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Home > Puma (Tdci) > Slow Clutch? (with Poll!)

How would you rate the gear changes in your Puma?

Quick and smooth from 1st to 6th

64%

[20]

Slow and crunchy on 1st and 2nd, smooth on the rest

35%

[11]

Slow and Crunchy from 1st to 6th

[0]

Total Votes: 31

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pedrocandrade

Member Since: 30 Sep 2022
Location: Rio de Janeiro
Posts: 26

2011 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 SW Epsom Green

Slow Clutch? (with Poll!)

Getting into 1st and 2nd gear is kind of a lottery in my Puma.

1st is the toughest, half the time it engages immediately, but the other half I need to move the gear lever back to neutral, while keeping the clutch pedal depressed and try again. Sometimes, even that doesn't work, and I need to engage 3rd or 4th before moving back to finally engage 1st.

2nd gear is "crunchy". If I'm extremely patient going from 1st to 2nd, it might go in cleanly, but its also a gamble. And that is while rev matching.

The other forward gears are all fine. Wonderful really. No complaints.

I noticed, however, that if I depress the clutch and wait 3-4 seconds before attempting to engage 1st, it will go in smoothly. Could I have a lazy slow clutch that takes too long to fully disengage? Pedal travel and clutch contact point have been checked and look fine.

Have anyone else dealt with this? Would the bushings on the gaiter solve this issue?

Thanks!

I added a Poll to try to understand how common this is. Is it "part of the charm" of a Puma, or is it something to be fixed?

Last edited by pedrocandrade on 31st May 2023 9:10pm. Edited 1 time in total

31st May 2023 6:15pm

Kevlar

Member Since: 28 Oct 2020
Location: Prague
Posts: 78

2010 Defender 90 Puma 2.4 SW Santorini Black

I installed the spacers under the gear shifter, didn’t help too much.
I plan to replace my clutch soon, hopefully it will solve the gear changing issues.
Currently I have to double clutch sometimes or blip it into gears.

31st May 2023 6:34pm

pedrocandrade

Member Since: 30 Sep 2022
Location: Rio de Janeiro
Posts: 26

Thanks Kevlar. I added a poll to this topic to try to grasp how common this issue is. Is it a feature (part of the Puma charm) or a real bug that we might be able to fix?

31st May 2023 9:12pm

blackwolf

Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17372

2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey

Double-declutch up and down and don't rush the changes.

31st May 2023 9:14pm

Ianh

Member Since: 17 Sep 2018
Location: Essex
Posts: 1999

Changes on my Puma 2.2 are smooth from 1 to 6 and back down again.

As per your other post on whine from gearbox / transfer box https://www.defender2.net/forum/topic85095.html When you had the gearbox out did you check your clutch springs ? They fracture, especially on the earlier Puma’s and can cause all manor of issues.

31st May 2023 9:35pm

pedrocandrade

Member Since: 30 Sep 2022
Location: Rio de Janeiro
Posts: 26

Thanks blackwolf and Ianh.

Double clutching might help going to 2nd, I’ll try. But the biggest annoyance is going to 1st at a stop sign.

I didn’t check the clutch when servicing the gearbox and transfer case but thanks for the tip about the springs. My Puma is a 2011, was that year still problematic? I saw in its service history that the clutch was replaced at the dealer with 60.000km on the clock in 2016. There were noises being heard from the clutch while idling, apparently. It now has only 100.000 km. This car was not driven hard, I believe. Appears too early to be needing clutch service!

1st Jun 2023 12:47am

LR90XS2011

Member Since: 05 Apr 2011
Location: bickenhill
Posts: 3641

2011 Defender 90 Puma 2.4 XS CSW Galway Green

when mine was new 1 to 2 was rubbish the rest were OK, new clutch, ashcroft output shaft, bushes in the gear change, ashcroft ATB diffs, and one piece rear half shaft and now its actually lovely in all changes. DEFENDER 90 TDCI XS,

I hope everyone is well and your land rovers make you happy

1st Jun 2023 5:27am

pedrocandrade

Member Since: 30 Sep 2022
Location: Rio de Janeiro
Posts: 26

Thanks, LR90XS2011! It’s good to know that you were able to solve it without messing with the gearbox itself.

1st Jun 2023 12:33pm

steveww

Member Since: 05 Jan 2022
Location: Uppingham
Posts: 567

2015 Defender 110 Puma 2.2 XS CSW Bronze Green

The gear change on my 2015 Puma was notchy until I changed the gearbox oil. That improved the changes considerably. It can still be a bit notchy when cold but OK once warmed up.

In general I find that when changing gear a slight pause in neutral helps a lot. There's a lot of stuff spinning down there. It's a long way from the rifle bolt action of my old Lotus.

1st Jun 2023 2:39pm

MK

Member Since: 28 Aug 2008
Location: Santiago
Posts: 2414

2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 SW Chawton White

Are you using the right oil?

The previous oil I was using was better than the current oil. Now, going from neutral to 1st is a bit more difficult. The rest of the gears are smooth. Puma 110" SW

.............................................................
Earth first. Other planets later

1st Jun 2023 3:40pm

blackwolf

Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17372

Overfilling the box can also cause an effect like this and, since there is no level plug, is quite common.

1st Jun 2023 4:38pm

pedrocandrade

Member Since: 30 Sep 2022
Location: Rio de Janeiro
Posts: 26

Thanks steveww, MK and blackwolf. All good tips that I’ll look into. We replaced the gearbox oil during the transfer case saga. I’m pretty sure it’s the correct one, but I’ll double check. It could be overfilled as well.

BTW, the gearbox does get better as it warms up, but it turns out my city drives are too short for that.

I’ll look into this over the next weeks and report back on the findings.

2nd Jun 2023 12:04am

Landowner

Member Since: 06 Jan 2023
Location: Somerset
Posts: 66

2012 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 HT Keswick Green

pedrocandrade, keep us posted, currently 33% of your survey could benefit from what you discover!
For my part, new oil (and correct amount) soon!

2nd Jun 2023 5:57am

blackwolf

Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17372

A defective spigot bearing can also cause similar symptoms.

2nd Jun 2023 7:40am

pedrocandrade

Member Since: 30 Sep 2022
Location: Rio de Janeiro
Posts: 26

I found out the oil I'm currently using in the gearbox. It's this:

Click image to enlarge

Full specs here: https://totalenergies.com.au/system/files/...109_en.pdf

Is this ok?

2nd Jun 2023 2:26pm

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