Been having issues with the splitter control for a while now, sometimes it just will not make the change, sometimes it will take forever to change, by which time you have lost enough speed that splitting the gear is entirely pointless anyway. It seems to just hang, you can hear the air noise, but nothing mechanical is happening.
I haven’t been running at full weight all that often, so you can mostly ignore the splitter and get away with it in most circumstances. Sometimes it is needed though and it would be nice to know its going to work.
Pulled out of Lymm this morning and the range change was also having a moment and wouldn’t allow me into 5th or beyond. I had to do a couple of laps of the Junc 20 roundabouts messing with the gears before it got its act together. I was just about to pull back into the truckstop when it finally found 5th and I was able to continue up the motorway.
The truck has just done 750k miles, I was wondering if anyone has found similar on the XF, and knows what the problem is?
It’s just for my own curiousity from a mechanical interest point of view.
In sluggish do you mean every time? Or it changes sometimes and not others?
You have a splitter control valve on the side of the gearbox which may be at fault, or the ACU? Valve (it is late and the letters don’t look right) Night be starting to go. (this controls the air going to the air tanks and the one that controls the auxiliaries Clutch splitter etc is at the bottom of the valve and is prone to sludgeing up) If you are running in high a lot. try just splitting the range up and down a lot of times when you are stood. Used to work on mine when it started to play up.
renaultman:
If you are running in high a lot. try just splitting the range up and down a lot of times when you are stood. Used to work on mine when it started to play up.
Yep, I’ve had this in a CF, the trick used to be go and park up. Engine off, then back on again, flick the switch 10 or so times. Then set off and it’d be fine for the next few hours.
It did get fixed eventually but that truck had such a catastrophic multi-failure I can’t remember what the remedy was
It is possible that it is burring on the edges of the actuator rod. Most range changes are, as best I can tell, operated by a selector rod and the switching is quite violent for them. Over time, the end of the rod gets a burr and they will jam in the off position. On Scanias you could take it off and emery the edges a bit,
is it a problem with the range change or the splitter?
if it is the range change, there is an air valve on the nearside of the transmission, 1 pipe into the bottom, 2 out of the top and a small pipe into the side, it is the range change solenoid valve, this starts sticking after a while, only way to fix it is change it for a new one, they are approx £180 plus VAT less any deductions that the dealer wahts to give
hi - i had this problem with a scania (same gearbox) it turned out to be the gear lever - top section - the switches had worn out - 10 seconds in the workshop - just a qucik turn of a collar under the handle bit - fit a new one and it was right as rain again
cheers
Steve
Splitter problems are generally a small pneumatic valve on the side of the gearbox, the air gets water in and the shuttle inside starts to stick.
Range change is far more complicated, usually down to the pneumatic valve shuttlespanker referred to, BTW it can be bought for as little as £85 + VAT, its a high margin item.
I’m assuming its a ZF Gearbox ?
My 2001 ERF with a ZF Gearbox has just had the same problem with the splitter, there is now a shiney new part bolted on to the box and the splitter now works. (I haven’t got a clue what it is )!!
It says ERF not RAF:
I’m assuming its a ZF Gearbox ?
My 2001 ERF with a ZF Gearbox has just had the same problem with the splitter, there is now a shiney new part bolted on to the box and the splitter now works. (I haven’t got a clue what it is )!!
Is it a small square on the lower left hand side of the box?
It says ERF not RAF:
I’m assuming its a ZF Gearbox ?
My 2001 ERF with a ZF Gearbox has just had the same problem with the splitter, there is now a shiney new part bolted on to the box and the splitter now works. (I haven’t got a clue what it is )!!
Is it a small square on the lower left hand side of the box?
No, its on the top. You can see it when stood behind the cab connecting your air lines, you could stand on it if the cat walk was missing.
Valve (it is late and the letters don’t look right) Night be starting to go. (this controls the air going to the air tanks and the one that controls the auxiliaries Clutch splitter etc is at the bottom of the valve and is prone to sludgeing up) If you are running in high a lot. try just splitting the range up and down a lot of times when you are stood. Used to work on mine when it started to play up.
