Description
Although this is still an R380 I thought it warranted it’s own separate section.
The “Stumpy” or short bellhousing R380 was made by Land Rover as a direct replacement for the 4 Cyl LT77. The bellhousing is 30mm shorter than the LT77 one as the 5th speed housing on the R380 is 30mm longer.
They can be fitted to the 2.5 N/
This type of R 380 was made with two ratio options, the type 50A and the 44A, the 50A has the lower gearing like the 50A LT77 and the 44A has the higher gearing like the type 56A 200 Tdi Defender LT77. Also both ratio options were made in suffix J, K and L format.
We are only able to supply the parts for the type 44A suffix J and the 44A suffix L, the 44A suffix L being the most desirable as this has the higher gearing and the strength advantages of the later suffix L design. Please see the ratio calculator to see the two sets of ratios.
You can also spec the heavy duty rear support bearings if required and /
Heavy Duty Rear Support Bearings
One of the common failure modes of the R380 is premature wear of one or both of the rear support bearings in the rear 5th speed aluminium housing, this starts as a whirring in all gears but not so bad in 4th, then as the bearings wear it allows the 5th gear on the layshaft and 5th gear on the mainshaft to come a little out of mesh, then 5th also gets noisy and often results in the teeth coming of one or both of the 5th gears, after much design work we are now able to offer to upgrade these two bearings.
The Layshaft rear support bearing is FTC2385, this is made by RHP and has a dynamic load rating of 27Kn, we replace this with a larger bearing of equivalent quality which has a dynamic load rating of 35.5Kn, this is a 31% increase. See below a comparison photo of stock vs our HD one.
The Mainshaft rear support bearing is FTC3371, this is made by RHP and has a dynamic load rating of 27.4Kn, we replace this with a larger bearing of equivalent quality which has a dynamic load rating of 44Kn, this is a 60% increase. See below a comparison photo of stock vs our HD one.
This upgrade would be advised for any hard working R380 such as heavy/
R380 5th gear ratio
All TDi and TD5 R380 5th gear ratios are 0.77, the V8 ratio is 0.732 which is approx 5% higher, we are able to fit these higher ratio 5th gears to the TDi and TD5 boxes for an additional charge if required. If you want to run these numbers on the ratio calculator, please select the type 69A R 380 option but this is for the 5th gear ratios only, all other gears will remain the same. An example of when this option would be good is if you have a stock TD5 Defender which does some heavy towing, you might not want the 1.2 ratio gears in the transfer case as this would raise 1st too much and it may struggle to pull away but you want 5th a bit higher, or you have a tuned TD5 Disco /
Note you can’t use the LT77 diff lock linkage and will need the R380 type which we can supply good used.
The Land Rover part number of the 44A suffix L is TRC103140. The Land Rover part number of the 50A suffix L is TRC103150
We are able to either supply a kit of parts to allow you to convert your R380 to this spec or we can supply a complete rebuilt unit to this spec.
The conversion parts are :
Bellhousing (FTC4018)
Pinion
Front Housing
Clutch fork pivot(FTC4173&FTC4174) inc screws
Clutch fork (FTC2957HD)
Clutch fork thrust pads, pair (FRC5255)
Clutch release bearing (UTJ100210)
Clutch release bearing clip (FRC3416)
to buy these parts individually see here
These are obviously more expensive than a replacement LT77 but are both far stronger and have the facility to add an oil cooler if required, worth the extra money if you are keeping the Defender or if it’s working hard like an overlander etc.
Lorindo –
Short bellhousing R380
Hi there from Australia
I have just bourt a Short bellhousing R380 for a defender tdi200 after having a bearing failure in a LT77. I’m a fitter and turner by trade and reraceing and a gear or two is no problem and what we normally do but after getting a few prices on parts in Aus and reading a few reviews I came across a post from David Ashcroft who gave some advice on a simalar problem where a fellow wanted to keep his defender on the road and the LT77 was good box in its day for me the R380 was a no brainer.
Most happy to have come across the Ashcroft teem had the box in seven delived to my door ????
Have all so bourt a bearing kit for transfer case and in three days it was handed to me. I Carnot thank the team enough and am glad to see people with this level of pride.
Witch when dealing with caterpillar if the parts have to come from America take seven to fourteen days air fright.
When I come across another Land Rover problem will be coming first to the Ashcroft ????????????????????
Ken Church –
R380 ‘Stumpy’ Reconditioned
I converted my 90 to a 300tdi along with a fire damaged R380 ex Discovery box (which I also converted to a stumpy) a few years ago. However after a few hard years the box was getting a bit noisy & synchro was getting tired. Rather than recon it myself again I’d send it to the experts – their experience in knowing exactly what needs replacing is invaluable. It was rebuilt the day I was promised it would be & arrived a day later (& I live at the other end of the country!). It arrived really well packed & palletised & looked brand new, the finish is superb, as is the way it performs now it’s refitted. I can highly recommend their services & quality of their workmanship.
Paul Gannon (verified owner) –
Dave,
I am following up with you to express my great satisfaction with my recent order. The R380 arrived in a secure and timely manner and the quality of your product is unequalled. I also want to make a special mention regarding your customer service. Two young ladies in your employ, Ms. Nikki Martin and Ms. Hosanna Dowling, we’re both exceptional. They were very helpful with a shipping address change, prompt in their follow up and alway courteous.
Thank you for your professionalism, quality of employees and for providing a top notch product.
Kindly,
Paul Gannon
Weare, NH USA
harryc207 (verified owner) –
Short Bellhousing R380
Following a very informative conversation with Dave regarding my failed LT77, I decided to upgrade to the R380 so that I would not suffer this type of issue again. I also opted for the bigger bearings and taller 5th gear. The gearbox was delivered well packaged and shortly after install It was used on a European trip of around 1700 miles for which it performed faultlessly. The taller 5th gear lowered noise at a cruising speed of around 70mph which was also very welcome.
Would like to thank the team at Ashcroft for fantastic customer service start to finish.
antbuhagiar (verified owner) –
No one can complain about Ashcroft Transmissions. Their staff are very helpful if one has any issues before purchasing. I purchased 2 x gearboxes in a span of a year – 1 for a Discovery 2 (ZF4HP22/24EH) and the other for a Defender (Short Bellhousing R380). Thumbs up for their professionality in the industry. I always recommend Ashcroft Transmissions.