Help Me Get My T18 Clutch Released!

Working on getting the clutch all set up for my t18 swap, and am following NorCal's formula. I just wanted to update the thread with a part number for the clutch disc, as I didn't see anything specific. The 77-79 CJ5 disk corresponds to a Sachs 1878654405 disk.

 

Just to verify......
Heavy Dauntless flywheel?
Standard BOP bellhousing? or Long 1971 year only jeep bellhousing?
T-18 front bearing retainer turned down to GM Specs?

 

Yes on the heavy dauntless flywheel. Regular dauntless bellhousing out of a '69 cj5.

I honestly can't remember what else was done by r&p, but I seem to remember something with the front bearing retainer, and also a shorter input shaft. They also ground a small groove to fit my dual stick dana 18.

That's all I can remember, but I was told it should work lol!

 

R&P has a good reputation in my experience.
You will need a special pilot bearing.

 

R&p also provided a pilot bushing, I don't know for sure if it's exactly correct but it fits perfectly on the nose of the input shaft.

Thanks for all your insight!

 

I went through this as well. It was the most frustrating thing ever. Had the Trans out like 20 times.
I have a 225 v6 (With heavy flywheel) mated to a ford T18.

I ended up:
Getting the pilot bushing machined down to correct diameter.
Using a longer throw out bearing.
Using a longer Clutch Pivot ball.
Grinding a touch off of my clutch friction disc splines.
Welding a bit of extra length on my clutch pivot fork.
Switching to the novak chain drive clutch setup.
Now it all works and the pedal it not hard to push at all, however the engagement point is pretty narrow so its touchy.

And on the plus side, im pretty good at taking the trans down now

 

Today I worked on getting my t18 mated, unsuccessfully. Man, that thing is heavy! I'm not confident that I'm not going to have to pull everything apart again, since the release bearing feels like it might be touching the fingers already, and I still have an inch to go.

Hopefully tomorrow I'll have better luck. I think the angle was a little hump-backed. Has anyone had luck "pulling" the trans in with bolts, or is that a definite no-no? It's just too hard to wrestle this thing by myself!

 

I wouldn’t recommend. You can try getting some long bolts, cut the heads off, thread them into the bell and use them as guides.

 

I too would agree . long bolts with heads cut off . alignment bolts
but I would install bell to transmission . then use bolts on engine
I agree it's a heavy trans . even more with transfer case attached . I made a plate with angle angle iron uprights . all thread across top of transmission
it's not going to fall off jack

 

Recently finished a T18 install in Dauntless. Couple of observations that might be helpful.
I used the Novak adjustable bearing and had to put it almost all the way long.
When I wasn’t sure the clutch was installed correctly i used a ratchet strap on the fork and was able to disengage it. The clutch linkage just wasn’t giving enough travel at the time. This also gave me some reference to how far the fork needed to be pushed back.
I did use bolts to pull the bell housing to the engine. I didn’t like doing it but it did work
I also had to pull the whole set up several times and it is definitely heavy. The last time we installed it with the transfer case attached. We use ratchet straps attached to the rollbar to lift the whole assembly. This was the easiest install out of the four or five that we did.

The forward chain was not very effective. I would move it to the center set of bolts then combined the chains to a single lifting point. It would balance right about there.



Installing this all together made it much easier to get a good seal between the transmission and transfer case. As you all know the one backwards bolt is a PITA.

 

Success! I got the transmission paired. It actually went in really smoothly. I did end up pulling it in with bolts, but I didn't need to torque it at all; I used a 3/8 drive and choked up on the handle. I just couldn't get the angle to push it in the whole way without moving the whole jeep.

Now to figure out if the clutch works. This will be the fun part of the deal.

 

I used my chain hoist to install an all in one with the bell housing attached to the transmission.