4spd Ramblings

Started taking measurements for the crossmember tonight. An amazing thing happened: the factory holes lined up. The adapter plate on the back of my T-18 is stamped "T98," and even though it is a late '70s J-truck trans and tranny mount and a T-14 crossmember, it all works. I think it is just a vestige of the old factory 4spd CJs.

I'm planning on putting this all into a more concise write-up someday, but for the time being in case you're considering a similar swap, all you need to do is bolt the crossmember to the stock tranny mount first. If you're motor mounts are stock, then your crossmember should be automatically aligned right on the last set of factory holes along the frame rails. Then use a set of factory-style shims to bring the crossmember down about 1/2". Bolt it all in and you're done. No modification to the crossmember or drilling of additional holes is necessary. Can't verify this will work with Novak/AA conversions, but you may be able to use a stock tranny mount and give it a try.

Here is a shot of when I was aligning the crossmember. Remember that the factory motor mounts are offset slightly to the driver's side, and so are your crossmember holes; if they don't line up right at first, flip it around the other way! You'll need new 3/8"-14 x 1-1/2" in bolts with a flat washer on bottom of the crossmember and a lock washer on top of frame rail.

 

This looks awesome! Well done clint!

 

That's Purty.

I found the same thing. a '78 FSJ T-18a with the dana 20 adapter plate on it. Did a short shaft conversion on it, had a t-150 bell modified and bolted it up. I beleive when I measured it added 2 inches to my drive train length. I had to modify the front and rear shafts to get them to fit. But it has worked great.

 

Here is a pic of one of the factory shims used inbetween the top of the crossmember and bottom of the frame rails. They are 1/4" thick. I used 2 on each side along with body mounts that are about 1/4" thicker than stock. I haven't set the tub on yet, but by my measurements, it looks like it is going to clear just fine.

 

Mine has three per side? any reason you are using just two?

 

Because I lost two in the tear down. I think they got mixed up in the 'Sorb-all and taken out to the trash. Anyway, I gained it back in the body mounts, so no biggie to me.

 

Awaiting D18 rebuild:

 

Doing my part to recycle - I'm trying to swap over to a hydraulic clutch and I needed a bracket for my hydraulic slave cylinder. I found this laying on the side of the road:


Pretty stout stuff; a little better than 1/4" in thickness. A bit of cutting, welding, grinding and I've got myself a bracket (I know the bleeder needs to get swapped; still playing with position of the slave):

 

Here are some clearance pics. About a 1/2" minimum, maybe a hair more once I get everything in final position. Using poly body mounts.

From pass side looking above D18 (vent cap in foreground) back toward trans tunnel:


From underneath looking forward up above D18:

 

absolutely sweet!

looking at the options of what to do with my 69 is now like looking into a candy store window after a fast! what do i grab for first.....

nice work on all of it clint!

 

Not exclusive to 4spd installation, but related:

Been working on the hydraulic clutch a bit. Using a stock Cherokee XJ master clyinder and pedal assembly. Here is the clutch MC installed on the firewall in place of the old heater:


Here is the modification to the old Cherokee pedal. Stock pedal on left, modified on right. Note the rubber pad; I used an old through-the-floor pedal as a weld-on to give it a factory look:

 

MCScott is right, once the project starts, the budget goes out the window. My son bought an $800 CJ5 without a tranny, found a free tranny, but spent almost as much as the jeep just in adapting it.

JEEP: "Just Empty Every Pocket" !

 

True, but if you read through all the threads, I think I'm sitting at ~$350 for this 4spd, which is still over budget, but less than some people pay for cores, so I'm pretty happy with it.

 

Awesome thread.

On two seperate occasions I've spent between $800-$1000 for a rebuilt granny 4 speed with adapters assembled ready to bolt in shipped to my doorstep.

Git'n it done for less than half is awesome!

In my case I saved money in other parts of the build-up and going the "new" route saved me a bunch of time (and I would say headaches but don't those come up in every build regardless?) and got me on the trail, which is the point, right?

8 years later I am pulling the T18 for a NV3550. Gonna offset my 3.31 to 4.56 gear swap and lose the clunky shifting. The T18 will be carefully stored away JUST IN CASE.

 

Re-installed the stock skid pan. The T-18 hangs a little lower than the T-14, so it took a little trimming. Does not affect the overall breakover of the vehicle.

Before:


After:

 

Started working on a tranny cover today. Been driving around without one for a while.

Stock T-14 cover sits 2-1/2" too far forward. Even thought the T-18 is longer in length than the T-14, the latter uses a spacer in between the bell housing and tranny, so the shift cane sits back further than this one does:


Cut a hole in the top. The T-18 is much wider, so I had to pound a little relief into the driver's side toward the front of the trans. You can see a little bow to the shape:


Really wanted to use a stock T-90 style boot, but it just wasn't going to happen. The T-18 is a big rower; my test T-90 boot tore open the first time I shifted. Was at the bone yard and found a Ford T-18 boot and plastic hold down laying in the floor of an F-250. It's held on by metal friction clips:


Doesn't look vintage, but at least I'm one step closer toward getting my floor pans sealed up. My goal is to clean up the interior and get it painted sometime this summer. Need to do similar treatment to the Warn shift cane next: