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R380 Synchromesh


geoffbeaumont

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Will probably have the opportunity to aquire my parents M-reg 300TDi Disco in July, for a very reasonable price.

It's well looked after, about 125K on the clock and they've had it from new so I know it's entire history. There's only really one fly in the ointment - it has a faulty gearbox. Apparently the early R380s had a plate in them that was later removed because it caused problems (premature wear of the syncromesh on 3rd and 4th, I think) - it should have been removed from the truck years ago, but wasn't with the result that changing between 3rd and 4th is awkward. It's generally okay if you take it slowly, and my parents have been driving it like this for months, since deciding a recon gearbox was uneconomical.

Is anyone familiar with this problem? How serious is it? Is it likely to be an issue for the MOT if it's left as is?

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I can't help with the plate issue, but the type of oil used does affect how well the syncros work.

Castrol Syntrans (probably 75 in your climate, but others would have specific knowledge) is one of the better choices. May be worth a try.

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I can't help with the plate issue, but the type of oil used does affect how well the syncros work.

Castrol Syntrans (probably 75 in your climate, but others would have specific knowledge) is one of the better choices. May be worth a try.

I think it's a bit more serious than a change of oil is going to fix - the plate has been removed now, which helped and made it drivable again, but I think the only permanent fix is a new gearbox :(

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Never heard of such a problem and my old 90 was a 1995 model year 300Tdi, no problems with 3/4 just reverse was a bit disagreeable.

Not sure how many vehicles were affected (this truck is one of the first 300TDis - my parents waited for the change from 200TDi before taking delivery) - nor have I come across this anywhere else, just what my parents have been told by the garage that worked on it.

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not heard about that one, but it doesn't surprise me.. the R380 in my old defender did 175K without a hitch... was still realy nice to drive when i got rid of it......

Like I said, haven't found any other mention of it anywhere. Doesn't seem to be getting any worse, so I guess it'll keep going for the forseable future.

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  • 2 weeks later...
Guest Mr_Truffles

The plastic ball drops out of the bottom of the gearstick it's a fidly fix but can cure your selection problems.

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