transmissions and could do high mileage anyway, but less likey to fail in a Rolls Royce that had done a certain mileage than in a GM car that had done the same mileage, though only because the Rolls Royce at that mileage probably had the transmission changed at half that mileage or the owner would miss a stamp in the service book lol.
I reckon regardless of how many oil changes a CVT in a 3.5 E52 had during 300000km, if I bought that E52 then used it to tow my caravan / boat over a few hills I'd be worried about not making it to the destination.
For me even if the CVT can last for high mileage with regular fluid changes, if those fluid changes cost (say) £300 every 10000miles I'd be thinking about the CVT costing 3p per mile in servicing costs, £5592 over the 300000km. I would rather have a strong conventional transmission that could go that distance without the regular fluid changes (perhaps no fluid change, perhaps just 1 or 2 fluid changes) and that I could confidently tow with. Especially if the conventional gearbox was also far easier to source and far cheaper to buy 2nd hand and if I'd be far more confident of a 2nd hand replacement not failing again. A good reliable slushbox automatic is one of those components on a vehicle that doesn't need a lot of maintenance and seldom fails, in that respect regarded similar to the diff(s) on a vehicle, I could never think of a CVT in the same way.
There were a few reasons why I got into E51's after a string of Chrysler Grand Voyagers but the main reason was because the Grand Voyagers use an infamously weak gearbox (A604), it is very common knowledge that those gearboxes are weak and the subject is much discussed on many forums all over the internet. I found/suffered the same and have swapped several A604 gearboxes, on one occassion I made one good A604 out of 2 failed ones. I got fed up changing/fixing gearboxes but at least the A604's were plentiful and cheap, available for around £100 from many scrapyards. I knew all the tricks to make those gearboxes last, change their fluid, change their solenoid pack, run 'fill volume learn procedure', fit a second ATF cooler, use 3rd gear when towing instead of 4th, don't spin the wheels (weak diff too and spinning the wheels could see the diff pin fall out) but they still failed. If I'd driven them gently I'm sure they would have lasted longer but towing stuff uphill implies not gently... and other gearboxes were available in other models of vehicle that could handle it all so why take chances with a vehicle that uses the A604. I would have steered away from Grand Voyagers a lot sooner if the gearboxes were not so available and/or cost 40 times more than the £100 to buy. I've done over 100000 miles in my E51 Elgrands including towing heavy stuff 10's of thousands of miles over hills and never had a gearbox problem. Bought my black E51 with less than 80000km on the clock, it has now done over 186000km and I've used it to tow my heavy boat / caravan 10s of thousands of miles, I haven't even changed the ATF on this one yet, will be doing that soon but there are no problems with the gearbox at all.
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