changing trannys

[cass]

my 80 CJ5 has been jumping out of reverse since i got it. i have been doing alot of reading on the Novak site. i have all of the ford and gm trannys they list in the junk yard i work in. i can have any kind i want for free. im just not sure which one would be the best canidate for the conversion. we dont have any SR4 trannys like my jeep already has. i want to ditch that weak one any way. i read that the NP435 has to have a conversion pilot bearing and the bearing retainer needs to be milled down. but it doesnt say any thing about the SM465 chevy tranny. my motor is a 2.5 duke. if i dont have to change pilot bushing or mill the bearing retainer i will go with the sm465. i also need advise on changing those main shafts ans stuff. i want the easiest swap of course but am very capable of taking things apart and putting back together. suggestions?

 

[Kane]

That sm465 alot of tranny for a four cylinder motor. Why not source a T-176 ? it is light, very strong and a better fit for the Jeep along with less need for costly adapters.

 

[cass]

i found alot of T-176 trannys but the cost is crazy. noone around these parts have any so i would have to ship one in. i checked on the powerlink system at work. it shows all other junk yards inventory in the surrounding states. i can get a good one for $750 but it would cost another $250 to ship it. for that cost doesnt it make more sense to go with a truck tranny? when you say its alot of tranny for a 4 cylider do you mean it wont have the power to pull it? i can choose from the SM465,T-18 ,T19,and the NP435. we have several of each. already pulled and ready to go. i just want the easiest to convert.

 

[mylittlecj5]

If you have good CJ t-18s and T-19s, sell them and you will more than pay for a good T-176 that will be lighter and a good match for your 4 cyl. engine.
If these are not out of CJs then the cost to make them work in your Jeep will more than cost what it will take to ship one in.
And $250 to ship a Transmission is a rip-off...find another way to get it shipped cheaper.

 

[cass]

i dont have any jeep trannys. the T-18 and t19 are trannys out of ford trucks. am i missing somthing? according to this cost would be $504 for adapter, $38 for mount, and $18 for pilot bushing. then drive shaft shorting and making rear longer. my boss can do that for me. he makes all his own drive shafts for his hot rods. at worst i would have $700 in this swap (tranny would be free). Adapting the NP435 Transmission to the Jeep Dana 300 Transfer Case please tell me if im overlooking somthing big. if i go with a T-176 i will still have to buy this adapter kit Adapting Chevrolet & GM Engines to the Jeep T176 Transmission that will put cost up over a grand. unless i am wrong and my bell housing is already set up for this tranny. i am kinda lost.

 

[BusaDave9]

What TCase do you have? They started putting Dana 300 's into CJs in 1980 but they also put some Dana 20s in that year.
If you have a Dana 20 get a Jeep T-18 . It's an easy swap.
You say you already have a Ford T-18 . That works great if you have a Dana 300 .
I put a Ford T-18 into the CJ7 I used to have. With a kit from Advanced Adapters or Novak it's easy.
I reused my Jeep Bellhousing. To bolt the Ford T-18 up I had to drill and tap 4 holes in the bellhousing. No big deal.

 

[cass]

from looking at pics i have a Dana 300 Transfer Case . i need to clean the tag up and see. does anyone know if my bellhousing is going to be a gm one or a jeep one? i dont know if they had special ones made for the jeep tranny or if they used a stock gm one.

 

[BusaDave9]

In 1980 you should have a Dana 300 TCase. The way to tell is how the shift lever is attached. The Dana 300 has the lever attached to a couple of ears on the front of the TCase.

The older Dana 20 had the shift lever attached to a tubular bar sticking out the front of the TCase. This next picture is a Dana 20 with aftermarket twin stick shifters but the black tubular bar is OEM.

Now maybe you can fill out your profile.
That will help us out in the future when you post problems.

 

[cass]

ok got it updated. thanks when i get home from work i will pull it in the shop and verify that its a Dana 300 . im 95% sure it is.

 

[JR74CJ5]

i dont have any jeep trannys. the T-18 and t19 are trannys out of ford trucks. am i missing somthing? according to this cost would be $504 for adapter, $38 for mount, and $18 for pilot bushing. then drive shaft shorting and making rear longer. my boss can do that for me. he makes all his own drive shafts for his hot rods. at worst i would have $700 in this swap (tranny would be free). Adapting the NP435 Transmission to the Jeep Dana 300 Transfer Case please tell me if im overlooking somthing big. if i go with a T-176 i will still have to buy this adapter kit Adapting Chevrolet & GM Engines to the Jeep T176 Transmission that will put cost up over a grand. unless i am wrong and my bell housing is already set up for this tranny. i am kinda lost.

Clutch kit should probably be done at the same time... I didnt research to see if you would HAVE to, but unless its a brand new kit, should...

 

[1986cj7]

my 80 CJ5 has been jumping out of reverse since i got it. i have been doing alot of reading on the Novak site. i have all of the ford and gm trannys they list in the junk yard i work in. i can have any kind i want for free. im just not sure which one would be the best canidate for the conversion. we dont have any SR4 trannys like my jeep already has. i want to ditch that weak one any way. i read that the NP435 has to have a conversion pilot bearing and the bearing retainer needs to be milled down. but it doesnt say any thing about the SM465 chevy tranny. my motor is a 2.5 duke. if i dont have to change pilot bushing or mill the bearing retainer i will go with the sm465. i also need advise on changing those main shafts ans stuff. i want the easiest swap of course but am very capable of taking things apart and putting back together. suggestions?

What is your the web site of the junkyard you work in I'd like to look over your inventory.

 

[cass]

i planned on putting in a new clutch kit when i did it. i work at my neighbors parts store on weekends and get all my parts at cost so it will be cheap.


as for the website there is no website. all junkyards are tied together with the POWERLINK system. it uses hollander info for all the parts. you cant view it unless your a dealer and have a license to use it. i found ties to a guy that has a lot of jeeps im going to hunt down and see if he has a T-176 . wish me luck

 

[cass]

well no luck on the T-176 . this guy i talked to has a small jeep bone yard but no SR4 or T-176 . he pointed me tword advanced adapters. he also brought up a good point i overlooked. if i go with a SM435 i can use the factory chevy bellhousing that also fits the Small block chevy. then all i have to worry about is adapting to the Transfer Case and drive shaft length. unless a jeep tranny falls in my lap between now and when i get the adapter.

 

[3QuarterTon CJ]

I think you'll like the SM465, I love mine. They are just about bomb proof, and shift so smooth.

 

[cass]

i went and scoped out my tranny today. i also talked to a guy at advanced adapter and he helped me decied which kit to go with. im going to run the short adapter kit. the tranny im going to run is a 79 3/4 ton chevy truck with a 350 in it. i wont have to mod the tranny at all. just change the input on the Transfer Case . might have to change the clutch disc but im going to run a new clutch any way so it wont be a big deal i dont think to make somthing work. im going to use the bell housing off the same truck. its a manual kind but i will make the hydrolic work with a little bracket work. i might pull the tranny this weekend and get her cleaned up and ready. i wont have the money for the adapter kit for awhile but i will get it ready to go in.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

The SM465 should be an easy swapped behind the Iron Duke. It’s a GM engine and has a GM bolt pattern same as a 350, find an original (type) bell housing and you should be good with no machine work or adaptors. (The bell housing center hole for the SM645 is a little larger than the car trannys.) Not sure about the clutch throw-out needs but I would think that could be easy to resolve if needed. The expense comes with adapting the Transfer Case . The older model 4WD version would be the easiest to mate to a Dana 300 .

However the bell housing on the Iron Duke is both a Chevy engine bolt pattern and a Ford Transmission pattern so a Ford, not CJ, T-18 is an easy fit. You still need an adaptor for the tail end no matter what Transfer Case , 18, 20, or 300, is chosen. I’d bet the Transmission to Transfer Case adaptor kits are going to be about $400-$500 no matter what. Also I’ve never heard of a 1980 CJ having a Dana 20 Transfer Case but it would not be unusual for Jeep to use up any leftover parts at the start of a new model year.

 

[cass]

i am going to put in the T-4 for now. i know its light duty but its $100 bucks. if i end up breaking that tranny i will go with the chevy tranny. if i do end up doing it the bellhousing on the truck i take the tranny out of will have the right one. i need to get my feet wet before i dive in to deep. i havent had this thing off road much because of the no reverse issue. i do know for sure the granny low gear would be nice.

 

[fitzp20102]

I've been running a T-4 in my '83 rock buggy for at least 5 years. I only have a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l and I like to think I'm a finesse driver and not a horsepower driver. I also have 4.88 gears and only 36" Swampers. I think the T-4 will last you for a good long while.

Other than that, now that I'm done telling you how long my T-4 lasted, I'm going to tell you I am about to put in an SM465. My buggy got pretty trashed in Harlan, KY last fall. So since I have to redo the Transmission , Transfer Case , and motor mounts, I' figured it was time to help my 4.88 gears with the super low 1st gear of the SM465.

I talked to Novak and you can basically change the input on your Dana 300 or change the output (main shaft) on the SM465. I'm I'm changing the main shaft on the 465 since, it's a used unit and probably could use a rebuild anyway. Otherwise the original Jeep bell housing will work by slightly enlarging the center hole on the housing and tapping new bolt holes, which is easier than modifying the bell housing for EFI motor with CPS.

Just my thoughts.

 

[cass]

i now have a sm465 sitting in my shop. a guy that brings us scrap iron on a regular basis had one in his last load. he said it worked great when they took it out. he changed his truck over to an automatic. so i drug it home just in case i do the swap. i also got a bellhousing off a truck i had to take the motor out of. it was a 81 chevy with a 350 and sm465. the tranny is that one worked ok but the inside was full of black tar looking stuff. i think since i have this tranny and bell housing for free and in my shop, im probably going to just do the conversion when i come up with the money i will buy the adapter kit that you change the input on the Dana 300 . the guy at advanced adapters said i should be able to use the stock drive shafts if i use the the shorter adapter kit.

 

[fitzp20102]

I'm going with Novak Ent. after comparing both Advanced and Novak. Called both and wrote down all that I would need from both. I felt like I got better know-how, and personal service from Novak too.

Heres my Novak Order / Parts list:
Kit 463R - Converts SM465 to have 23 spline output for direct bolt up to Dana 300 with bolt pattern / clocking adaptor. So this is a new shorter mainshaft that will have to correct spline pattern for the Dana 300 .
Kit 465MR - Master rebuild kit, all bearings, synchs, seals and gaskets.
Part # WT304-19A - brass bushing - as recommended by several websites about how these internal bushings wear out.
Part # WT304-19 - brass bushing - as recommended by several websites about how these internal bushings wear out.
Part # 465AMC-B - Retainer and Pilot bushing kit - pilot bushing on the SM465 i slightly different than on the T-4 / T-5 / T-150 .
Parts Total : ~$900

Options I'm considering: Part TX300 Twin Stick Kit (In this instance I actually prefer AA's Kit because of the new shift rails and more stout looking setup.)
Part 300RX Dana 300 Short Shaft kit, since I don't care about having the Speedo work in my rock crawling Jeep.