The Land Rover LT230 transfer ‘box is a very simple and strong unit. It takes a beating due to the nature of what it is, and with what we as drivers ask from it. This like hard off-roading, heavy towing and general abuse or high mileage use. Add that to a general lack of maintenance and a slightly flawed design and you might find that your transfer ‘box is dying for a rebuild.

Earlier LT230’s suffered from wear to the splines on the input gear due to the fact that oil struggled to lubricate these splines. As a result the splines from the output shaft of the Main ‘box would slowly wear also.

This wear becomes apparent in use. Clunks, clicks, judders are a few usual sounds you might hear. You may also identify a slackness in the propshaft/running gear. This is due to the slack between the shaft and gear of each gearbox. Ultimately the wear will continue to get worse until something fails completely.

You can check for wear in your input gear/output shaft quite easily as you’ll see in the pictures below. This quick and simple procedure will save you destroying your gearboxes and causing problems in the future. If you’re Land Rover has had a particularly tough life like most have, you could find considerable wear. Catching the issue before it gets out of hand will save you money in the long run.

To inspect your input gear you will need to climb under your Land Rover to the back of the transfer box. Firstly, its a good idea to drain the oil from your transfer box.  You will then need to find a cover plate like the one pictured below.

The cover is easily removed by removing the bolts around it. When you have removed the bolts you may need to pry the plate off. You should then be left with what you can see in this picture; the input gear.

With the cars wheels chocked you can release the handbrake and leave it gear. Back under the car you will need to move the transmission brake drum back and forward whilst watching the gear. This will make the gears in the transfer box move. Watching the splines carefully whilst doing this will allow you to see if there is any slack between the gear and shaft. Slack means wear, and wear is bad. Eventually it will lead to complete failure.

The video below illustrates what you should see with a worn input gear.

The only fix for this is a new input gear, which means you’re going to need your transfer box rebuilding. Though it will mean spending money now, it will save you money in the future as wear like this will only lead to worse things. If the splines wear so much that they are vulnerable to stripping then you’ll be left with no drive at all.

For more information on LT230 Transfer ‘boxes visit this page: Land Rover LT230 Transfer Box or click the ‘Contact’ Button on the left for a quote or to order.