T18 Trans

I ran across this yesterday. I think it is a close ratio 18 for a cj ?? Had a 7 1/4 stickout best I could measure.
It was attached to a d20. Just wondering if it is worth fooling with. Not sure of the price.


Thoughts??

 

Output shaft and adapter have value.
Also grab the d20 for the case
If you stumble across a wide ratio Ford from the same year window they can make a wide ratio gm t18 that fits a D18 or 20

 

I bought a T15/d20, couple 6in wheels, set of intermediate hanging pedals, intermediate gas pedal, power steering pump, for $240. Probably gonna use the T15 and make a super 18 with the d20 case, for the blue cj6.
I'm not sure about the T18, close or wide ratio??

 

with enough engine it wont matter...

 

I have a spare with that bump in case . and it's a 6.32 . but they could also be 4.1 as stated
gave the guy 200 for it . shifter was toast
IMO the stick out will work. for a V6 with thick flywheel
just needs splines made longer / bearing retainer shorten . OD cut down for GM bell
machine shop where I use to work did both modification
bell housing need welding for it too . for jeep pattern
none of above needed if amc engine /bell used

 

Is there a tag? There were both ratios with the 7" stickout using the factory plate adapter and T-14/T-15 bell. The J-truck or Wagoneer with a 258 got a 6.32 ratio, and the CJs and Jeepster/Commando with a six got the 4.1 ratio. Externally identical.

You can tell ratios from the PN on the tag or counting the teeth on the input gear or some "rotating and counting the turns" test. 6.32:1 has 17 teeth and 4.02:1 has 23 teeth.

(later) Aha. You show the tag. 5355010 is a 1976 80-90 (CJ-5 or CJ-7). This is a transition year, and I recall it has its own bellhousing that's different from teh T-14/T-15 bell and adapter used in prior years. It is a 4.02:1 transmission. If it came with a bell, you'd be fine, but you may have trouble finding the one-year bell otherwise. It has a one-year input shaft; might be compatible with the earlier stuff, but I'd guess it's not.

 

Tim, do you know which year J truck/Wagoneers used a long input shaft T18 and a 5" spacer? I was under the impression that the 258's in J10's came with T176's, and only V8's came with T18's. Thx.

 

NEVER go by the tags on the transmission or casting number. Pull the shifter cover and count the input teeth. I cannot count the number of times I’ve had customers bring in T-18’s and say they had such and such by the numbers then find out the guts had been changed. Believe it when you see it, period.

 

The long input shaft and spacer ("adapter" per Jeep) was used with the AMC V8 engines in the Wagoneer/Cherokee or J-truck only. The earlier V8s in these vehicles show an adapter in the parts book, but I have only seen long bell housings that include the adapter.

No T-176 in a Jeep prior to 1980. 1979 or earlier, Jeep only offered the Borg-Warner 3-speeds, the T-150 Tremec 3-speed ('76-79 CJ only), the T-18 or T-98, or an automatic.

The T-18 was offered with the sixes or the V8s in the Wagons and J-trucks, 1979 or earlier (except the '62-65 OHC 230 got the T-98). The '70ish-79 sixes got the same transmission length as the CJs with a T-18; T-14/15 bell, thin plate adapter, and Jeep-case transmission. Only the CJ got the close ratio (4.02:1 1st) transmission. The only restriction on the T-18 in the wagons/trucks was with the 401; only available 1974 with a T-18, automatic only '75-78. 1980 was a watershed year for Jeep, the end of the "great transmission era" - mostly because of the change to light and medium duty transmissions in the CJs.

 

Never heard anyone say that before but I fully agree with Tims statement.
I really don't bother with Jeeps after 1979 for that reason alone.
And then they went wide track the very next year as in no more narrow track D30's.
So from that point onward IMHO all parts are worthless for upgrade into the early CJ's.

 

My post is related to my sons' 1981 Cherokee Chief (2 door Wagoneer) currently with a 258/T176/NP208, he also owns a 1978 Wagoneer with a 401/TH400/QT, he wants to install the 401 in the '81 and not use the TH400 , the T176 will not live behind the 401, and from my research the correct T18 has an extra long input shaft (main drive to you purists) and an adapter to move the T18 back far enough to get the shifter from under the dash, apparently the 258 was long enough to place the bell housing farther back, so the adapter isn't necessary, but the shorter V8's need the adapter and long input T18. We plan to use the NP 208 behind the T18, and from what I hear it has a rather uncommon spline count on the input. Right, wrong, indifferent? All these factors combined make the correct T18/NP208 as rare as chicken lips. So, what are my choices? We will be starting with a 401 with bell housing and a hole for a transmission/tcaseI could fabricobble a spaghetti like bent shifter and install the T18 under the dash but that would move the tcase which requires new drive shafts, relocating shifter holes, possibly modifying transmission/tcase covers or floor pan, reposioning the t case shifter, does the phrase "project creep" ring a bell?. I am open to suggestions. We will be selling off all the excess from both vehicles to finance the new transmission.

I agree with Nickmil regarding T18's in particular and Jeeps in general, especially CJ's, I've owned 20 + Jeeps, 6 CJ5's, 2 CJ6's, 3 CJ7's,and 1 CJ8.plus some 6 XJ's and 4 SJ's, in my opinion, if a Jeep isn't sitting on the showroom floor, it most likely isn't 100% original. I firmly believe there are no absolutes in used Jeeps, especially CJ's

 

The long shaft is more about the width of the V8. The Wagoneer engine compartment was designed to fit an inline 6, and a V8 in the same location as the six will interfere with the firewall. The long input was Jeep's solution to the firewall clearance problem. Even then, the V8s are darn close to the heater box and brake booster - wider V8s like the big Dodges require changes in those areas too.

The "ideal" T-18 you want was only used in the J20 1980 or later. Not a lot of them built - good luck finding that combo not in a running driving truck. Yes, it's a weird spline count which I don't recall offhand (search the Wagoneer sites). But it does already use the driver's drop NP208 with a different input gear, I presume. You could also use a Ford T-18 with a NP transfer case but the shifter will come up under the dash. Use a torch and bend a dogleg in the stalk so you can reach the knob - not unprecedented.

JMO - this far in, I'd sell all the Jeep drivetrain parts and go modern SBC and a modern GM overdrive automatic and maybe a NP241? If you want to stay driver's drop. Not convinced that a T-18 is better than an automatic on the trail, if you have good brakes. Or go 4.0L HO with the excellent Mopar-Bosch MPI with the T-176, which I guess is kinda marginal but would be ok with the right driver. The 401 is exotic but I would probably convert it to cash; virgin blocks are scarce today, and should be worth some large fraction of the $100/hole needed to sleeve the 401.

 

7 1/4 Stick-out would be from a CJ. Count the revolutions in first or gear teeth to be sure what you have. You may get lucky with a 6:32...I did!

 

Do you have a picture of the input shaft? That would help a lot in narrowing down actual application. Going by the numbers as I said before is conjecture.
That transmission is an earlier version with reverse to the right and forward. The reverse arm pin sticking through the case is a dead giveaway. The later versions with reverse to the rear did not have this pin and had a bumpout to clear the reverse arm in the shifter top. The earlier version had the reverse arm pivot on that pin in the case and fit into a notch in The first/reverse shift rail.