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Quick way to identify T18 with low first gear?

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Quick way to identify T18 with low first gear?
J

jafo

Old Time Jeeper
Posts
1,305
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Location
Blue Springs, Missouri
Vehicle(s)
1979 CJ7. 304 V8 3 speed.
I have a line on a T-18 from a jeep. 1976 I believe. I asked if it has the low first gear and he said he believed it did. What is a way to make sure by visually looking? Numbers on the case? By the way it's hooked to a Dana 20 . I'll have to buy the group, is there anything I should be looking at as far as the two together? Thanks for any help.
 
The reverse should be - to the right and down. Pop the top and the forks should be aluminum. The pilot bearing nose should be 1-7/8". From the nose of the input shaft to the shoulder of the bearing retainer, where the throw out bearing ride, should be 6-3/8".

The Transfer Case should have the long shift linkage bracket, the pipe looking thing.
 
Put it in first or reverse and spin the input shaft. Mark both input and output shafts. Spin input 1 complete revolution and the output should spin over 6 times
 
jafo said:
Thanks guys. Is the low gear T-18 thw only T-18 reverse is to the right and down?
Click to expand...

The older T-18 trannys did have a forward reverse or towards the front of the vehicle position, as I recall. It would be a good idea to pull off the cover to check for that massive gear that the those truck gearboxes have and for a visual inspection. There was a T-18 in the CJs that did have a 4 to 1 first.
 
hole said:
Put it in first or reverse and spin the input shaft. Mark both input and output shafts. Spin input 1 complete revolution and the output should spin over 6 times
Click to expand...


Nice input. I didn't think of the obvious.

The only thing is I believe the whole powertrain is still hooked together, engine Transmission and Transfer Case . I'm going to look tomorrow.
 
I'm still weighing my options as I have a line on a couple np435's also and have been looking at that but the shifting characteristics have me leaning towards finding a T-18 of some kind whether it be out of a jeep or truck.

I have now have a Dana 300 on the garage floor. Got that a week ago by luck. I also found a bona fide CJ T-18 in another state for $800. This guy locally that has the current T-18 being discussed priced an entire unit at $500, that's for the engine (I6 engine) the T-18 and the Dana 20 Transfer Case . I asked if he'd sell just the T-18 but he isn't ready to do that yet.
 
The 435 is a true truck tranny and is not a 'fast shifter'.
It is hell for strong stout, as my son runs one behind his built 401.
You do not use first gear on the street with a 435 either, and it too is a non-synco 1st.
Not sure about mating one with a D/300. D/20 is all I have ever seen them with.
LG
 
Isn't the T19 pretty much the same as T-18 but 1st is synchronized?
 
Lumpy Grits said:
The 435 is a true truck tranny and is not a 'fast shifter'.
It is hell for strong stout, as my son runs one behind his built 401.
You do not use first gear on the street with a 435 either, and it too is a non-synco 1st.
Not sure about mating one with a D/300. D/20 is all I have ever seen them with.
LG
Click to expand...

I remember you telling me that. I'm having a hard time understanding "truck tranny" and shifting mixed with the non synchro thing. So, I understand the throws between different tranny's some are further throws than others slowing the shifting from gear to gear. How does the synchro thing tie into this?

If you were in my place having to decide which one to go with, what one would you prefer over the other and why?

Here is my line of thought right now. Owner claims it had no problems when ran last. It appears to have been stored in the garage after removal. If it is a granny gear T-18 , and he is asking 500 for the entire thing from motor to Transfer Case , and if I can talk him into dropping the engine off, I think I can get this for around 300 to 350 bucks. It would satisfy my need for a crawling gear, the Dana 20 is a good Transfer Case and I can always adapt my Dana 300 later. i think the T-18 would be a more direct fit. Budget is a factor. The np435 would need overhauled. Then it would need an adapter kit for the Transfer Case . But then I read comments of np435 people that love them. Some don't most do, which confuses me and leaves me torn between the both transmissions.

So what would you do? Same question for anyone responding here. I want the swap for the low crawling gear, nothing more nothing less.
 
I have had my T-18 for many years, having a non synchro first is really not a problem. Since when I engage it, the vehicle is either stopped or close to it like when in the rocks. I also have the Dana 300 with a 4 to 1 gear set, this is great for cruising thru the rocks. Sometimes I would like to have an Overdrive tranny to cruise on the freeway, other times I want even lower gears for the bigger rocks. You do know that the NP435 has a lower first gear, and consider the price of adapters when making your decision,
 
Thanks for your input Torx. In the reading I have done on both tranny's, I came across that info on the lower gear. I also read some posts from other forums of guys who really were disappointed because they felt the 435 first and secomd gears were too low for them. These were guys who still wanted to drive thier trucks daily. That's what has me backing off the 435 a little coupled with all the disatisfaction with it's shiftability. Even though I can get the 435 dirt cheap, 50 bucks, another 250 rebuild kit, then another 540 for the adapter, I still want to come out with a streetable CJ on the other end. So I'm thinking the T-18 would be more driver friendly. I'm not looking at extreme rock crawling, I'm looking to kind of help these 3.54 hwy gears out when off roading nothing highly technical, basically trail riding. That's been another question. Maybe the lower gears in the 435 would be a better fit. I don't think the spread between either of the first gears of either Transmission is that far apart. So I'm back to leaning towards the T-18 again. Then there is drive shaft adaptations.
 
Jafo, it sounds like you want to end up with a Dana 300 at some point. Both the 435 and T-18 will adapt to it for I believe about the same money when I was looking into it for my 8. In the end, I decided to go with a 5-1 T19 because 1st is synchronized. Also you may want to talk to the guys at Novak about parts availability for each Transmission you are considering because some gears in particular are hard or impossible to get. I already had the Dana 300 but it took over a year to find the T19 I was looking for, and another year to squirrel away the spare cash for the 4-1 Lomax kit, Novak adapter and complete rebuild kit for the T19. $500 for a "running" drive-train with a T-18 in the middle sounds pretty cheap(at least by west coast standards) and I would think it wouldnt be too hard to sell the Dana 20 and AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l for a couple hundred to offset the outlay.Out here $250 -600 are the recent prices I've seen for a "good rebuild able" T-18 . If I were you, I'd do my research on the Transmission you want, pick up a rebuild-able Dana 300 , get the Lomax 4-1 kit, then order the Novak adapter and Transmission rebuild kit for the Transmission you've chosen ;)
 
435-The 'throw' is not farther. Just not quick as a street manual. I have seen some T-18 's this way also.
The T-18 and NP435 will outlast you and your Jeep with minimum of care.
The D/300 t'case with 4:1 gears and either of those 2 trannys, would go a long way to a great all around trail rig.
:chug:

LG
 
Ok. Unhooked the Transmission . Thought I had it in 2H. Counted the revolutions. One outputshaft revolution equaled around 6.5 or so inputshaft revolutions. I found out now that it wasn't 2H but somewhere between 4L and neutral. I put it in 2H and got exactly 4 revolutions on the input to one on the output. I'm lost here.
 
Put the Transmission in 4th gear, in 2H it should be 1:1, if not you are not in 2H.
 
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