The V8 Owners Forum -

An age old question...

I'm considering my gearbox options in the future and I'm not sure what to get. Obviously the R380 is stronger and has fewer probs than the LT77 but is more expensive....

My engine (hopefully, judging by the dyno figures of a near identical engine from Real Steel) should be putting out 250hp. To play on the safe side (and to account for my 'energetic' shifting) lets assume I need a gearbox that will cope with 270hp...

Will a LT77 cope with this? I know the R380 can handle 300hp easily.

Also, if I am able to get hold of a second hand box rather than a rebuilt one, would a rebuild be necessary to ensure it could cope with the power? This is assuming I get a box with no known probs and prob 70,000 on the clock roughly....

So, what are everyones thoughts?

Am I right in thinking there are santana gearboxes around which are a lot cheaper than the R380's and about as strong? A mate has one on his landy, may even be 2 and apparently they are strong, and he breaks things more than regularly. Though I'm not sure how accurate his info is on details like that....

topcatproduction wrote:Am I right in thinking there are santana gearboxes around which are a lot cheaper than the R380's and about as strong? A mate has one on his landy, may even be 2 and apparently they are strong, and he breaks things more than regularly. Though I'm not sure how accurate his info is on details like that....

The Santana is the LT85 I think.... I'm not sure about the second hand prices, but rebuild prices are about 100 more for the LT85 than the R380. Makes sense and there arent that many Santanas around...

You are correct about it being the LT85- apparently they are bomb proof but are a bit noisier than the LT77 and R380. They were only ever fitted to the v8 90's and 110's i think. You can tell if you are looking at an LT85 vehicle because the transmission tunnel in an LT85 vehicle is much bigger than an LT77 one. The LT85 is a split case box so it comes apart into two halves...

I will be able to comment more soon as my Dad has just bought a V8 110 which has a factory fitted LT85.

The LT85 is a strong box but does have a poor and slow shift and is noisey
The R380 so named because it can handle 380Nm of torque they do synchro hubs and again i think have a poor shift, The Lt77 has bad main shaft wear but if you fit the cross drilled transfer box gear it is greatly reduced.
So to sum up I still Think a good Lt77 is the best box to go for unless you go auto
Regards Tricky

Tricky wrote:The LT85 is a strong box but does have a poor and slow shift and is noisey
The R380 so named because it can handle 380Nm of torque they do synchro hubs and again i think have a poor shift, The Lt77 has bad main shaft wear but if you fit the cross drilled transfer box gear it is greatly reduced.
So to sum up I still Think a good Lt77 is the best box to go for unless you go auto
Regards Tricky

Thanks. I was either considering a second hand LT77 and leave it as it, or get a second hand one and rebuild it my self with one of the Ashcroft kits. Possibly a fully rebuilt one, but its pretty pricey for outright.

Have people sucsessfully rebuilt a box?

What box you running at mo and what do you do with your Landy?????

The V8 isnt finished yet (lack of funds)... so I am not running a V8 box at the moment.

The landy is used as a comp safari vehicle, and also a daily driver. I am pretty keen to have good shifting as I like to shift quick.

If your using it for Comp Safari go for a 3speed auto out of a Rangie upto
a 1985 they were a Torque flight 727 box Mopar mussle auto boxes are much softer on diffs when racing of road its what i used to run.

Tricky wrote:If your using it for Comp Safari go for a 3speed auto out of a Rangie upto
a 1985 they were a Torque flight 727 box Mopar mussle auto boxes are much softer on diffs when racing of road its what i used to run.

I think I would rather buy a ford focus than drive an auto! And I really hate modern hatchbacks like ford focuses.....

I am afraid only a 5 or 6 speed manual will do for me! (also fed up of less than 5 gears... the 4 on the current box is driving me mad as I keep running out of gears)

Have people sucsessfully rebuilt a box?[/quote]

My brother rebuilt his gearbox for his landrover a couple of years back but borrowed a tech book to do this. Think it was an lt77.

Well after having driven about in my Dads 110, i have to say that the LT85 in his makes less noise than the recon Ashcroft box I have in my 90.

However, his is a "County" spec so has carpets etc. Mine is a stripped down Lemans stylee 90- no carpets, mats or any sound proofing. At all. lol.

In reality I just hate anything that holds water against the floors and bulkhead. Being a Landrover, water does get in no matter what you do.

As for the shift- it is more positive when engaging but seems to have a shorter throw between the gates if you see what I mean.

Link on how to rebuild an LT77 here:

http://forums.lr4x4.com/index.php?showtopic=52887