Rusty, I think I'm loosing my nerve

[Torxhead]

For those end plugs, it might be nice if some brass soft plugs would work, or some sort of plugs or end caps from an industrial hardware outfit like Mcfadden-Dale might have something. I was able to add 7/16"-14 heli-coils for added strength where the tranny goes into the bell housing.

 

[Hedgehog]

I know lots of guys will disagree with me on this, but I have a huge prejudice against Heli-coils. They do work, my 360 has about 1/2 the exhaust manifold threads "saved" with heli-coils. I can't help but cringe every time the headers need to be tightened. I really like the steel sleeve type thread repair kits. They make more sense to me than a twisted worm trying to come out. Granted that is an over exaggeration many engines have been saved with the use of heli-coils.

It seems like those little caps should be available somewhere. My top only needs to be cleaned and the reverse spring replaced. Nothing else seems to be broken.

 

[mtnwhlr]

I know lots of guys will disagree with me on this, but I have a huge prejudice against Heli-coils. They do work, my 360 has about 1/2 the exhaust manifold threads "saved" with heli-coils. I can't help but cringe every time the headers need to be tightened.

I'm with you I worry everytime I tighten down a bolt into one just waiting for it to pop out.

 

[Torxhead]

There are all kinds of thread inserts, anything is better than those cast aluminum threads in my book. Especially when holding up a low geared T-18 , plus a cast iron Transfer Case . As for those header bolts, I recall someone mentioning those Nord-lock washers, I'm going to have to try those out.

 

[Hedgehog]

It most certainly is amazing that a simple aluminum casting can stand as much as a bell housing does.

 

[Torxhead]

It most certainly is amazing that a simple aluminum casting can stand as much as a bell housing does.

It is, especially in steep hill climbs,hard takeoffs, and whatever off road travel has to offer. Cross threading is a bit much for them to take though. Good luck with bringing the dead back to life.

 

[Hedgehog]

Finally got back to working on ol' Rusty. I knew the top stick and shifting mechanism needed some attention. Last night I tore it down. What did I find? As expected Rust. Not bad enough to do any real harm, the rods are brown but not pitted. Everything will move smoothly when the job is done.

I've always been a big fan of the T-18 Transmission , but one thing has become perfectly clear. The springs and detent ball bearings are the weak point in the Transmission . Some springs are rusted in place, some are broken from rusting through, most of the bearings are rough and one is stuck in place. All this spring rust, but very little scoring on the surfaces they work with. I suppose if something needs to be sacrificed a $0.50 spring is better than a $50 case.

 

[jpeck71]

Man Hedgehog, reading you working on this T-18 is making me wish I had the time to start working on mine as well. I've had a Jeep T-18a from a J-10 sitting on my workbench for more than a year now. I ran into the same issue with that front lock ring and haven't gotten past it since. I may see what it would cost me in my area to have it rebuilt. If I could have it back in short time it might be worth a few hundred dollars.

Jeremy

 

[Hedgehog]

These things aren't at all difficult to work on. That is if you have a set of strong arms and fingers you either have on your person or can barrow. That front ring is a real bear, but once through that the rest of the rings aren't nearly so bad. What you need to do is find the biggest meanest set of lock ring pliers you can get. As far as lock ring pliers are concerned mine are fair sized, but even installing the ring proved to be problematic. To get the opening wide enough I ended up cutting penny's up into small pieces and gluing them to the plier jaws. This temporary fix gave enough increase to how wide the jaws opened to get the ring on. Man, when that thing finally snapped into place what a party I had in my head. The other thing is, there is a definite sequence to taking one apart and putting it back together. Of course I was in a hurry and kept setting the rear bearing to soon, I bet Iset and pulled that darned bearing 5 times. Luckily the bearing isn't in the case or on the shaft all that tight so no mechanical damage was done, only a little pride in my mechanical ability.

 

[Hedgehog]

Annnndd - IT LIVES AGAIN. Yep today the top went back together and was test fit. Right off the bat I found all 4 forward gears & reverse. VERY COOL! Now it wears a nice shinny coat of blue paint.

If you've never taken a shift top apart let me tell you right now, it's a seemingly simple mechanism. Don't be fooled it's a tricky operation. There are rods with different notches, there are lock out pills, there are ball bearings that don't want to come out, under the ball bearing there can be a mish mash of broken springs, putting them back in under new spring pressure can be fun, there are strangely designed shift gates, there are hidden reverse springs that are likely smashed, Putting a BIG mean reverse spring in is another little bit of fun, then there are the shift forks and their snap on plastic shoes. ...... All in all the whole job is very satisfying. Now when I grab that big long T-18 stick and jam ol' Rusty in gear I will know that every gear, bearing and shaft was assembled by me. Now that is satisfaction. If I can do it you most certainly can.

Pictures to come.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

NICE!
LG

 

[Hedgehog]

Pictures:

As "Ol' Rusty arrived at my home. This picture really doesn't do the amount of rust justice. Unfortunately I didn't get pictures of the insides. The Shifter top pictures will give you some clue of the condition of the case.





A peak at the Shifter Top before work on it began. You can see the reverse plunger has a broken spring (it's not supposed to stick out like that).:



The top is apart and cleaned ready for re assembly:



This is an unfortunately necessary fix. The hump is a spring/ball bearing/shifter index pocket. Unortunately one of the ball bearings simply wouldn't come out. Rob at Willys Works does this in a pinch. Drill a hole, punch out the bearing, I welded it closed in the end. :



Nice finished Shifter Top. Notice the reverse plunger no longer sticks out.:



If you look carefully you can see the rust pits at the bottom of the shift lever. The rotating shifting ball just under the cap is VERY pitted as well. But it works well enough. Haven't decided if it's worth replacing the stick or not.:



And here "Ol' Rusty" is, rebuilt, clean and wearing new cloths.:



Now to start on that Transfer Case . This should be fun.

 

[Torxhead]

Sounds and looks like your really bringing the dead back to life, good job there Hedge.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

:rock:
Nicely done!
LG

 

[Hedgehog]

I am a bit ashamed of the over spray. In real life it doesn't look that bad. I did tape some areas and sprayed the top sitting on a box thinking to stop any over spray. I know the overspray won't hurt anything. It's a pride in workmanship thing.

I just love that "Old Ford Blue". It's not AMC blue, but OFB is easy to get around here.

 

[Hedgehog]

The bell housing is going on and about all I have to say about that is, "Who was the genius, (darn fool) that designed the arrangement of the bolts?" Two one size (big), two another(bigger yet), with different lengths, then there is the special T-18 only cut head bolt that goes in from the inside. Can't you see the at home mechanic tearing his hair out trying to figure out why the Transmission . won't come off the Bell housing.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

That's what happens when 'engineers' are left without adult supervision.
LG

 

[Hedgehog]

Boy, you've got that right, then again this thing was designed when the engineers drank alcohol and put gas in their vehicles, now engineers put alcohol in their cars and pass gas (quote from Chasing Classic Cars).

After giving up on finding the correct bolts in my bolt bin I took the bell housing to Copper State Nut & Bolt. There are two 7/16" bolts, 1 #14 bolt and the special T-18 bolt is 3/4". After trying a 1/2" bolt, it was close but too sloppy, we were stunned to find it actually is a 14. My goodness where did they come up with a 14 and it doesn't appear to be altered or resized to a 14.

 

[Lumpy Grits]

Did you try a 7/8X14 UNF threaded bolt for that oddball one.
LG

 

[Hedgehog]

That could very well be it. The counter guys said to each other, "Did you try a 14?" and that was it. Even better since I don't believe one metric bolt would be tossed in among American bolts.