tranny swap problems/questions

All,

I have recently put only the t18 I have in the Jeep. The tcase is sitting on the floor. The frame is supposed to have an extra set of holes for the crossmember to bolt up to to accomodate a t18. In my case however, the tranny sits about 1" too long. In my case there is a 1" spacer between the bell (a t15 bell) and the tranny. Tim, if you can recall, did the '74 you just restored have this? Furthermore, the tcase has a ushifter. Originally this lead me to believe that the tranny and tcase are from a fullsize Jeep, but my parts manual shows that the bell/tranny spacer was also used in the 74 cj-5. On other places on the web this combo is claimed to be a fsj setup: t15bell, 1" spacer, t18, 1" spacer, d20 with a ushifter. So here is my problem, do I just live with the setup I have which leads to a 15" dshaft, pursue the issue with the wrecker that I bought the setup from (he assured me that the parts were original from a cj, and at the time I was too niave to know better), or get all the parts to make the set up the shortest possible, that is, get a short input shaft, t176 bell.

I would really appreciate any, and I mean any, say learnings from sm420 and the like installs and so on, insights that any of you have.

Thanks

Karl

 

Karl,
According to this picture, there doesn't appear to be a spacer between the tranny and t-case... http://image34.webshots.com/34/2/85/61/255828561IfGdKD_fs.jpg

I don't have a picture of the tranny-to-bellhousing on the Webshots page. I'll look on my computer tonight to see if I have anything on there. But - if my memory serves me correct, I don't think there was a spacer between the tranny and BH...

As for starting over and looking for the shorter combination (without spacers) - I think it really depends on how much lift you plan to run. If you're not lifted very much, you could probably make it work. Remember, you have the 304, which will be a shorter drivetrain than the 258/T18/D20 in the '74 I worked on, leaving you with a longer rear DS...

 

Tim, I cant see the pics because I am at work (I really should start working I suppose) and our IT gang blocks almost everything so I will look at them when I get home. EDIT: silly IT guys, I just saved the target to desktop and it worked. There is an adapter there and it looks just like mine. I will post some pics asap.

Ya know, I thought the same thing as you (shorter drivelength due to the 304. Do you recall how long the cv shaft that you put in was? How much of it was acually shaft and not cv joint and ujoint yoke? No need for precise measures, just an idea would be nice.

Karl

 

From u-joint cap to u-joint cap, it was 14.75".

Really? There's an adapter there? I didn't even notice...