Thread: Defender Gearbox

rebuilding the box can be just as expensive as purchasing a reco.. But you know exactly the condition of everything....

a second hand box, unless you can get the exact history of the vehicle can be just as risky as having your existing box rebuilt by the village idiot orr if he wasnt availalbe, the bloke who did the work on disco steves disco.

I personally would rebuild it myself

The safest option is a new box but thats not cheap.

Thanks Dave, yes I could see that buying parts to rebuild could be as expensive as having one already rebuilt off the shelf as their parts and turnover would reflect trade prices in the rebuild figures.

I guess until we actualy split the box we don't know the damage or parts needed but no doubt replace them all the way to go or not?

I think a new box maybe prohibitive in cost at this point until I get prices.

Some info here: Ashcroft Transmissions


The following is pasted from: Ashcroft Transmissions






R 380 Development
The R 380 was introduced in 1994 with the suffix J which was a significant improvement on the LT 77 it supercedes, differences included a steel oil pump (as opposed to the LT 77 fibre one), an additional 2 support bearings were used on the layshaft and the mainshaft, wider gears, bigger diameter syncro rings, syncromesh on reverse and a longer mainshaft spline.
This suffix J did unfortunately have a couple of design flaws which gave the R 380 some bad press, they were prone to the mainshaft shearing across the oil feed holes, the layshaft also sheared at a stress concentration behind the sandwich plate causing loss of 5th and reverse also early ones still suffered from mainshaft wear until the cross drilled transfer case gears became fitted as standard on the suffix G transfer cases.
In 1999 the suffix K was used very briefly for a few months then came the suffix L that is used currently. The J and L are very different, 2 of the bearings were substantially uprated and pinion and layshaft teeth were widened again, this results in a much stronger unit.
Cooling
It is not abnormal for the R 380 to run quite hot and this often results on either baulking or sticky shifts which can often be improved by either an oil additive or different oil. On the short stick boxes or it can cause the actual gearstick pivot ball to get tight in it"s socket which you can improve by stripped, cleaning oiling and replacing.
If you feel your unit is running too hot then bear in mind Landrover make for 2 main markets, Europe and Rest of World (ROW), the ROW spec TD5 Defender and Disco gearboxes are oil cooled but Europe spec are not, there is some debate as to whether they should be, especially if you live in south Spain or Italy Etc.
The temperature the box runs at will have an effect on it"s lifespan, please have a look in the misc section for details of oil cooling kits.

Originally Posted by Bush65

Some info here: Ashcroft Transmissions


The following is pasted from: Ashcroft Transmissions






R 380 Development
The R 380 was introduced in 1994 with the suffix J which was a significant improvement on the LT 77 it supercedes, differences included a steel oil pump (as opposed to the LT 77 fibre one), an additional 2 support bearings were used on the layshaft and the mainshaft, wider gears, bigger diameter syncro rings, syncromesh on reverse and a longer mainshaft spline.
This suffix J did unfortunately have a couple of design flaws which gave the R 380 some bad press, they were prone to the mainshaft shearing across the oil feed holes, the layshaft also sheared at a stress concentration behind the sandwich plate causing loss of 5th and reverse also early ones still suffered from mainshaft wear until the cross drilled transfer case gears became fitted as standard on the suffix G transfer cases.
In 1999 the suffix K was used very briefly for a few months then came the suffix L that is used currently. The J and L are very different, 2 of the bearings were substantially uprated and pinion and layshaft teeth were widened again, this results in a much stronger unit.
Cooling
It is not abnormal for the R 380 to run quite hot and this often results on either baulking or sticky shifts which can often be improved by either an oil additive or different oil. On the short stick boxes or it can cause the actual gearstick pivot ball to get tight in it"s socket which you can improve by stripped, cleaning oiling and replacing.
If you feel your unit is running too hot then bear in mind Landrover make for 2 main markets, Europe and Rest of World (ROW), the ROW spec TD5 Defender and Disco gearboxes are oil cooled but Europe spec are not, there is some debate as to whether they should be, especially if you live in south Spain or Italy Etc.
The temperature the box runs at will have an effect on it"s lifespan, please have a look in the misc section for details of oil cooling kits.

Thanks for this info John,

It's interesting to see that Ashcroft offers reco gearbox for 445 uk$ equates to roughly AUSD$965, the best quote I've had so far is $2200 exchange & $385 for the drive gear, I've also had one at $3500, I'm still looking though, also 2nd hand at $1100.

From what I understand the the TD5 also uses the R380 & should go straight into my '97 TDI...correct

On my 1994 defender with R380 box I have gotten into the habbit of changing the gearbox oil with the engine oil and never had a problem.
My defender works hard pulling two and a half tonne of boat around.

Originally Posted by Bush65

Some info here: Ashcroft Transmissions


<snip>
In 1999 the suffix K was used very briefly for a few months then came the suffix L that is used currently. The J and L are very different, 2 of the bearings were substantially uprated and pinion and layshaft teeth were widened again, this results in a much stronger unit.
<snip>

Originally Posted by RoverOne

<snip>

From what I understand the the TD5 also uses the R380 & should go straight into my '97 TDI...correct

Looks to me like you need a gearbox from a TD5 if you want the suffix L, which sounds better. Wish I'd known this earlier.

Cheers
Simon

Pulled gearbox apart this morning and the best result possible under the circumstances a broken output shaft...a nice clean break, so no excess metal throgh gearbox & no buggered teeth.

So minimal parts to buy, glad I just didn't send off gearbox to get exchanged.

Still have to fit new clutch though, even after 40,000km lot of heat on plate plus also on fly wheel, I guess a two crossing of the Simpson has taken its toll, would have last a while longer though if left in.?

Originally Posted by RoverOne

It's interesting to see that Ashcroft offers reco gearbox for 445 uk$ equates to roughly AUSD$965, the best quote I've had so far is $2200 exchange & $385 for the drive gear, I've also had one at $3500, I'm still looking though, also 2nd hand at $1100.

I've often seen quotes mentioned here that are far above UK costs for this. I can only assume it's a combination of supply and demand (i.e. They're not common here, so either the skillset to do them is rare and hence expensive, or the labour time involved is longer because they're not done that often, coupled with higher parts costs.

However, if Ashcrofts were willing to supply non-exchange, even adding their rebuild costs and surcharge costs with a good allowance for shipping, means you're still getting it cheaper and built by people with an exceedingly good reputation in the UK. When my R380 starts to play up, I know where it'll be going.