Disco 1 300TDI gearbox change/swap R380/LT230

Minimal Tools List
1, 1/2 inch ratchet
2, 1/4 inch ratchet
3, 1/2 inch torque bar
4, 2 x 9/16 spanners
5, 19mm socket
6, 19mm spanner
7, 13mm socket
8, 10mm Socket
9, 15mm socket
10, 1/2 inch T-Bar
11, Engine Hoist/Crane
12, Bottle Jack (standard Land Rover)
13, Bottle Jack or other jack that can lift 24inch or more
14, Drill and HSS Bits
15, Strap or chain suitable for the weight of the gearbox and transfer box.
16, 13mm socket
17, 13mm spanner
Optional tools
1, Impact Gun
2, Flat Bar/Utility Bar. (like a crow bar but flat)
3, Prop Shaft removal tool. (9/16 narrow socket)



Before starting roll down the driver door window and remove the battery negative connection and tie up safe to one side.

Step 1
remove the gear and diff lock knobs,
start by un-clipping the bottom of the leather (material) boot from the base then unscrew the knobs to remove. Using a 13mm remove the Extension on the gear stick.

Step 2
Remove the prop shafts from the transfer box and the diff's and put to one side.

Step 3

Remove the rubber mat from the center console. Remove the 2 screws from inside the storage area of the center console and the 2 hidden up near the diff selector.

Step 4
Remove the handbrake cable. Ease to remove clip then push the cable through, Make sure the car is choked up on ALL wheels and on level ground for this step.

Step 5
Pull the handbrake lever all the way up and remove the center console over it.

Step 6
remove the sound proofing (lifts off). Below this you will see a rubber dust/dirt guard held in by a metal plate on the edging. drill out the rivets and remove both the metal plate and the rubber dust/dirt guard.
(I got lucky mine had already been drilled out and was held by 2 screws, however I recommend putting it back with screws or nuts and bolts rather than rivets)

Step 7
lower the strap down on the driver side from inside the cab (side with least room), Then pass it back up on the passenger side (larger gap for doing it on your own or if you have a friend easier to see back up when passing the strap). Attach to hoist/crane through the driver side front window and take up the slack.

Step 8
From under the bonnet or vehicle remove the 2 bolts for the clutch slave cylinder and gently pull it out of the gearbox bell housing to a safe place. (I took mine off from under the bonnet but replaced it from under the vehicle)

Step 9
Remove the 2 gearbox mount nuts from under the cross member. (mine came off one nut and one stud but as long as you have what's needed to put it back or on the replacement then your fine with the nut or the stud coming off)

Step 10
Remove the bolts from the cross member. Using a Nylon Hammer or similar tool knock the cross member down and remove it from under the gearbox.

Step 11
Remove the bolts from the bottom of the gearbox bell housing and as many of the nuts around it as you can reach. (there will be some at the top you can't reach yet)

Step 12
Lower the hoist/crane allowing the gearbox to pull the engine onto an angle until you have enough room to remove the top nuts on the bell housing. Removing the last nuts can be tricky a lot of people do it from the top with extension bars, at the same time a lot undo them from below. I cracked mine with a T-Bar and extensions from above then finished them off from below with a ratchet.

Step 13
Using a flat bar or something that won't cause damage split the gearbox bell housing from the engine. Make sure it is all the way off and free from the flywheel/engine.

Step 14
Undo the exhaust middle flange and push the front flexi down and out of the way. Lower the Hoist/Crane until the gearbox/transfer and handbrake drum are all on the floor. Remove the hoist/crane and pull it from the vehicle to one side. Remove/Unplug the Speedo, Reverse switch and Diff Lock switch wiring.

Step 15
Double check chokes on the passenger side wheels and remove them from the driver side. Using suitable jacks lift the front and rear driver side until you have enough room to pull out the old unit. (I used my land rover bottle jack and another bottle jack with some solid wooden blocks to get them high enough)

Step 16
Push/Pull the new unit under the vehicle and make sure it's in the center tunnel area. Lower the jacks to put the vehicle back level on all 4 wheels. Replace any chokes you removed when lifting.

Step 17
Put the hoist/crane back in place and put the strap back around the transfer box then attach it to the hoist/crane.

Step 18
Lift the hoist/crane to bring the gearbox back more in line with the engine. Put a bottle jack under the front of the engine to help line them up. Work it until you can get it to line up the bottom bolts. (I was advised when doing mine to jack up on the panhard rod to tilt the engine and if I had known it at the start it would have saved me a lot of time trying to line things up)

Step 19
Jack up the front as best you can to angle the engine and then lower the hoist with some working the gearbox will slide into place. Tighten the bottom bolts just over hand tight then get the top nuts on and work your way down. when there all in place give them that one last little turn to make sure there all tight and as even as possible. (if you want to use the torque bar to get them all perfect there's nothing wrong with that but I just done them up "tight")

Step 20
When the gearbox is all bolted up to the engine lower the jack from the front of the engine and lift the hoist/crane back up to lift the gearbox into place. Put the exhaust back together and refit the cross member.

Step 21
Lower the gearbox onto the cross member into the mounting holes and put the bolts/studs back in. Lower the hoist and remove the strap.

Step 22
Replace the Clutch Slave Cylinder from under the vehicle/bonnet.


Notes: If I had to say what part of this job was the hardest it would be lining the gearbox back up on the engine. Other than that I would say that this job is not very difficult as long as you take your time and use the right tools.


Well hope this helps someone out there and sorry there's no pics it turns out im really bad with a camera and the image i have got are not of use to anyone. If anyone should need images to help out let me know and if there images i can get i will do so and add them but i think the guide is a fairly good one and should give you enough to get the job done. Changing mine was done by me and one mate in a lane behind a house no special tools just what was listed at the top of this post. It did take us two days but that was mainly due to us starting late (11:30am) on day one and having problems lining the gearbox back up to the engine but that's to some advice from another landyzone user the panhard rod jacking done the trick.Good luck with your landy's guys and i hope you never need to use this guide lol.

Good guide @ceffyn , I have done this same job, by myself on the floor of a garage in our home unit, I didn't have the room to use a hoist through the door trick so I made up a small gantry out of 40mm rhs which bridges the tranny tunnel with a foot in front of both font seats, (seats pushed right back), using a stud bar and nut on a thrust bearing for the lifting device, that gives perfect positioning control, makes the job easy. If I ever work out how to put photos on here I will put photos up of the device I made, used it to pull a transfer case out of another Disco, so figured its worth hanging on to. Good point you made about having to raise the front of the engine, I also found out long after a line up struggle. That rubber membrane closure thingy in the top of the tranny tunnel can be resealed using self tappers and clip over type speed nuts, saves trying to re do the job with pop rivits or just having it sitting in as someone had done with yours.
And you are sure right it is not a job you'd want to do too often in one lifetime, well done!