Thread: Newcomer with LT85 question

No real input on the gearbox other than I had a falcon with a input bearing on the way, it rumbled rather than clicked when the clutch was out in neutral. It ran for many kms like that until I sold it.

What I'd really like to see is some of the professional pictures!

Which oil are you using??? VMX 75-85??? (VMX-M?)

It may just be a noisy throwout. Might be worth getting under the (secured) vehicle at idle with the old stethoscope (screwdriver etc.) and see if the noise is coming from the bellhousing or the box. Also remove the bellhousing drain and see if the noise gets louder,

I run Syntrans in mine, which I have found superior to VMX80 or similar oils.

If the box does need a repair/rebuild, personally I would fit one of TheGrubb's kits to change to an isuzu box, or adapt to bellhousing to fit an R380.

Your box seems to have needed a lot of rebuilds for an NA engine. Did it do a lot of towing? My engine has ~380k km and the box has only needed 1 rebuild.

ticking from an lt85 at idle is not a good thing....

theres a few checks you can do to isolate it out BUT you need a helper some time and axle stands or enough tools to remove the PTO plate.

The oil I'm running is VMX-M. I'd prefer synthetic but maybe next time- actually unsure where to get it. I figure changing the mineral oil every 10k might be a pain but better than leaving it there.

Just discovered the rear U/V joint on the front propeller shaft is dead. I bought this shaft complete on eBay about four months ago - the sticker from a prop shaft rebuilder was still on it IE, the shaft should have been 'as new' but after no more than 10k, the rear Universal on the front shaft is now dead and clicking its head of on a trailing throttle. I'm wondering if the U/V is the same for the County as those fitted to defender five speed as this is the where the rebuilt shaft came from originally. Guess I'll fit the old shaft back up and organise to R/R a new U/V sometime soon.


The gearbox: Thanks for the quick advice. The noise is less a 'tick' than a rumble- only really noticeable when you apply the clutch pedal and it goes away entirely. Maybe I'm being a bit neurotic but any noise kind of worries me. However this car aint quiet in any way shape or form. Nature of the beast.

I guess that the stethoscope or large screwdriver diagnostic is a good idea. Will try that when I can get someone to sit in the cab and apply the pedal on and off.

Anyone know of a trustworthy mechanic nearby to the ACT that can look at the thing and provide a best guess??

The bloke up at Mitchell seems to never get back to me when I call and I can't seem to get past his wife/receptionist nazi who seems to think that speaking to the mechanic is simply unreasonable. Maybe they have too much business to handle and now choose to turn business away if the customer isn't a rich D3 owner who hates to get his hands dirty. I'm guessing....maybe I'm just a bit crusty and cynical. I kinda hate not being able to speak to someone directly who knows more about the mechanics of the car than I do. But at the end of the day, time is money I guess.
Anyway, moving along - can anyone identify a suitable L/R specialist down here in the ACT???

Originally Posted by isuzurover

Which oil are you using??? VMX 75-85??? (VMX-M?)

It may just be a noisy throwout. Might be worth getting under the (secured) vehicle at idle with the old stethoscope (screwdriver etc.) and see if the noise is coming from the bellhousing or the box. Also remove the bellhousing drain and see if the noise gets louder,

I run Syntrans in mine, which I have found superior to VMX80 or similar oils.

If the box does need a repair/rebuild, personally I would fit one of TheGrubb's kits to change to an isuzu box, or adapt to bellhousing to fit an R380.

Your box seems to have needed a lot of rebuilds for an NA engine. Did it do a lot of towing? My engine has ~380k km and the box has only needed 1 rebuild.

What is 'The Grubb's' kit? I'm guessing its a kit to fit a KS (or similar) gearbox to the LT230- a plate at the back end- but what about the overall length issues that this involves? (mounts on the engine and transfer box)... And the clutch/flywheel?
Just wondering is all...

Originally Posted by Svengali0

only really noticeable when you apply the clutch pedal and it goes away entirely.

inputshaft, layshaft or center support bearing.

select N on the tcase and let the clutch out.

if the noise is present when you select all gears in the main box its typically going to be the input bearing

if its not there in 4th then the odds are its the center support bearing for the input to the output shaft

if it changes with selection of first second and 3rd but is the same with 4th and 5th then its likely to be the layshaft bearings.

Originally Posted by Svengali0

[FONT=Arial Narrow]Just discovered the rear U/V joint on the front propeller shaft is dead. I bought this shaft complete on eBay about four months ago - the sticker from a prop shaft rebuilder was still on it IE, the shaft should have been 'as new' but after no more than 10k, the rear Universal on the front shaft is now dead and clicking its head of on a trailing throttle. I'm wondering if the U/V is the same for the County as those fitted to defender five speed as this is the where the rebuilt shaft came from originally. Guess I'll fit the old shaft back up and organise to R/R a new U/V sometime soon.



What is 'The Grubb's' kit? I'm guessing its a kit to fit a KS (or similar) gearbox to the LT230- a plate at the back end- but what about the overall length issues that this involves? (mounts on the engine and transfer box)... And the clutch/flywheel?
Just wondering is all...

I recently posted a thread on UJs: Uni Joints - longevity. . The county should have larger UJs (K5-13XR) whereas a RRC/Defender/Disco has the smaller ones.

Syntrans is available at most places which sell (castrol) oils. It only comes in 1L or 20L containers though, and costs ~$30/L!!! You can always drop a small amount of oil to check for water or contaminants.

For the gearbox stuff - all you need to know is here:
http://www.aulro.com/afvb/isuzu-land...-lt230-10.html
This is the gearbox from an NPR truck or similar. No change in length.

Originally Posted by Blknight.aus

inputshaft, layshaft or center support bearing.

select N on the tcase and let the clutch out.

if the noise is present when you select all gears in the main box its typically going to be the input bearing

if its not there in 4th then the odds are its the center support bearing for the input to the output shaft

if it changes with selection of first second and 3rd but is the same with 4th and 5th then its likely to be the layshaft bearings.

Thank you for this.
I have proceeded to test- and after putting transfer in N, found that:
1st was moderately noisy; 2nd less so, and; 3rd not at all, and; 4th quite noisy at revs as well as idle, less so at revs- and; 5th was not noisy either at revs or at idle....

So, not sure what this means. I can't provide an absolute reference point for 'low, moderate or high' in terms of noise level- what would I use to compare that we could all agree on?

In any event, the difference in noise level may indicate that a bearing may be faltering inside the LT85- not at the point of descruction yet but perhaps not that far off.

Which bearing it actually is (is) academic.
It'd be nice to have a timeframe though as the car is in use and is relied upon for everyday transport....

Almost certainly input brg. I am going to throw a cat in the pigeons here and suggest you fit a LT95 4spd, and taper roller brg transfer case mods. This is the trans you would've had in your civi 6x6, except the 6x6 had a lower high range. The 4x4 version uses .996:1 high range, with 255/85 tyres about 2000rpm at 100km/h. A great gearbox IMO.

JC