Lost 5th & Reverse R380 Discovery 300TDi Gearbox

[wagnuts]

Afternoon all...

New year got off to a great start until yesterday when i lost 5th & reverse on my disco,
Was driving along went for 5th and nothing, was like being in neutral,
there wasn't any noise to idicate somthing had broken, just cannot find 5th, it feels like it goes into gear but nothing.

Pulled up at destination and noticed reverse was the same, i have reverse lights but no gear.

I have owned this disco since august and covered 485 miles in her, prior to me buying it she had a replacment box! prob covered less than 1000 miles in it since..

I did notice a noise from the box in fourth, like a bearing noise and also when i parked up there it was again only disapearing when i depressed the clutch!

Could this have been a sign of things looming..

This is my first landrover and was bought as a play thing and project..
Would anyone have experiance of rebuilding one of these boxes and advise me accordingly..

Would i be best paying lots of cash for proper recon one, i was romanticising about having a go myself but after reading through the overhaul manual was wondering if it would be cost effective buying all the special tools and attempting something i have not done before.

If anyone has any views, links or solutions then i'm all ears..
Regards
Barry:fiddle:

[Swingletree]

Unless your quite good with the spanners I'd be giving Ashcroft transmissions a call.

http://www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/category_5.html

£445 starting price for a recon R380 Gbox ;)

[TEMPL4R]

Aren't 5th and reverse both across to the right?

I'd be looking at the selector mechanism.

Chris

[TEMPL4R]

Somewhere here.

Chris

[wagnuts]

Thanks for the images TEMPL4R.
I'm pretty confident i will be succesful in overhauling the box, however to access the part you have circled, what special tools would i require?

only i replaced my cambelt shortly after purchsing her and am now left with special tools i will not need for a long time!

Is it possible to strip down the box with other tools?
I have dial indicater, verniers etc. just no special tools..
Thanks again T

[HPLP]

LOL prob was an ashcroft box in the first place!!!

It most likely is a selector problem but in any case sounds like the box will have to come out anyway.

H

[stevenA]

Just thrown my play R380 into a skip so cannot be sure, but you should be able to get an idea whats happening in situ by removing the gearstick and top cover - and for that you need nothing special.

These boxes are not that sophisticated, and all of the innards can be exposed, if done carefully, without any special tools and just a bit of thought, the workshop manual, and occasional jiggling - I rebuilt a TD5 box to go in my disco 1 (change input shaft) and you don't need to do half of what the workshop manual suggests!

[wagnuts]

Ok
Had the top off my type B Gearbox and the fifth/reverse selector is engaging both gears within the box, looks certain its not a selector problem.....

[Discodisaster]

I have same problem. Did you ever sort out? Open gearbox surgery scares me and probably the neighbours if I start dismantling the car on the driveway!!!

[wagnuts]

Taking the box appart is fairly easy, i used a puller from machine mart to remove the bearings, however my layshaft £78 had snapped 5th/revererse syncromesh and hub knackard £68
Main shaft reverse gear looking like needed replacing as the teeth were worn £ 35 + the overhaul kit £160..
spoke to Ashcroft transmissions and the above parts + delivery came to £403,, needless to say i have had a rethink and given what i know now would have opted for an exchange unit with a guarantee, altho i enjoyed dismantling the box and was looking forward to reassmbly i still would have been worried about it being right...
Best advice for you is to remove the top of the box whilst still in the car and have a look at the 5th reverse selectors, or if you are unlucky enough to have snapped your layshaft will will see this from above (with a bit of poking)..
I am now on the lookout for a second hand box that does not bear the J suffix as these do suffer from layshaft snapping, go for a g, k or l suffix if you can as these are meant to be a more robust unit.
Although i am exploring putting in an Lt77 unit (more around and cheaper.
I have added piccies of the snapped layshaft, broken 5th reverse syncromesh, damaged layshaft reverse gear teeth.

[Discodisaster]

Brilliant. Thanks for that. Just need to try and make a sensible judgement on whether it is actually worth replacing the gearbox as it needs new starter, glow plugs, battery, cam belt kit and tyres as well. The last time I trust a mate who told me that it was a right and very reliable motor when he sold me it 800 miles ago!!!

[landymike]

hi, i had same on my 300, driving along and lost 5th gear then reached home and realised i was stuck on road, could,nt reverse. Shaft in box had broken , looked like it had been cut with a scissors it was that clean!!

[Discodisaster]

Is there a sensible alternative to Ashcroft as I have just found out that the replacement gearbox the car was fitted with was only done 18 months ago (and it came from Ashcroft) so bit reluctant to go with them though as yet don't actually know what is replaced to make them a reconditioned gearbox? Presumably if it was bearings and other bits if this is a layshaft (?) break it should just be a case of replacing the bit that is broken as everything else ought to be good noting the likely painful repair bill?

Just don't want to get the box out and then decide that the whole thing is no good and spend any more if the car is a scrapper because of the other problems that need fixing.

[wagnuts]

I managed 500 miles in mine until this happened, thing is i allready fitted new cam belt kit, rear discs, universal joints + a whole load of other work, all part of ownership , With regards to the gearbox i ended up buying a second hand unit from colin @ skan 4x4 in much wenlock, (nice helpfull chap) if you need some qaulity second hand bits they are breaking newish crash damaged disco's..