My lengthy Borg warner T18 rebuild thread

The key is having some real sticky grease to hold the bearings in place..........I like the synthetic stuff........stick it in the freezer overnight and the bearings stick like glue.......for a shaft I use a piece of UHMW round plastic rod........

 

Well, you know what they say,........when the slow get going, the going,...........wait,...the slow get going when.....ahh, never mind.

Anyhow, installed the countershaft gear this evening. Found that a piece of 1" CPVC pipe made for a perfect pilot shaft and a CPVC bushing worked well as a roller assembly tool. The 1" CPVC has an OD of around 1 1/8" or so and worked perfectly. Tarry mentioned using a piece of plastic pipe so, I went with his lead. It was easy going. I put on some mellow tunes, turned on a 500w light, overhead, to provide some warmth, and took my time. No hassles.

The weight of the countershaft pushed the pilot shaft right out. be careful to control this event and not let the pilot shaft come out too fast. When the counter shaft begins to tighten up in it's bore, at the front of the case, the pilot will want to continue it's exodus and end up on the floor. After the pilot is removed, a few good swats with a dead blow drives the counter shaft the rest of the way home.



The bushing.



The bushing protrudes into the case far enough to hold the thrust washer in line. It's a tad too long actually but, it worked well enough.



The bushing's shoulder helps keep it in position and not enter too far into the case.



Get all the parts ready and handy.



The pilot shaft in place holding all the roller bearings and spacers in place. The cold temperatures helped the petroleum jelly stay stiff and tacky. I used it liberally.


Front thrust washer in place with bushing and petroleum jelly.



Looking down the bore, from the back of the case, before turning assembly on end and installing countershaft.



Assembly turned on end, front facing down, waiting to receive countershaft.



A few swats with the dead blow sent the shaft the rest of the way home.



And, there you have it. Shaft spins nicely.



Next will be the reverse idler stuff. Oh, and uhh, that nasty bell housing weld.................it's being fixed. Should have it back on Saturday.

 

I read this and had to say"good for you" you figured out the "Dummy shaft" issue to keep the bearings in place.

 

Yea. I was looking at all the plastic pipe at the hardware store, plastic conduit, wooden dowels, etc. The CVPC looked close. I thought it may have been to big but, it really was perfect. The bushing came to me as I was looking at the pipe selection.

I did not use any sealant on the ends of the countershaft. I figured the front end would have a film of petroleum on it and the sealant wouldn't stick anyway. I am now rethinking that decision. When I do the reverse idler shaft, I may gently tap the countershaft back, maybe a 1/4" or so, clean the bore in the case and, then smear a bit of sealant around it, the opposite end of the shaft, and the reverse idler shaft, before installing the lock plate. I also need to plug the extra hole in the case.

Hoping to go over the reverse gear today and, then get it in and sealed up, etc., as mentioned above. Won't be long I'll be getting into the shift tower. Little nervous about that but, I shall prevail.

Might go get some plastic, or a tarp, and section off my little work space in the garage in order help hold a little heat. Supposed to get chilly.

 

Good Job Dave...........you'll have that back together in no time!

 

Haha! Thanks man.

It's only been like over a year now. I could make 10 excuses but, it would serve no purpose. Wonder how long it will take to actually install it after it's all together. At that point, I am going to use the opportunity to fix the clutch issues we discussed (I'll be bending your ear then) and do the 11" brakes, since I removed the transfer case mounted brake.

 

So, I just went out to warm the garage and started looking at the trans. First, I now have about .014 end play movement at the countershaft vs. around .022 before. This is without the lock plate installed so, it's not final. Sound good?

Next, while looking at the lock plate, I noticed that the one from the Scout transmission (which had the Dana 18 adapter plate on it) is positioned in between the two shafts. The lock plate from the Ford transmission was positioned sort of, across the bottom of both shafts. In other words, the grooves in the Scout shafts faced each other where as the grooves in the Ford shafts both faced downward. I suppose I should use the Scout lock plate so that there will be no interference with the adapter plate.


Here you can see the lock plate position on the Scout unit, before taking it apart.



Here, you can sort of see where the Ford lock plate once resided, across the bottom of both shafts. Also note, there is no retaining bolt on the Scout.

 

Played with the reverse idler assembly today. My rebuild kit did not supply any parts for this sub-assembly. I took it apart to inspect it and learn what it looked like. It all seemed fine so, I put it back together and installed it. I left it's shaft part way out and, tapped the counter shaft out a bid so I can add some sealant to them before tapping them home and securing them with their lock plate.

A few pics of the reverse idler for the curious.

 

You only really need sealer on the countershaft bore at the front of the case. I put a little in the bore then drive the shaft in the last little bit. Even with the lube coming through it helps. Not needed on the back side as the adapter gasket encloses the heads of the cluster and reverse idler shafts.

 

Quick update: Bell housing not done. He didn't get to it this week. Next saturday he says. Hardware store was out of set screws to plug the extra hole in the transmission case. I have to go into "town" tonight so, I'll check the big store.

Question: Jumping ahead just a bit, the special tool for protection the blocking rings/synchros while driving the bearings on.......what to do here? I believe I understand the purpose of the tool is to protect the soft parts by directing, for lack of another term, the impacts to another area of the mainshaft. Maybe at a gear or something? Can or should make a plate or something, that I can bolt down into the shift tower holes, that would serve the purpose?

Not sure I can get the garage warm enough for sealing up the countershaft or allowing sealant and lock-tite (on the plug/set screw) to cure properly. But that's another story........starting to consider moving south.

 

So, in a hurried state today, I got the shafts sealed and driven in, lock plate installed, and lower left hole plugged and sealed with red lock-tite. Have a work light set right next to the case to help keep it a little warm as RTV and lock-tite set.






...........so, the lock plate seemed to be interfering with the adapter plate. If I drove the lock plate further down, it blocked the bottom hole in the back of the case. So, I drove it back up enough to get a bolt into the hole. Adapter won't sit right. Hmmmmmmm.





Ok. I'll grind away part of the lock plate or some of the adapter, in order to make the adapter sit properly on the back of the case.

Then I got to thinking about it. The IH T18 case did not have this lower hole, drilled and tapped into it. So, I'm thinking it's a non issue. I think, as well, that it is a blind hole (have to look again) so, I may not even have to plug it. What was throwing me off is that, that hole seems to line up with the bottom hole in the adapter plate, into which the transfer case will bolt up. It just threw me.

So. I'll drive the lock plate down out of the way enough to allow the adapter to seat properly and, with a thumbs up go ahead from the pros, I'll move to installing the main shaft (already assembled if you recall) and the input shaft. Cold temps should not hamper this work.

 

Sheetcha. Looks like you are "cooking with gas"

Sorry no input on the issue at hand though..... Plenty of much more knowledge on here than what I have to offer!

 

Been real cold so, have not made any progress. I did, however, call NAPA looking for the seal that goes in the adapter plate. Number on seal is NOK T18C-110. NAPA listed no such number and could not cross it. NOK may be an factory supplier. A quick search using Google revealed crossing numbers listed below. I'll stop by NAPA tomorrow and see what they can do.

National 710021

CR 21221 and 532403

SKF OS21221 and 21210

 

Funny how you don't work in a parts store and can source up part numbers. Too cold right now to do anything but stoke the fire.

 

NAPA isn't as good as it used to be, The internet is the way to go.
I have 3 good shops here that I can bring a bearing, seal or O ring into. Calipers out. Yep, we have that.
I may live in a podunk little town but there are shops that service the farming and oil people around here.
I've been able to find about everything I needed.

 

R&P stocks that seal. Just saying...

 

10-4 Nick. NAPA finally crossed a number for me. Application for a Mack truck?????? 34 American dollars.

I called R&P when I got home. Around 6 bucks. And the bonus: A new, blank shifter knob for the T18 for around 10. Hopefully the knob is what I want.

Hope to have the bell back tomorrow.

 

Got the bell back. Looks better than before though, still not as pretty as many I have seen. Excellent penetration though, so I have no worries of it failing.

Wish it would warm up. Been pretty cold here and stays cold in the garage. I want to get back to this.

 

Dave, it's a bit of a drive but you could bring that up to my shop and get it all finished up ...in HEATED garage! Looking good, I love the T-18 way easier to work on then the sm465.

 

Put the roller bearings and washer in the input shaft, placed it in the case. Put the mainshaft assembly in the case. Carefully mated the input to the front of the mainshaft.




This is as far as the rear bearing goes by hand. How do I get it on the rest of the way without damaging the blocking rings, since I don't have that special tool the book says I need? Will the old oven trick work since it's like <40* in the garage?

Also, does something go in the machined groove in front of the bearing? Looking through my pics......???? Seems I recall a snap ring/spacer goes in there for the bearing to ride against.