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Dana 18 Tapered Roller Bearing Upgrade.

Discussion in 'Early CJ5 and CJ6 Tech' started by LayemStr8, Nov 3, 2017.

  1. Nov 3, 2017
    LayemStr8

    LayemStr8 New Member

    Yakima, WA.
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    Hey ya'll, long time not here but back in the saddle again. I just had my D18 Xfer case rebuilt by a very highly recommended individual and decided to do the tapered bearing this time. It came with Timken bearings which I've been highly suspect of for some time now. Low and behold, that S.O.B. is noisier than when I took it to him!! What the hell does one have to do to get quality parts anymore? :-(
     
  2. Nov 3, 2017
    colojeepguy

    colojeepguy Colorado Springs

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    Yeah mine isn't really any quieter with the roller bearings either.
     
  3. Nov 3, 2017
    Daryl

    Daryl Sponsor

    Bonney Lake, WA
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    But it should last much better than regular beerings.
     
  4. Nov 4, 2017
    Norcal69

    Norcal69 Out of the box thinker 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    Northern California
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    Mine is a little quieter. Runs a bit cooler. But all the chatter is gone.
     
  5. Nov 8, 2017
    Posimoto

    Posimoto Hopeless JEEP Addict

    Minden, Nevada
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    IMHO the biggest benefit is the longevity of the bearings, not the noise reduction. Mine is quieter, but maybe not much. Given the low quality of the available intermediate pins the tapered bearing conversion is a great idea. I was getting only a couple of seasons out of the roller style intermediate pins. Even the ones from Novak didn't seem to hold up that well.
     
  6. Nov 8, 2017
    1957Willys

    1957Willys Member

    Birmingham, Alabama
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    Last edited by a moderator: Nov 10, 2017
  7. Nov 8, 2017
    Posimoto

    Posimoto Hopeless JEEP Addict

    Minden, Nevada
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    I had mcruff (member here) cut my gearset for the conversion. If he is still willing to do it, he does excellent work.From an engineering standpoint, the original configuration for the roller/shaft is terrible. The design makes it easy to replace the intermediate shaft and simultaneously creates the situation where you have to replace it more often than you would like. I think that the majority of D18 t-case failures are related to galling of the intermediate shaft than any other thing excluding running the unit low on oil. The intermediate gearset is extremely hard and requires an experienced machinist with the proper equipment to do the work.
     
  8. Nov 8, 2017
    TIm E

    TIm E Aggressively average

    NW Arkansas
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    Novak also offers a specially hardened intermediate shafts in 1 1/4" and 1 1/8", from their website: "Our exclusive intermediate shafts are made here from case-hardened triple-alloy and are the strongest available."

    Parts for the Dana Model 18 Transfer Case
     
  9. Nov 8, 2017
    1957Willys

    1957Willys Member

    Birmingham, Alabama
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  10. Nov 8, 2017
    PA CJ

    PA CJ Member

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    Alot of the noise in a D18 comes from the spur gear design. the tapered roller bearings help with some of the noise, but it is not going to eliminate it completely. The tapered bearing design is a much more robust system the more evenly distributes the load applied to them compared to the standard roller bearings. Im waiting to get by gear back from the machine shop, and I'll be assembling mine.
     
  11. Nov 9, 2017
    colojeepguy

    colojeepguy Colorado Springs

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    I had Mcruff do mine too....I looked all over Colorado Springs and couldn't find a machine shop to do this, not even places that do prototype or aerospace work.
     
  12. Nov 11, 2017
    Posimoto

    Posimoto Hopeless JEEP Addict

    Minden, Nevada
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    I tried the Novak shaft and it didn't hold up any better than the others I used. I got two seasons out of it and it started to loose the hardened surface. By the original design they are destined to fail. Just a matter of time.
     
  13. Nov 11, 2017
    duffer

    duffer Rodent Power

    Bozeman, MT
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    Yep, only one real solution and that's the tapered roller bearings. And they do work very well and last. I'm sure they also cut the heat generated in the D18.
     
  14. Aug 6, 2019
    1957Willys

    1957Willys Member

    Birmingham, Alabama
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    That's what happened to me the transfer case is louder than when it had needle bearings.
     
  15. Aug 6, 2019
    Tom_Hartz

    Tom_Hartz Member 2024 Sponsor 2023 Sponsor 2022 Sponsor

    North Carolina
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    Wow, that's not good.
     
  16. Aug 6, 2019
    Keys5a

    Keys5a Sponsor

    Florida Keys
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    Some of the noise comes from the fact that the used gear wore a bit more on one edge of the teeth due to the previously worn bearings/shaft allowed the gear to "cock" slightly under load. A fresh intermediate gear with no wear is a bit quieter, and I suspect a worn gear will "bed" in and get less noisy with a couple thousand miles.
    -Donny
     
  17. Aug 6, 2019
    1957Willys

    1957Willys Member

    Birmingham, Alabama
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    Well here is the kicker I used a NOS surplus gear.
     
  18. Aug 7, 2019
    Keys5a

    Keys5a Sponsor

    Florida Keys
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    Maybe the gears that the intermediate is meshing with have wear. I think your excess noise will quiet down with some miles as the gears bed into each other. Also, have you rechecked the taper bearing pre-load since you have run it some? I found that mine needed to be snugged up a bit more after about 500 miles.
    -Donny
     
  19. Aug 7, 2019
    1957Willys

    1957Willys Member

    Birmingham, Alabama
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    I'm going to check it this weekend.
     
  20. Aug 7, 2019
    colojeepguy

    colojeepguy Colorado Springs

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    Mine is quieter now than when I first did it...I snugged up the adjustment after a few miles too (NOT easy once it's in the Jeep! )
     
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