H152 Toyota Land Cruiser Gearbox Upgrade: A Comprehensive Guide To H15x Variations

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The Toyota Land Cruiser Gearbox

We’ve written this guide to try and provide clear information on the H152 gearbox upgrade for Landcruiser’s, It has proved so popular that we keep these in stock all the time at HD Auto in Brisbane. The conversion box is built using new parts, you get a brand new Gearbox as if it were factory from Toyota.

This information is relevant to owners of 6 Cylinder or V8 -70 Series, 80 series, 100/105 Series Landcruiser’s with the 1H, 1FZ, 1VD engines. We also aim to provide practical advice for those considering upgrades or replacements including more insight to the H series boxes.

The Basics of H-Series Gearboxes

H Series Gearboxes:
The H150, H151, and H152 are the better option (Compared to the weaker R Series box) fitted to various models of Landcruiser, they are tough gearboxes and all similar in terms of strength. They either have a rear shifter or center shifter depending on what model they were fitted to.

The H152 has a center position shifter.

Why H152?
The H152 bolts up to V8 (1VD) Engines. However, at HD Auto, we modify the gearbox to bolt up behind older Landcruiser’s as well. It has proved so popular that we keep these in stock all the time, using new parts, you get a brand new Gearbox as if it were factory from Toyota.

The H152 gearbox was fitted to the 2016+ Model V8 Landcruiser, it’s a great option because it can be purchased brand new with no exchange. Being the latest Toyota box with improved gear ratios it also has a lower gear ratio in 5th – This change over generally drops highway RPM down to approx. 2000rpm, tyre size depending.

Why this is a great option:

-Replace your existing Box:
As much as we love our Cruisers, the unfortunate reality is they are getting long in the tooth, most of them have half a million KM’s, and those factory gearboxes are getting a little sad. When it’s time to look at a replacement, typically you have to send it to get reconditioned with some of your old parts, mix it up with some new parts, maybe you’ll get a nice working gearbox back in 2-3 weeks. We thought there had to be a better way and the brand new H152 was our solution.

-Upgrade your weaker R Series Box
We are getting great results from modern performance upgrades, but the smaller and weaker R151 gearbox will not handle High Torque/High HP levels. Especially worthwhile if building a performance Turbo 1HZ or converting to a 1HD-FTE engine, the H-Box is a worthwhile upgrade.

H152 Box converted for a 1HD-FTE – ready for install.

Applicable vehicles:

80 Series Landcruiser:
All manual 80 series models, regardless of being a GXL or a base model (DX), have a center shifter H150 or H151 gearbox already. Bolting in our H152 to these vehicles is a straight swap – Just select the correct input shaft for your application:

FZJ80 –14 spline (for 1FZ pressure plates)
https://hdautomotive.com.au/product/h152-hdj80-series-5-speed/
HZJ80 – 21 spline (for 1HZ pressure plates)
https://hdautomotive.com.au/product/h152-hzj80-series-5-speed/
HDJ80 –14 spline (for 1HD/1FZ pressure plates)
https://hdautomotive.com.au/product/h152-hdj80-series-5-speed/

All of your factory gearbox accessories (bell housing, transfer case, shifters, shifter position, etc) will bolt straight onto this and go straight into the 80 Series Land Cruiser. Generally, someone doing this swap has a damaged transmission they’re replacing, so all the parts are available.

105 Series Landcruiser:
The 105 Series Landcruiser is a bit of a Dilemma, upgrading the gearbox is possible but it’s not a simple bolt-on to your existing box.

DX 105: An upgrade to the H-series Land Cruiser gearbox is possible but requires all the accessories of a H box to go along with it, such as shifters, transfer case, bell housing, clutch fork, etc.

We only sell the brand new box, and don’t supply the accessories. They are usually sourced second hand.
https://hdautomotive.com.au/product/h152-hdj80-series-5-speed/
This box can be supplied in 14 or 21 spline for 1HD/1HZ

GXL 105: These models came with a rear shifter gearbox and floor pan to suit, The H152 center shift gearbox sits too far forward. So essentially, if you want to swap over to a H152, you will need to source a second hand H151 rear shifter gearbox & accessories. Then swap the internals of the H152 into it, along with the correct spline input shaft.



100 Series Landcruiser:
100 Series manual models with the 1HD-FTE engine, came factory with a H151 gearbox (rear shifter) They are highly sought after for conversions into the GXL 105 Series, because it’s a direct swap-in.

HDJ100: Upgrading these models to a H152 requires swapping over the internals from the H152 into the H151 gearbox casing that you already have, as well as changing the input shaft 1HD version.



70 Series Landcruiser’s
The upgrade is applicable for 70 Series, depending on the exact model.

HZJ75
Most HZJ75 are fitted with the older H55F Transmission. We don’t have a direct bolt-in upgrade for this transmission.

HZJ79
The HZJ79 comes factory-fitted with the R151 transmission, the smaller weaker transmission. These have much the same story as the HZJ105 DX, a converted H152 (or H151 center shift) will bolt in, but of course you will have to source all the accessories from a damaged H151 as the R-Series transfer case, bell housing, etc. will not swap over onto the new H box.

HDJ79
The HDJ79 models are fitted with the center shift H151 gearbox . Our H152 conversion box is a straight swap.
https://hdautomotive.com.au/product/h152-hdj79-series-5-speed/



VDJ76 / VDJ78 / VDJ79 Series Landcruiser’s – Single Cab / Dual Cab
Early VDJ79 models (Pre 2016) are fitted with the H150, Later models (2016+) had the H152 already, whether you’ve blown a gearbox or need a refresh, they bolt straight in.

VDJ79 Early (Pre-2016) – Models are fitted with the H150 gearbox with center shifter. The H152 is a straight bolt-in.
https://hdautomotive.com.au/product/new-h152-70-series-v8-5-speed-gearbox/
VDJ79 Late (2016+) – Direct bolt-in for these models.
https://hdautomotive.com.au/product/new-h152-70-series-v8-5-speed-gearbox/

Clutch Upgrade and spline counts:
Replacing your box is the perfect time to do the clutch as well. NPC are an Australian company and their 1300NM / 1600NM Super heavy duty kits are the best Landcruiser clutch on the market. It’s a complete upgrade kit with a new Billet Flywheel and larger pressure plate than factory.

1HZ owners:
If you are upgrading to an NPC 1300NM Clutch at the same time as a H152 Gearbox. You have the option of changing a 14 Spline (1HD) Clutch kit or keeping the 1HZ 21 spline. We can supply with an NPC clutch to suit either.

Gear Ratios / Comparisons
We have compiled this list of ratios and fitment notes to the best of our current knowledge; as you can see the H152 has an improved 2nd and 5th gear over the earlier models.

View our gear ratio calculator in our updated post

How much does it Cost?
The V8 H152 Gearbox starts at $3829 – The conversion gearbox to suit your application costs $4790.
To have the conversion done in our workshop with a new 1300NM clutch costs around $8200. Please keep in mind that only applies to direct bolt in models. Not the 105 Series or HZJ79

HD Auto:
For any questions there’s a dedicated HD Auto text line you can message anytime at:  0483906923
We keep all of these parts in stock and they can be found on our website.