T18 w/granny low vs SM465

[Tin Medic]

Need to decide this week which tranny I'm going to use. Lets here your opinions. I have the T-18 which came from a mid-70's J-truck or a friend that will trade me a SM465 for my T-18 . What say you.

 

[SCSBCCJ8]

depends on what motor you are running. if you are running an AMC then use the T-18 . getting to mate to all of that is easy and cheap. if you are running a SBC, then still run the T-18 . you can use a cast truck bell housing and re-drill 2 holes or you can get a lakewood bell housing with a ford pattern for about $200 used. its a whole lot cheaper than spending $450 to get the Transfer Case adapter from AA. either way, i wold stick with the T-18 .

 

[Purple77CJ7]

^^ I agree ^^

If you have the t18a, it has a low first gear like the sm465. The T-18 would adapt easyer to your AMC engine.

Have you read Busadave's jeep drive train thread? There is a post on the T-18 .

 

[CJim7]

Also in agreement. The 465 offers a slightly lower 1st gear...but it isn't a big enough difference to make up for the work involved in getting it to fit behind what you are using. The 465 is also a boat anchor....very bulky and heavy.
Stick with the T-18 .

 

[Tin Medic]

After doing a little research on the T-18B I found the following info on the Novak site:
"A certainly rare version of the Ford T-18 was the T18B, as provided in diesel trucks from 1967-1972, featuring higher gear ratios in 1st thru 3rd gears (4.32, 2.26, 1.51). This Transmission will be very rarely encountered, but individuals should be aware of the possiblity." Now, where do I go?

 

[Tommy]

You can tell real quick if you have the granny low or not. Put it in first gear, turn the input shaft and count the revolutions of the output. If you have the granny low, 18a, then go with the above mentioned recommendations.

 

[Tin Medic]

From what I can tell from Novak's site the sm465 is much easier to adapt to the I6 and Dana 300 than the T-18 .

 

[gliryan]

Where is everyone getting FORD T-18 from? He said it came out of a J truck, which would be the same as a regular cj T-18 optioned Transmission I'd assume. If you have the 6.32:1 first in your T-18 use it. Its a great Transmission and what I have in my postal. I thought about going with an sm420/465, but ended up adapting a jeep T-18 to a gm bellhousing.

EDIT: you wanting to keep the Dana 300 case? Both transmissions require expensive adapters ($500+) to run that case. Maybe consider using a Dana 20 ? I'm a broke college student though, so that's a deciding factor in much of what I do. And as far as I know all T-18 's are stamped t18b. Doesn't matter the gearing. My t18a (jeep w/ granny 6.32:1) is stamped as t18b.

 

[csuengr]

The J truck T-18 will bolt right up to your I6 bell housing, with the help of a friend. Both the T-5 and T-18 have the Ford "butterfly" bolt pattern. You will need an adapter for the Dana 300 though. Another question, do you have the T-18 with the 5 inch spacer in front?

 

[Tin Medic]

No spacer as of yet, do you happen to have one?

 

[csuengr]

Are you saying you need one? Does your T-18 look like this?
http://www.jeeptech.com/trans/fsjt1801.jpg

 

[Tin Medic]

It looks like that without the spacer.

 

[csuengr]

You got screwed on that T-18 . Read this:

Adapting the SM465 Transmission to AMC Jeep Engines

and this:

Adapting the SM465 to the Jeep Dana 300 Transfer Case

Trading for the 465 might well be worth it.

 

[Tin Medic]

Thats why I mentioned earlier that the 465 swap would be easier, although I didnt mention that I didnt have a spacer. I might be able to get one tomorrow. I also only spent 25 on the tranny so I dont feel bad.

 

[Tin Medic]

I'm an idiot, I do have the spacer. It is attached to the bell housing and not the tranny.

 

[mtnwhlr]

I'm an idiot, I do have the spacer. It is attached to the bell housing and not the tranny.

I think you are far from an idiot am glad you found it.

 

[IOPort51]

I seem to remember that the J truck T-18 has a longer input than the ford or the CJ T-18 and it has to be replaced before it can be used on a CJ.

 

[Tin Medic]

The input shaft will have to be replaced, that thing is way long.


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[IOPort51]

It has been a while since I crunched these numbers but as I recall it is a marginal difference between swapping the input on the J-10 and buying the TC adapter for the ford. I think the adapter also gives you the option of the Dana 300 TC.

I have found a close ratio T-18 /Dana 20 from a CJ5 that I am planning to use but I think my 2nd option would be the ford wide ratio with the Dana 300 . the parts would be easier to find and a lot more bang for the buck. IMHO.

 

[Tin Medic]

I am going to call Novak this week and see what the cost is to use the j-truck T-18 and the Dana 300 . On another note, any recommendations for rebuild kit for the T-18 , I want to get started on it fairly quickly.


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