Thread: R380 G'Box problems

With 3 vehicles of your own with the R380 Box, you should know yourself

Only issue I had with mine(D2) was a leaking rear seal, due to the main support bearing?? elongating, there's an upgraded steel bearing replacement for them, I'm assuming the R380 in the RV8 would be similar to the D1s R380.


Baz.

A ticking noise from the gearbox area which disappears when the clutch is depressed - lay shaft bearings on their way out




Erich

Before you get really worried, hard shifts on low gears especially from cold can be a sign that the oil needs to be replaced... MTF94 can really make the difference believe me, as i couldnt find it local i took the advice from some oil ''specialists'' and used alternatives...drained out two kind of so called same spec oils in two weeks then bit the bullet and ordered MTF94 from UK and that did the trick... R380 is very 'squeamish' when it's about oil

Could be the bias plate and springs, the plate cracks and bends causing the gear change hard to select.
Easy fix if it was that.

Mine sounds like a can full of washers and ball bearings being shaken when I am coming down the gears through 3rd and then 2nd. Definitely signs of a failing gearbox. Been like this since I passed 400k (now at 473k) and still goes up through the gears smoothly and 4th and 5th sounds ok. Only really need clutch for starting and shifting from 1st to 2nd.

So why have I not rebuilt the gearbox yet I hear some of you scream. Because I know I will then want to rebuild the transfer box, reinstate the CDL, get the Ashcrofts ATB, rebuild the drive shafts, then the diffs, more ATB mods, ........or buy a D3....

The funny thing with gearbox noises is some days it is smooth and quiet, and others rattly and making weird noises. Must be a LR thing.

Oil changes do make a difference with the gearbox (both for shift quality and noise) so if it becomes difficult to shift, start with an oil change. Plenty of recommendations on the best oil to use.

Originally Posted by DiscoDB

Oil changes do make a difference with the gearbox (both for shift quality and noise) so if it becomes difficult to shift, start with an oil change. Plenty of recommendations on the best oil to use.

Check out the links in "the good oil" on this site.

Thanks team. Baz . What is the 3rd R380 vehicle? I can only think of 2 maybe. The 97 manual disco and the 01 Defender?
As far as I remember they never gave a hint of a problem or made any noises.
The disco had about 105000 mms when sold and the fender about 70000.
Well picked up on the RV8 connection

Pete