t-18 tranny siezed up

I have a 1974 CJ5 with the 360 AMC in her and when I went to shift into reverse or any other gear for that matterthe tranny didn't want to move. I tried giving the engine a little gas then letting out on the clutch slow but it would just kill the engine. It sits in a garage that isn't insulated, so maybe its frozen. The jeep is driven in the river but hasn't in oiver a year, stupid drought. The transfer case is also locked up too. Can;t get the shift lever to move. I was wondering what the problem was? Do I need to just let it get warmer then try it. Do I need to change that fluid? HELP

 

Fluid change is always a good place to start, I would pull the shifter cover off and check to make sure the forks aren't broken or damaged. And see if you can move the cluster gears. Sounds like both cluster gears are engaged, effectively locking up the trans.

As for the transfer case, sometimes it needs the shaft to move slightly to release and shift, If the trans is locked up that may be preventing the transfer from shifting.
Jay

 

You drove it into the garage in running condition and now it is locked up? Maybe the fluids in the tansfer case and tranny have turned almost solid by the cold. Try putting a space heater near the tranny for a day. Another thing that may have happened is your rear brakeshoes may be rusted to your drums. Jack up the back and verify the rear wheels are free to turn.

 

I drove it into the garage a week before the then showed up to drive it out and it seized up. I had broke the rear drive shaft off at both u-joints (brand new ones before). The drive shaft is too short and puts alot of stress on them-any ideas to correct that? I bought two new ones and need to press those in. The jeep needs alot of work. Im in college right now and would love to speed time resoring it but just not the time. Someday I will and I want the experience. Motor needs alot of help but solid jeep with all of the parts that were on it-just need to be rebuilt. would it be worthwhile to rebuilt the engine and tranny with new parts? (cost effective?)

 

I had a 74 way back when I was in Alaska. Parked it over night and it froze solid enough I couldn't shift it. I had left it in 1st gear. I was able to drive it around real slow for awhile till it warmed up, then it shifted fine. Never had that happen again.

 

T18's are notorious for the shifters wearing and the ends popping out of the rails causing all kinds of shifting woes. Might try resetting the shifter. Unscrew the cap, carefully remove the indexing pin, and remove the shifter. Look down inside the lid and see the rails. If one is forward or back, engage it with the shifter or a large screwdriver and try to center it. If it moves, reset the shifter in the rails and reassemble. If this fixes the problem, then take a good look at your shifter, pin and lid. Most slots on the shifter are worn, pins grooved, and lid centering holes wallowed or broken.

 

I wonder if this applies to top-shifter transmissions in general. Apparently the T-176 shift tops wear badly, but they are made of aluminum (aftermarket replacements are available). I had not heard that the T-18 was any more susceptible to wear than any other iron-top/steel-rail/top-shift transmission. :?

 

The slot in the stick is a common wear point where the indexing pin keeps the stick from rotating as is the hole in the top the indexing pin goes through. These normally just allow the stick to rotate or rattle but normally won't cause shifting issues unless reallllllly worn out. The end of the stick where it goes down into the shift rails can wear but usually not bad enough to cause shifting issues. Again, it ususally causes rattles which is more of an annoyance. The shift rails are hardened and normally don't wear much. I've found that a shifting problem caused by a stick being out of place with the shift rails is caused by one of three things, the cap has come loose allowing the stick to push up and out of the shift rails, the spring underneath the cap has collapsed or is missing causing the same issue, or a little more involved, the reverse spring has collapsed or broken allowing the the stick and shift rails to not quite be in the right location when shifting. If this happens and there is enough wear on the end of the shifter stick it can allow the stick to get jammed between the shift rails. NOT a common occurrence but can happen.
Just what I've noticed having rebuilt several hundred T-18 tops and more T-18's than I care to think about. YMMV, etc. etc.

 

I'd start with warming the trans/tc as suggested, and change the fluid. I'll bet that if you regularly drive the thing in the river the trans/tc are full of water unless you have extended the vents. Jeep recommends that you change ALL the fluids (tc/trans/pumpkins) after driving in water. Even pumpkins with extended vents will suck up water when a hot pumpkin is submerged in cold water. Playing in the water or mud can get expensive, any way you look at it. You are either going to pay for new fluids, or have destroyed components from lack of proper lubrication. If you don't change the fluid as recommended and leave the water/gear oil mix in there, even if you don't drive it, you will really accelerate rust on the gear surfaces. Not good.