Outer Limits 4x4 Board

looking into putting in a manual gearbox to replace my zf.

is the lt95 a strong box? does it have 5 gears?

either way i want a 5speed manual. the rover is '84 and has always been an auto. originally torqueflite.

the engine is a holden 5ltr and i know there's gonna be some extra things and doohickies needed. but for the moment i'm after the strongest 5speed manual box and i'm what sort of coin it's gonna take to get one in my possession.

also, while the box is out. is there any sort of upgrades i can do to the gears.

i plan to be in the sand a lot with the rover, i can go anywhere in a deisel toyota but my tricks can't be done with an auto.

although i must admit that i haven't tried the rangie in the sand with the auto yet.

p.s no, i'm not gonna buy a deisel toyota.

Try the auto first, i think you will be suprised

LT95 only 4 speed and LT77 only 5 speed gearbox and ZF 4 speed auto. Any comment?
I used to be Chev V8 Diesel 6.2L with ZF auto seems ok but too much brake pressure and I change gear LT95 4 speed with 30% low lower range transfer much better than LT77 or R380 5 speed too weak not suit Chev V8 Diesel 6.2L
Regard Gecko

What about the LT85 which I thought was a 5-speed.

(BTW, where did you get the LT95 30% gears?)

Slunnie wrote:What about the LT85 which I thought was a 5-speed.

(BTW, where did you get the LT95 30% gears?)

I think he meant the LT95 is about 30% lower in low than the LT230.

Autos are MUCH better in sand than a manual, provided they dont overheat. A big cooler solves this issue. I would go the ZF - you get a 4 speed auto with overdrive and lock up torque converter and will notice a lot more HP at the wheels due to it being a lot more efficient than what youve got now.

Alternatively, you could put tall transfer gears in a LT95 and use that - it will go fine behind the holden. They are a very strong box and cheap second hand. Alan Jennings has a few there - he's just around the corner.
IMHO, you would destroy an LT77 behind the 5.0

LT85 is the Santana 5 spd box from late 80's counties, stronger than LT77 and probably on par with an R380. With a big V8 i would fit one of the late LT95's with 0.996/1 high range gears, strongest LR box .

Mark2 wrote:

Slunnie wrote:What about the LT85 which I thought was a 5-speed.

(BTW, where did you get the LT95 30% gears?)

I think he meant the LT95 is about 30% lower in low than the LT230.

Autos are MUCH better in sand than a manual, provided they dont overheat. A big cooler solves this issue. I would go the ZF - you get a 4 speed auto with overdrive and lock up torque converter and will notice a lot more HP at the wheels due to it being a lot more efficient than what youve got now.

Alternatively, you could put tall transfer gears in a LT95 and use that - it will go fine behind the holden. They are a very strong box and cheap second hand. Alan Jennings has a few there - he's just around the corner.
IMHO, you would destroy an LT77 behind the 5.0

Low range is the same 3.32:1 in LT95 and LT 230

It looks like the LT95 (S3 Stage1) has a 1st gear of 4:1, and the R380 (D2) has a 1st gear of 3.3:1(V8) or 3.7:1(TD5). Perhaps thats where the gains are from.

Thats right - the difference is in the first gear ratios. LT94 low low is about 48:1.

Mark2 wrote:
Autos are MUCH better in sand than a manual, provided they dont overheat. A big cooler solves this issue. I would go the ZF - you get a 4 speed auto with overdrive and lock up torque converter and will notice a lot more HP at the wheels due to it being a lot more efficient than what youve got now.

Alternatively, you could put tall transfer gears in a LT95 and use that - it will go fine behind the holden. They are a very strong box and cheap second hand. Alan Jennings has a few there - he's just around the corner.
IMHO, you would destroy an LT77 behind the 5.0

Autos better in sand??? as i said i haven't tried it before, but knowing how i use a manual i'm doubtfull i can get the same out of an auto. that lock up torque converter sounds like the trick to get the best of both worlds. providing it does what it sounds like it does.

can you describe how the lock up torque converter functions. do you lock manually or does it do it itself at high revs or something... or were you saying the zf already comes with the lock up?? which would be a bummer cause the box aint working the way i like to drive in sand.

not a fan of alan jennings. maybe my rover is an old bucket and it influences his thinking but i think his work is less than par and my money is still worth the same as everyone elses. won't be going back.

if the lock up torque converter is an after market job then it's certainly given me something to look into.

thanks for the tips all. muchly appreciated.

just took the time to research the lock up thingy. already in my gearbox apparently. bugger. it needs to lock sooner.(if it's even working at all )

well i would want to drop the lock up speed. adjust the the stall and keep it cooler. might give that a go first before trying to put in a manual i think...

cheers

If you don't sort the ZF out and still want a manual, then consider a nissan gq 5 speed behind the holden motor.

LT95 are strong but 4 speed, agriculural and long in the tooth. LT85 are 5 speed, but not easy to come by and most are old. LT77 are weak, the early R380 have a weakness in the mainshaft. Later R380 are better but still nowhere near as strong as the nissan.

the converter locking up is a speed related thing.it will lock generally when doing about 85ks.is to help get better mileage.if you could make it lock at low speeds the forces load up the converter and will damage it after not to long.the converter dont have the strenght of an 11 inch clutch when it comes to hard acceleration and shock loads when locked.

I think what he is after is a low stall converter

Thanks Bush,
i'll keep it in mind.

I've decided to keep the zf untill it burns out then might change internals to hp24(have 22 at the moment)

looking into cooling. the mechanic recommended a derale system. said if i have that in there i'll never have to worry about the box getting hot no matter what i do. and also recomends it cause it won't take up my oil pressure and stuff.

very expensive option though. but if it gets double the life out of my box(as i hear overheating is the big killer of autos) then i'm happy with it.

any other cooling options than a derale unit?

what are some of the cooling options others have looked into. i've got the cooling unit(just that bar radiator thing up front) from the torque flite still and the system is running through about nearly 3.5m of hosing form the box to the front and back.

anythoughts on cooling would be cool..... hahahahahahaha