T85 Santana Gearbox?

Karls · Aug 10, 2013

I have just been offered a T85 Santana gearbox and have been told it will fit my vehicle, which is:
Land Rover 90 (1985) with 300TDi engine and LT77 gearbox.

Will it fit?
I have also been told 'it's the best box Land Rover ever made for the Defender'.

True or BS?

blue beasty · Aug 10, 2013

This from Ashcrofts...

Whilst the LT 85 is renown as a very strong gearbox, they are prone to two problems, premature wear of the 1-2 selector fork and premature wear in the 5 main bearings, this is due to the fact that the LT 85 has helical gears which produce enf thrust but the bearings are all ball bearings as opposed to taper roller bearings.

Some customers upgrade to the R 380 instead of fitting another LT 85, The suffix L R 380 is similar in strength but is smoother to use and should last longer. A different diff lock linkage and hi/lo casting is required also you will need to trim a small section out of the seatbox but nothing too drastic.

Karls · Aug 10, 2013

Hmm, so is the R380 preferred over the T85?

jamesmartin · Aug 10, 2013

Karls said:
I have just been offered a T85 Santana gearbox and have been told it will fit my vehicle, which is:
Land Rover 90 (1985) with 300TDi engine and LT77 gearbox.

Will it fit?
I have also been told 'it's the best box Land Rover ever made for the Defender'.

True or BS?

no it wont without effort lt85s only fit v8s

jamesmartin · Aug 10, 2013

blue beasty said:
This from Ashcrofts...

Whilst the LT 85 is renown as a very strong gearbox, they are prone to two problems, premature wear of the 1-2 selector fork and premature wear in the 5 main bearings, this is due to the fact that the LT 85 has helical gears which produce enf thrust but the bearings are all ball bearings as opposed to taper roller bearings.

Some customers upgrade to the R 380 instead of fitting another LT 85, The suffix L R 380 is similar in strength but is smoother to use and should last longer. A different diff lock linkage and hi/lo casting is required also you will need to trim a small section out of the seatbox but nothing too drastic.

main shaft are std ball bearings ,but are very big ones ,layshaft has special ball bearings designed to take lateral thrust ,most gear boxes use helical cut gears even series 3 does

Karls · Aug 10, 2013

OK, many thanks for your comments. Based on that I have just plumped for the R380 - I will open a new thread for that one!

tacr2man · Aug 10, 2013

You would need to change quite a bit ti fit a LT85 , and with your engine not worth the effort , They were only fitted as standard to 110 V8 , to handle the extra power and load possible, but as a cost saving measure they were later modded to split case , which were not as strong , and finally were replaced with a upspecced R380 , untill V8 was discontinued as an option . R380 would be an easier option , for you.

My LT85 is now at 200,000+ so must be due for the premature wear of the 1-2 selector any time now !!

T85 Santana Gearbox?

Karls

Active Member

blue beasty

Leaks an prone to bits dropping off

Karls

Active Member

jamesmartin

Well-Known Member

jamesmartin

Well-Known Member

Karls

Active Member

tacr2man

Well-Known Member

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