t18 swap into 77 cj5

[hondo]

one of the bearings went out in my T-150 for my CJ5 and i am thinking about doing a swap to a T-18 while i am at it. i have found alot of conflicting information on what will fit, i need as close to drop in as possible and hopefully not to expensive. any help is appreciated.
i am also looking for a T-18 somewhere in california or even into nevada for sale. this is my daily driver so i need to finish asap.

 

[jpeck71]

I think part of the reason for the conflicting information is that there are several versions of the T-18 made for different vehicle manufacturers and there are slight differences between all of them. I'm looking to do the same swap myself and have recently acquired a Jeep T-18a from a J10. Regardless of what version you end up with I don't think it will be a direct swap as its longer than the T-150 so driveshafts will likely have to be adjusted both front and rear. There's several other people on this site in the middle of this swap and you should be able to get some info from those threads. I've been reading them and threads on other sites as well to try and determine how much work and $$$ it will be for my swap. How much it will cost depends on what equipment you can find and how much you can reuse. I ended up with both the T-18 and Dana 20 mounted to it so I already have the expensive adapter plate. I just have to get the short shaft kit to replace the ridiculously long shaft currently on the T-18 .

What I've seen suggested is to go the Ford T-18a route as it already has the correct length input shaft but if you need to adapt it to the Dana 20 you likely have you'll need to find/order the adapter between them.

 

[Hedgehog]

Little conflicting really. Drives shafts almost always need attention.

CJ Jeep transmissions come in two varieties, a fairly low 1st gear and a VERY low or compound first gear.

In CJ's they were NEVER very common. T-18 's from other Jeep models are not a direct swap in. Even T-18 's from a CJ are generally longer than the other transmissions so an easy swap is a relative thing.

T-18 ford truck transmissions are a VERY popular swap, but you need expensive adaptor kits to do the job. T-18 's are GREAT transmissions and are almost impossible to break in a CJ platform.

The T-18 isn't a wimpy short shift car Transmission , they are serious long throw truck transmissions. I swapped a T-18 truck Transmission into a CJ and wish I had the money to do it again, so in my humble opinion all the hurtles are worth the troubles.

 

[hondo]

yeah i had already planned on drive shaft modifying, there is a local shop who does it fairly inexpensivley.

 

[Dan77CJ7]

one of the bearings went out in my T-150 for my CJ5 and i am thinking about doing a swap to a T-18 while i am at it. i have found alot of conflicting information on what will fit, i need as close to drop in as possible and hopefully not to expensive. any help is appreciated.
i am also looking for a T-18 somewhere in california or even into nevada for sale. this is my daily driver so i need to finish asap.

From what i can tell the problem is finding a good donor and not piecing it together. I'm in the process. its a cold hard.... anyway if you want bolt-in! i suggest finding a $1500-$3000 doner with what you want. this way there is no guessing! it hard dont get me wrong. but iv looked around most "CJ" shops wanna charge $1500 for T-18 and that aint even rebuilt!!!!! NO bull gear,shafts,bell,clutch,crossmember,tunnel cover nothing~! my way might not be the best but i think its gunna work out best. I'm not for parting out CJs but i'll reuse everything in the donor then resale even at a $1000 loss i still win. ASAP means paying retail. just my 2 cents

 

[Petescj]

Being this is your daily driver Id find another T-150 . Then Id start with a Ford T-18 with the Granny low first and bench build it till you have everything to put it in. At that point its just a weekend swap.

one of the bearings went out in my T-150 for my CJ5 and i am thinking about doing a swap to a T-18 while i am at it. i have found alot of conflicting information on what will fit, i need as close to drop in as possible and hopefully not to expensive. any help is appreciated.
i am also looking for a T-18 somewhere in california or even into nevada for sale. this is my daily driver so i need to finish asap.

 

[IOPort51]

^^ I agree^^ if you want to drive this thing next week, it isn't going to have a T-18 in it. If you want to spend some serious coin check out Novaks rebuilt with the adaptor for the TC already installed. It isn't a terrible deal if you crunch the numbers, for a professionally rebuilt Transmission and adapter ready to rock. $1820. I figure this to be about a grand for the core they rebuild and the labor.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

I’m with the rest, for a daily driver pick up a used T-150 off of Craig’s List or the bone yard, slap it in and head down the road. It is going to take a while to collect all the parts for a T-18 swap even though it can be a direct bolt in for your jeep if you find the right parts.

 

[hole]

Like the others have said, if its a DD time is of the essence and the T-18 swap will take some time unless you go the Novak built and ready to install route. I just swapped a T19 into my 8, and it took most of the summer to source the Transmission ,and related parts, then the time to rebuild the Transmission , install the Transmission .....I did all the work myself and the cost totaled $1200 for Transmission , rebuild kit and adapter. In the end I'm as happy as a pig in slop, but it was neither quick nor cheap

 

[hondo]

ok i decided to rebuild my current t AMC 150 and do the swap later. took it apart and found the input bearing is shot. when i put the flywheel back in does it need to be in a certain spot? still looking for a T-18 by the way. thanks for all the help

 

[Hedgehog]

The Flywheel bolt holes are spaced to only go in with the flywheel in one position. A cool way to do it really. Put the flywheel on put one bolt in, if another on will go in they all will, if not, turn the wheel one bolt hole and try it again.

 

[hondo]

thanks! i new there was something like that just couldn't figure out what. waiting for new bearings to come in and getting everything cleaned up. and ready to install.

 

[IOPort51]

I would hope you are replacing the pilot and the throw out?

 

[hondo]

yep pilot throwout input and output bearings also replaced the clutch and resufaced the flywheel. as the clutch was about to go out.

 

[IOPort51]

outstanding!

How much torque is needed on the input bearing retainer bolts on the T-150 ??

 

[hondo]

outstanding!

How much torque is needed on the input bearing retainer bolts on the T-150 ??

33ft lbs