R380 Disco Defender swap definitive answer

[88inchthing]

As the title suggests I’m hoping someone can give me a definitive answer. Can I fit a Disco r380 to a Defender without an adapter kit. 
I realise this has been covered but it’s unclear. 
I have the correct Defender box to rob the bits from so do I still need an adapter? 
 

[smallfry]

Yes you can .................

BUT. The gear lever will be in the wrong place, so you would have to alter the tunnel/seat box

To get the gear lever in the right place, you need the adaptor kit. Or swap the selector shaft, yoke, and lever tower from your old R380 box.

Or buy new parts of course.

[simonb]

It will physically bolt up but Isn't the bell housing length different on them as well (Disco longer)? This makes the gear stick problem even worse - it ends up in seatbox between the front seats.

On the Defender box, the shifter mechanism is positioned over the main gearbox casing (the black steel ribbed section). On the Discovery the shifter is positioned behind the main gearbox casing and over the ally rear casting from which the output shaft protrudes - so further back - towards the rear.

This image from Ashcroft's shows a Discovery box.

https://www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/manual-gearboxes/r-380.html

 

Edited July 12, 2021 by simonb

[landroversforever]

42 minutes ago, simonb said:

It will physically bolt up but Isn't the bell housing length different on them as well (Disco longer)? This makes the gear stick problem even worse - it ends up in seatbox between the front seats.

On the Defender box, the shifter mechanism is positioned over the main gearbox casing (the black steel ribbed section). On the Discovery the shifter is positioned behind the main gearbox casing and over the ally rear casting from which the output shaft protrudes - so further back - towards the rear.

This image from Ashcroft's shows a Discovery box.

https://www.ashcroft-transmissions.co.uk/manual-gearboxes/r-380.html

 

Gearbox length difference is between Defender Lt77 and the R380/HP22/Disco LT77.

[88inchthing]

Thanks very much for your replies so far.

From what I can gather the Disco and Defender R380 Bell housings are identical as opposed to the lt77 where the Defender is shorter.

what I’m trying to do is sort my crunchy synchros on the cheap. 
I’m about 80percent that if I buy a cheap second hand Disco box and swap the selector and quadrant, the Disco box will fit.

 It would be great if someone who’s done so themselves could confirm this.

[landroversforever]

@ashtrans will know!

[reb78]

Look for a post by @oneandtwo  i'm sure he described how to do this fairly recently (last year or so). 

[reb78]

Edit. I read it in the last year. It was posted 7 years ago

 

[smallfry]

I thought I had made it clear ? Obviously not.

19 minutes ago, reb78 said:

Edit. I read it in the last year. It was posted 7 years ago

 

Where does the time go eh ?

[FridgeFreezer]

Guess I'll crack this out again for old time's sake:

 

[88inchthing]

Thanks for all the replies.

I now have the info I need.

[DaveSIIA]

You would be better off rebuilding the box you have with new synchro rings & seals than messing around swapping parts between the Defender & Disco boxes. The swap will involve a major strip & rebuild, so might as well do the job properly, with known good parts.