Thread: L322 madness

Originally Posted by Disco Muppet

The d3 had a manual transmission fitted in very limited numbers but it's an even worse transmission than the GM.
Modern LR automatics are brilliant, if one of those could be adapted it would be a delight to drive.
Of course, the BMW X5 came in a manual so there's an option but it may also turn out to be a rubbish box so who knows

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Worse as in reliablity wise?? Or did it just suck due to the clutch/gearchange feel. I dont' understand how anyone can make an unreliable manual gearbox when they have been building them since the stone age

seeya,
Shane L.

Undersized clutch that gets eaten very quickly, didn't work as well with the terrain response systems compared to the auto, if you run a search on here you're unlikely to find much positive said about them, but they're rare as an effective politician in Australia.
Same as the gm in the rr, just not suited to the application.
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Originally Posted by Disco Muppet

The d3 had a manual transmission fitted in very limited numbers but it's an even worse transmission than the GM.
Modern LR automatics are brilliant, if one of those could be adapted it would be a delight to drive.
Of course, the BMW X5 came in a manual so there's an option but it may also turn out to be a rubbish box so who knows

Sent from my HTC One using AULRO mobile app

The X5 5 speed and later 6 speed manual will fit behind the M57 engine and the RR Transfer case will bolt up without too much issue from what I can find out. The gearbox in the X5 is a good unit and works well, although it was never as popular as the auto, and is quite rare in Australia.

Not sue how the terrain response and hill decent would work with it (if at all) but reliability wise it would be fine as it's rated to take almost twice the torque as the 5L40E. Might even be able to chip the engine without fear of a catastrophe happening.

There are plenty of other hurdles though - clutch, exhaust (RR exhaust will foul the clutch fork), gearshift, mounts, drive shafts and electronics. Still, I think it is doable... Maybe one day I'll have a crack at it.

Originally Posted by bacicat

The X5 5 speed and later 6 speed manual will fit behind the M57 engine and the RR Transfer case will bolt up without too much issue from what I can find out. The gearbox in the X5 is a good unit and works well, although it was never as popular as the auto, and is quite rare in Australia.

Not sue how the terrain response and hill decent would work with it (if at all) but reliability wise it would be fine as it's rated to take almost twice the torque as the 5L40E. Might even be able to chip the engine without fear of a catastrophe happening.

There are plenty of other hurdles though - clutch, exhaust (RR exhaust will foul the clutch fork), gearshift, mounts, drive shafts and electronics. Still, I think it is doable... Maybe one day I'll have a crack at it.

tha'ts the way I'd be going .... Can you see me needing terrain response I like to "drive" the suckers myself.... ( I've seen that defender with open diffs versus fully locked cruiser ..... and the defender walks up stuff the locked cruiser couldn't get up with it's terrain control... sure would be a shame to loose it, though it does work in the manual defender).

My wifes poogoe 407 has a 6spd manual gearbox behind a turbo diesel engine... it's a bloody rippa setup.

Originally Posted by bacicat

The X5 5 speed and later 6 speed manual will fit behind the M57 engine and the RR Transfer case will bolt up without too much issue from what I can find out. The gearbox in the X5 is a good unit and works well, although it was never as popular as the auto, and is quite rare in Australia.

Not sue how the terrain response and hill decent would work with it (if at all) but reliability wise it would be fine as it's rated to take almost twice the torque as the 5L40E. Might even be able to chip the engine without fear of a catastrophe happening.

There are plenty of other hurdles though - clutch, exhaust (RR exhaust will foul the clutch fork), gearshift, mounts, drive shafts and electronics. Still, I think it is doable... Maybe one day I'll have a crack at it.

Now this I am interested in.

I'm sure it would be doable to make up a suitable box of electrickery and smoke to fool the computer into reading the same signals as if the auto were still there in regards to terrain response and hill decent control, tricky but doable.
Clutch can be sorted, exhaust should be relatively simple although any relocation would probably require some creative thinking and appropriate heat shielding.
Gearshift, piece of ****. mounts and drive shafts are same same. Wonder if you could build a translation box between the auto and manual computers....

Originally Posted by Disco Muppet

Now this I am interested in.

I'm sure it would be doable to make up a suitable box of electrickery and smoke to fool the computer into reading the same signals as if the auto were still there in regards to terrain response and hill decent control, tricky but doable.
Clutch can be sorted, exhaust should be relatively simple although any relocation would probably require some creative thinking and appropriate heat shielding.
Gearshift, piece of ****. mounts and drive shafts are same same. Wonder if you could build a translation box between the auto and manual computers....

Electronics is easier than you think. There is no smarts in the manual boxes, just the gear indicator wiring, which can be transposed to the dash lights without too much issue. Now, the other bit - when you unplug the transmission the engine won't start - it thinks it's in 3rd gear. Shouldn't be too hard to bypass this. If you start the engine, then pull the plug, the engine stays running, so nothing catastrophic there.

The electronics for the auto are mostly stand alone, with only a CAN signal to the engine ECU which sends a signal to momentarily cut power when a gear change happens - the engine ECU will live quite happily if it never sees this signal.

I've done a LOT of research on this conversion, so I've run through most issues I think.

Manual box is longer so the TC ends up in a different spot, so new driveshafts are needed - no biggy. Clutch would need to be operated by a concentric hydraulic throw out bearing - no biggy. Clutch pedal will be a **** as the L322 was never designed for one. There is enough room under the dash for a racing style one piece hydraulic clutch pedal assembly but almost the entire dash would need to come out to fit this - time consuming and a PITA but again, doable. Shifter ends up a couple of inches back from where the auto selector is - how pretty you want to make this will depend on the lengths you go to with the shifter - I'd probably just bring it up where it will go and move other stuff around that.

One day when I have some spare cash, I'll import a good second hand box and see what happens. The only box I saw for sale in Aus was well over $3,000. The same box from OS is around 500 euro so with shipping, etc should come in a bit cheaper than that.

Still think it would cost the same as an auto rebuild, but I think you would get a better result IMO.

Good to hear! Saves me from having to do it
Can always adjust where the shifter comes out with a bit of lateral thinking, and it should be relatively easy to pretty up the new space around the shifter. Having it a bit further back shouldn't cause too many issues if you left it as is but I'm sure it could be worked to come out level with where the auto shifter was.
Dash out would be a pain but really, meh. To be honest, it sounds simpler than doing the same thing (or the reverse for that matter) in a Td5 D2....
Would you go the 5 or 6 speed box?
Shoot me a PM when you decide to do this, I'll come and help

Another thought. The later ZF 6 speed autos that were fitted to the X5s, I wonder whether the rear output section could bolt up the existing TC on the L322 or better still is it the same as the latter 6 speed fitted from '06?

Software is the issue. If there was a way of using the X5 software and making it work with the L322 engine management.....