Offroad-Express

Hi,

It was only a matter of time ...

Couple of fishing trips and 2 weeks ago, the gearbox ended up with a major whine and rattle thereafter while on the motorway.

Nothing like being thrown in the deep end and learning fast. Happened a week after I changed all the fluids. I have checked box oil and it appears to be all there with no signs of a leakage.

Seems like the only choice I have is a rebuild. The box is not out yet so I don't know what it exactly is. All I know is that it is a 5 speed. I have been told it is likely a H55F but I don't know how to identify these boxes. It has a 3F petrol motor and was NZ new if that helps.

I may employ the services of a gearbox builder (has built truck boxes etc) known to me and be learning as I go (passing the tools and making coffee).

I just want some feedback on people who have gone down this route before I start ripping the box out and so on.

1. ID ing the box
2. Where to buy a rebuild kit from
3. Anything else appreciated

they put h55f 5 speed boxes behind the 3f motors, terrain tamer sell the rebuild kits as does a lot of places out of aussie you should be able to google "h55f rebuild kits" to find them, if there isn't any metal bits or filings coming out with the oil or on the magnet drain plug it might be easily salvageable, if it needs more than just bearings it might be more economic to buy a second hand gearbox we all know how things can esculate when it comes to reconditioning things , second hand boxes have all done 250k-300k+ but its unlikely you'd be expecting to do a huge mileage in your 60 series its an old truck that's well towards the end of its life you'd be pretty keen if you want to get another 200k-300k out of it so the chances are a secondhand box would work out ok, if you do look for a second hand gearbox you need the coarse spline input shaft model (10 spline) out of a 3f petrol or 6 cylinder 2H diesel, the 4 cylinder 3b diesels had a longer 21 spline input shaft that wont fit your engine. ih8mud.com has good detailed threads on rebuilding h55f boxes its well worth having a look and a read some of those yanks post up really good detailed threads about building and rebuilding shit, the sites down today for an upgrade and should be running again in a day or so

ok great thanks. Have to drop the box anyway so should be able to get a better idea of what it is then.

It will be a h55f box for sure, I rebuilt mine and found the terrain tamer kits for the box and transfer to be the cheapest (about $850 for both gearbox and transfer kits)but still had all seals bearings and boots needed.
Are you 100% that the whine is coming from the box and not something else like a diff?
If you have limited tooling or experience rebuilding gearboxes I'd definitely recommend enlisting the help of someone who does. They're not an overly complicated box but can be a little bit difficult to get apart without specialised tooling or the experience to make do with what you've got on hand

Hi Again,

and thanks for the info previously supplied. I have learnt a lot about this awesome trucks in the last year. Have also owned a 1985 BJ61 AND 1981 BJ60.

Yes it's been a year and the box is now in for a rebuild. I need some help with parts, mainly input
shaft.

I got a box out of a 86 HJ61 dIESEL but same thing. After a few k's it started whining. The box builder is having problems sourcing the input shaft..suppliers are asking for more info.

To recap. my truck is a 1988 FJ62 with the 3F. NZ new.

Can anyone provide more info? thanks

It's been said already - but be 100% sure the whine is the gearbox - not the diff. I've been there - gearbox swap and didn't fix the problem. A whole weekend and $800 for nothing... If the noise changes when you are on or off the throttle, it's quite likely the diff. Remove the rear driveshaft and use 4WD to drive through the front diff & see if there's any difference. If still not sure - swap the front & rear diffs around (MUCH easier than a gearbox removal) to be certain it's not a diff noise.... In 2WD and hubs disengaged the front diff isn't turning... UJ's also a potential source of noise & vibration..

cheers for that. yes checked and double checked and not the diff. the old box had the same noise and we've just pulled it apart a bit and one of teh gears is chewed through. So it was onto to this used box. and so as above.

the 'new' box starting whining louder and louder after 30 odd k's in one run. inspection revealed metal shining back through the oil and i have sen it myself once it has been split.

I found a part # 33311-60121. Does anyone know if this is the right input shaft? I think mine is supposed to be 10 spline coarse but want to be sure. Not locally available apparently?

http://toyotamarket.ru/jp/791120/010/2/3305/1/

Looks like the right one. But you might have to take it apart before you're 100% sure.

I once heard of a man filled his gearbox with semi-fluid ep grease... quietened it down!

Thanks to everyone that chimed in to help. It has taken a year but I got there.

The part number was found on http://www.tojo4wdcentre.com.au/part-sh ... 0-85-12-89.
The good thing with the abovementioned website is that they actually had the correCt AUS/NZ version of the i.e with the 3F motor not 3FE with some imported or US market models.
The box is now built and installed. All new input output shafts etc.

With regards to the oil, dont know if EP grease works in the gearbox lol, but probably gives better performance than banana skins, but dont try that at home. In any case, that is a shed load of grease. I guess if people want to quieten their boxes down, either rebuild them or get a ML series Merc. But I would not have bought a Lancruiser brand new in 1988 if it had a noisy gearbox. No one would ov.

After much research and reading, I found that it would be better to use GL4/GL5 but they have to be non EP. The substances in the oil that are used to coat the syncronisers can do damage. This is all relative though as the damage may be caused a 150k after a rebuild. So an average box may end up with accelerated wear with GL4/5 EP rated oil being used.
EP rated oil can be used on diffs according to my reasearch but don't hold me to that, do your own findings.

The driveline is all sorted (new clutch/flywheel, rebuilt hubs, seasl etc)and now am going to enjoy it and decide where I want to go with it, aside from fishing.

Now after the very first drive with the rebuilt box installed (about 10kms) the diff sh^t itself. so here we go again. It seems to be a Mexican standoff with this beast. I will prevail.

looking for a good used 4.11 diff now.

if your rear is a semifloat open diff then you an rob the front diff and shot it straight into the rear, this will keep you going until you can source another diff and then flick that open back into the front.
take into acct that your front will be all but brand new it will beat hands down any second hand unit that has come off any rear.

if you are running a rear lsd then using the open front is still possible but you will miss the lsd once its back in 4by mode

i have both diffs up here but freight would kill any deal, as they are heavy!!

talk to classic cruisers to see if hes got any spares to part with

if no luck zap me a pm

As it happens, my old 81 was offered back to me and I jumped on it. The 88 is still sitting at home next to the house. Wife is getting a bit annoyed at looking at it. So the Hyundai is smelling of fish and she complained about the fishy smell in that . Can't win.