dailysleaze Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 I fitted an Ashcroft recon R380 (after this) and filled with Evo 1 thinking i'd get it off to the best start. Now 6 months in, i'm realising that the 1st - 2nd shifts need a lot of force when cold and I don't remember it being like this in my other gearbox with MTF94 that had 150k miles. I thought a good as new gearbox would not have this problem, which then leads me to believe the oil may be at fault. The Evo 1 is specified for pretty much all LR gearboxes (R380 + anything that also uses ATF), and it's a red colour like ATF whereas MTF94 is golden. I know people say it's Amsoil but I can't help thinking that it might be nothing like the genuine MTF94. I've also read that R380s can vary from box to box in which oils they like. Just wondering if anyone's gone from Difflock Evo1 in their R380 to MTF94 and it liking this better? Otherwise I might have to do a test over the summer, but i'm not really looking forward to wasting £65 of oil in 9 months Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
western Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 IIRC Ashcrifts do a modification to the 1st/2nd change to make it better than a factory R380, my R380 is a Ashcroft unit & runs MTF94 with no problems. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orgasmic Farmer Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Did you run the box with mtf for a few hundred miles before draining down and refilling with EVO1? I would be tempted to just change the oil and run bog MTF94 to see if it makes a difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailysleaze Posted February 25, 2012 Author Share Posted February 25, 2012 No I went straight to Evo 1 thinking it'd be better than original spec. I might have to refill with MTF94 to see what happens, but it's just a bit annoying to waste such expensive oil. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Orgasmic Farmer Posted February 25, 2012 Share Posted February 25, 2012 Don't worry, something similar happened to me. I refilled mine with Evo1 about 3 weeks before it went bang (Minashaft)! Managed to save most of it and reused it for the running in period but then drained and switched to MTF Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailysleaze Posted February 28, 2012 Author Share Posted February 28, 2012 I'll have get round to doing a fluid change some time and report back. The more I think about it, the more notchy it feels. Even going into third or fourth there is a little "grate" to get it in, as if the gears aren't quite at speed yet. I did read that the fluid can't be too viscous, as the baulk rings need at least some grip to make the gear clusters speed up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RILEY Posted March 1, 2012 Share Posted March 1, 2012 Hi mate is the clutch clearing properly ? had evo1 in my g/box since 2003 no probs just a thought Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailysleaze Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 Hiya It's certainly a thought. I replaced the clutch with the gearbox and it feels a little low on the pedal. I need to replace the clutch fluid at some point - it looks a little dark which might have an effect. Any ideas how to tell if it's disengaging properly? There's no grinding noise on fully pressing the pedal or desire to move forwards, etc. The only thing I do notice (and this happened on the old gearbox as well as this new one), is that when pulling off a motorway junction after a long run, coming to a complete stop at the lights and putting it into first gear with the clutch pedal fully depressed, there's a clunk and little lurch, like something in the drivetrain has moved a bit. It only happens in this circumstance and no other time. I think i'll check the pedal alignment first. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailysleaze Posted March 1, 2012 Author Share Posted March 1, 2012 Actually, i've just seen that this current thread might have some clues: http://forums.lr4x4....showtopic=74807 The slave cylinder was a bit rusty and the fluid's been down a bit recently. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailysleaze Posted March 11, 2012 Author Share Posted March 11, 2012 Hi mate is the clutch clearing properly ? had evo1 in my g/box since 2003 no probs just a thought Cheers RILEY, I think you've nailed it with clutch drag. I've replaced the clutch fluid and got this out: The bite point is a lot higher how and hardly any crunching problems. Still a slight bit of resistance when cold (more of a "thhup" than a crunch), but when warm it's pretty much non existent. The gear lever meets no resistance whereas before I would have to put in effort to go into second. The black stuff could either be clutch dust sucked in via the slave cylinder or degrading seals, so i'll keep an eye on it. Nice to know that EVO1 might actually be a decent oil. I just hope that the gearbox synchros aren't too affected by 1800 miles with a dragging clutch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailysleaze Posted May 8, 2012 Author Share Posted May 8, 2012 Further to this, the change to new fluid made both clutch cylinders leak, so I fitted new TRW master and slave cylinders. Anyway, the slave is now leaking again Is there any reason for a new one to leak other than it being dodgy? All i can muster up is a deteriorating flexible pipe leaving bits in the fluid or the wrong push rod length so the slave over extends? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RILEY Posted May 8, 2012 Share Posted May 8, 2012 Glad i could help sounds like a faulty cylinder Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dailysleaze Posted November 19, 2013 Author Share Posted November 19, 2013 To update this for completeness. 6000 miles on this box now. I always seemed to find that the gearbox was smoother when it was a wet day, whereas dry days would still have the "catchy" feel. I replaced the gearbox oil with MTF94 in June this year and it seemed to make a bit of a difference. A couple of weeks ago I replaced the handbrake drum and shoes, and that has made the most difference of all. It's not completely cured anything, but the number of smooth changes I get has increased. These changes have not made it a whole new gearbox (the first time going from 1st to 2nd on a cold morning can need a double declutch), but it's made it better in general. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reb78 Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 Given the original discussion and just to add to this, I've tried EVO1, ATF and MTF in my LT77 in fairly quick succession and, to be honest, there seemed to be little between them. My opinion is to stick to ATF as it is cheapest and change it more regularly. I've also run EVO1 in my overdrive instead of ATF and, after 6000 miles the stuff came out black and burnt and in much worse condition than ATF (not that ATF is in great condition after tyhat mileage usually, but it fares better than the EVO1 in my overdrive) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diff Posted November 19, 2013 Share Posted November 19, 2013 I have an early LT77 and at around 120,000 miles tried both Difflocks EVO and MTF94 oil to improve the gear notchiness in 1st/2nd. It got worse (particularly when cold), so changed back to ATF and the gearchange 'improved' back to how it always was. The original gearbox has now done over 170,000 miles on ATF, and the gearchange is the same as it has been for the last 80,000 miles in my ownership. Regards, Diff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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