Tranny Swap T-18

[jwill22]

So i was wondering how hard and how much would i be looking at to swap out my current AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l /T-5 /Dana 300 to a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l /T-18 /Dana 300 ? I tore up my tranny and in search of a new replacement. I'd be even content to go with a T-176 , its just hard to find replacements out here and the one guy who specializes in jeeps charges and arm and leg for his stuff. Ex. $1,100 for a rebuilt T-176 .

Any ways i came across an add of a T-18 /Dana 300 this is it:
JEEP PARTS

He said the T-18 came off a JEEP Pick Up Truck. He also told me he changed out the long drive shaft to the short one, which is the conversion i think he needed to do, to attach it to the Dana 300 if im not mistaken.
He also said he was going to use it on a 79cj that had a v8 in it.

My questions is, what else is left, what other mods would need to be done to hook it up to my inline 6, and how much would i be looking to spend. and is a $1000 a good price since it was rebuilt?

 

[Deerejeep]

$1820 for a rebuilt ready for a Dana 300 from Novak. I'm not sure if that price is good or not but I'm curious. I have a Dana 300 that needs some TLC and looking to adapt to a T-18 . Adaptor kit is $550 from novak so you might be doing good.

 

[BusaDave9]

I've done this. I had a '82 Jeep CJ7 with a AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l , a T-5 and Dana 300 . When the T-5 gave out I put in a T-18 . The easiest route is to get a Ford T-18 not a Jeep T-18 . I used an adapter from Advance Adapters but Novak makes one too. With this kit the T-18 , adapter and Dana 300 are the same length and the T-5 drivetrain. For this reason you don't need to modify the lengths of the driveshafts. That's uncommon for a tranny swap.

If you get a Ford T-18 it easily mounts to your Jeep Bellhousing but you have to drill and tap 4 holes.

To mate the Ford T-18 to the Dana 300 you need to replace the main (output) shaft of the T-18 but they are easy to work on. The kit includes the T-18 shaft.

Here's a Ford T-18 with an adapter ready to install in a Jeep CJ with a Dana 300 .

Don't get that Jeep T-18 that came out of a Jeep truck. As you noted you need to swap out the input shaft. It's too long. Then you will have a problem at the other end too. That T-18 came with a Dana 20 TCase and won't bolt up to the Dana 300 without an adapter. If you can get it for a steal it may be worth it but a ford T-18 is your best bet... Well, almost. You mentioned a T-176 . That would be an easy swap. It's a good Transmission . Not a heavy duty truck Transmission like the T-18 but it's still very strong. They came with the Dana 300 and with the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l strait six so the only issue is the lengths of the driveshafts would need to be modified.

Check out this link: http://www.jeep-cj.com/forums/f105/manual-cj-transmissions-12112/#post97092

 

[BusaDave9]

I checked out your link. This is NOT a Dana 300 Transfer Case . It's a T-18 with a Dana 20 . That Dana 20 doesn't have as low of a low as a Dana 300 (2:1 instead of 2.6:1). Both are very strong transfer cases.

EDIT: if it's rebuilt, as he says, you'd think he'd know what it is.

 

[BusaDave9]

Okay, I see now where you say he already replaced the input shaft. So main issues are that you will need to modify the lengths of the driveshfts. You will also have a minor issue mounting the skid plate that will no longer match up with the tranny mount. That's not a big problem. Just drill new holes. While you are doing all this I hope you get a new clutch.
You will also need to fabricate a new floor plate where the shift levers come through the floor.
Just remember that's a Dana 20 not a Dana 300 . The difference is how the shift levers attach. The Dana 20 has a tubular bar sticking out the front to mount the shift lever on.

 

[Saddle Tramp]

From looking at the pictures I don’t think either are Dana 300s but rather Spicer/Dana 20 transfer cases. The only 300 cases that have the “Texas” bolt pattern (to bolt to the Transmission ) are the 1980 Scout versions and then only the ones found behind the T-18 or T19; all other 300 transfer cases have a “round” bolt pattern. The Jeep T-18 come with a 1” adaptor at the back of the Transmission to attach the 20 Transfer Case but in order to use a 300 the required round adaptor is about 6” long making the overall length of the tranny/Transfer Case not a suitable combo for a CJ5 due to the resulting too short rear drive line. As the CJ7 is 10” longer than the 5 it is possible to make it work in a 7 however with too much lift can be problematic.

The front shaft on a FSJ T-18 is much longer than the CJ version by at least 7” (they vary) so most likely that is the shaft that the seller claims to have replaced. The other issue with the T-18 is that there are two different 1st gear ratios, the close ratio 4.01 and the wide ratio 6.32. Of course the lower geared wide ratio version is the most coveted making it more valuable than the close ratio. The close ratio CJ years run from 1972 to sometime in 1976 when they changed to the wide ratio. (Nobody seems to know exactly when the changed occurred.) The wide ratios started as stated sometime in 1976 and ran until 1979. I see rebuilt wide ratio T18s go for anything from $800 to $1,100.

This is an easy swap as it was a factory option. All AMC I6 and V8 motors use the same bell housing bolt pattern so everything is interchangeable; not sure what bell housing you have but most likely you would need to find a 1977 to 1979 CJ bell housing to bolt up the Transmission . Here is a couple of links to clarify what needs to be done to complete the swap:

http://www.jeeptech.com/convtrans/cjt18/

http://www.jeeptech.com/convtrans/fordt18/index.html

 

[mmt]

...the required round adaptor is about 6” long...http://www.jeeptech.com/convtrans/fordt18/index.html

That is with the intermediate shaft. There is also an adaptor that is 1 inch thick that comes with a different main shaft for the T-18 .

 

[Saddle Tramp]

That is with the intermediate shaft. There is also an adaptor that is 1 inch thick that comes with a different main shaft for the T-18 .

In all my years of jeeping I have never heard of a T-18 /Dana 300 adaptor that is only 1” thick, that doesn’t mean there isn’t one but I’ve not seen one. I just did a quick check at Novak and I see that they have a T-18 /Dana 300 adaptor that is 3.2” long so I stand corrected on the 6” I posted by 2.8” to the good but still that puts the T-18 /Adaptor/Dana 300 combo over 15” in length, too long for a lifted CJ5 in my opinion.