T-18 First and Reverse gear noise

With the Torque Snubber issue resolved I got the machine on the road.

I rebuilt the T-18 using the Novak kit..... New front/rear bearings, new needle bearings, new syncros. There did not seem to be any noticeable wear on the internals.

It shifts fine and is as quiet as the T-14 was in neutral, 2nd 3rd and 4th.

1st and reverse both have the same noise (almost like a rattle/whine) knowing that 1st and (of course) reverse are non-syncro I can almost attribute it to that but;was wondering if someone can provide a bit of consensual validation here or give me some idea if the noise is normal for a (close ratio) T-18...

I'm using the SuperTech (Walmart) synthetic blend 75/90 gear lube...


Thanks..
KSA

 

Get rid of the synthetic, flush it out, and put the recommended Dino gear oil in it. Should quiet it down and may help make it shift easier. T-18's were designed to use the thicker gear oil and In my experience do not like synthetic much. I've run into this same issue many, many times and a simple switch back to the recommended oil solves the problem most of the time.


Sent from my iPhone

 

Excellent! Glad it worked for you


Sent from my iPhone

 

Well it's about 5 months later and the rebuilt T-18 has about 2500 miles on it...It now shifts smoothly (even from first to second) once I learned the peculiarities of a T-18. Since I have stock axle ratios with 32's I have to use 1st (the T-18 is the close ratio version) to start off so I have gotten very used to coming to a complete stop before shifting to 1st. All around it's a significant upgrade from the T-14.....