My lengthy Borg warner T18 rebuild thread

if mom's not home . use the oven . we install bearing at work . that way . looking good

 

Sooo........like 300* for an hour or what? EDIT: Finding that 200* seems to be the recommended temp.

Ludel's rebuild section shows him just driving the bearing on with no mention of any blocking ring protector. Now that I understand what good blocking looks like, I understand why you might not want to do that. Damaging/flattening of the machined rings or ridges on the blocking ring could result.

Got my seal from R&P today. So, I got that going for me. Bought a new shift knob as well but, it seems smaller than I think it should be. The knobs in all my old Ford trucks felt heftier. It's shiny though.

 

300* for 15-20 minutes should do it .that bearing isn't that big and grab it with welding gloves pop it on shaft without stopping

 

cheap toaster oven if you don't want to get yelled at.

 

Yea. A little concerned about running from the kitchen, out the front door to the garage and into the garage and retaining the heat long enough to get the bearing on. I've read that a crock pot with oil in it works pretty well also.

 

Do you have an Electric "Hot Plate"........like for heating a Coffee Pot?.............does a good job, next to the job!

 

Yea, but no way to monitor the temp. I will definitely do this in the garage, next to the transmission.

 

Heat the oil first and watch for the 1st traces of smoke. That will be about 350° - 375°. Remove from heat, add your bearing for about a minute or so, (with a short length of wire wrapped around the bearing to fish it back out), remove from the oil, remove the wire bale you used while wearing the welding gloves, and quickly slide it on. Have a hammer and flat nosed drift handy to tap it on the last fraction of an inch if needed, do it quickly. If the garage is cold the shaft will also be cold. I have in the past resorted to putting the shaft in the freezer for a while first as well as hot oil bath for the bearing. This also works for axle bearings sometimes.

Don

 

Heat Temp Gun.............you would be surprised what just a few hundred degrees does to it, your only looking for a few tenths.

 

So, before I put this rear bearing on, let me ask again: The bearing goes right up against the splined area of the main shaft? No washer or snap ring goes in that groove? I don't any such in any of my disassembly pics, though they aren't that great, and I don't seem to see any on the exploded diagram. Just seems odd that there there would be a groove machined in there and for no reason. Just want to be sure I'm not missing something.

 

So, I asked the gang at work if anyone had an old toaster oven in the attic that they weren't going to use and, that I was in need of such an appliance to heat up a bearing for installation. All I got was a bunch of blank stares. I guess they are such a thing of the past that folks don't even recognize them and most couldn't comprehend the theory of heating something to enlarge it. Later in the week, I asked my bestest coworker, if he could stop by the Salvation Army store and see if they had one. I'd seen them there before and, he was heading for that end of town that evening so,.........

The next day I come into work and see this sitting at my locker.







He's a funny cat and, honestly, keeps me sane for my daily 8 hour stint in "opposite land."

Today, with the garage thermometer nearing 20* and unlikely to surpass that mark, I put my new tool on the work bench, set it a 250* for 20 minutes, and went back in the house. 20 minutes later or so, I went back out, grabbed a welding glove and when the dinger went ding, I grabbed the bearing and slid it onto the shaft easy peasy lemon squeezy.

Pretty chilly out there so, I grabbed the shift tower and brought it inside with me. I'm gonna monkey with that in the basement where it's warm, after I button up the front end of this thing. I'm a bit nervous about the shift tower and all it's moving parts.

BTW: Memory served me and a knowledgable member confirmed that the bearing goes right up against the splines with no snap ring or spacer or anything in between.

 

Looking over things today. The Ford trans did not have the oil baffle for the front bearing. The IH did. Should I put it in or not?

Also, Nick, if you're still watching: you mentioned to me in another thread or something, a particular part I should b sure to replace in the shift tower. The rebuild kit I bought only provides the plastic shift fork caps. No little springs. No plugs for the shift rail tunnels. None of that stuff. I'm a bit bummed and a bit peeved about this. What else should I order for the tower?

 

Check the thickness of the front bearing. Ford T-18/19's used two different thicknesses of front bearing. The thicker one is the same thickness as the output shaft bearing and does not use the "slinger" or oil baffle. The ones that used the thinner bearing does use it.
It's the reverse spring that should be replaced as most are collapsed or broken. Last I checked they were still available from Ford but that may have changed. R&P did stock those.
Don't be peeved, I've never seen a rebuild kit come with shifter top parts except the nylon inserts for the later model top with the aluminum forks. I've always had to get them separately.

 

Received my small parts kit for the shift cover assembly today. I'll tackle this in the basement while waiting for warmer weather so I can finish up the trans. Anything I need to be aware of or look out for with this? Is shifter position important before disassembly? Pretty sure it's still in the neutral position but, it has been somewhat carefully moved a couple times through this whole deal.

 

Installed the rear bearing retainer/adapter plate today after driving in the new seal. Applied Permatex sealer for Gear Oil applications as I have no gasket to go between the case and retainer and used blue thread locker/sealer on all the bolts. Torqued to specified 25 lb/ft after letting the Permatex set for about 2 hours. I actually removed each bolt, one at a time, after the 2 hour mark and applied the blue lock tite, then torqued them down. Hopefully there will no leaks here.

Now on to the front bearing. Did some measuring and everything should end up nice and "tight" so I have no issues with endplay to mess up the OD I hope to install.

Question I have here is about installing the input bearing. If I heat it in the toaster oven, I'm afraid it will expand enough to keep from going into the case. I would like to drive it onto the shaft/into the case but, as mentioned before, I don't have the tool for protecting the sync. rings while hammering the bearing on. Suggestions please. Am i worrying too much about the sync. rings and hurting something?

Once the input bearing is on, along with it's retainer, I'm going to rebuild the shift tower with the kit I got from Novak. Then I'm ready to paint 'er up and start the installation process. Thinking about putting the transfer case and trans together and installing it as a unit but, man that'll be heavy to jiggle around. I'll be installing a new clutch in the process, maybe the flywheel depending on exactly what I have in there now (it's a long story), and revamping the clutch pedal/master cylinder and other firewall stuff. I messed up that clutch pedal geometry the first time. Hopefully, with tarry99's help, I'll get it right this time.

The three original holes for the old bearing retainer/out put shaft housing are plugged. Red Lock time to seal and help hold them in place. I boogered the threads for these holes at the inside of the case so there is no possible way the plugs could ever find their way inside.




The Permatex Gear Oil gasket maker.




Adapter all mounted up.



This spacer goes between the output bearing and the out put/bull gear that drives the transfer case. Note the groove worn in. The spacer appears identical on each end. Can I just flip it end for end so that the best surface is in contact with the seal in the adapter? Also, is there a washer between the adapter and the output bearing or does this just fit right up against the bearing? I don't remember. If there is a washer, it should have probably went on the shaft before the adapter plate.

 

Well, this thread has certainly died and, understandably so considering how long my rebuild is taking. However, I will continue to show my progress through to the end in an effort to help others who may do the job. Hopefully the end is just a couple more posts away.

Anywho, I posed my question about the input bearing to the guys at Novak and was told that carefully tapping the bearing on/in should be fine. No special tools required. Heating the inner race can help. And finally, sometimes one of the synchro rings will get slightly stuck on it's cone and can be carefully pried of, working around it's edges. So, maybe tomorrow, after work, I'll see what happens. I'll post my results when I'm done, then get to the shift tower, and that'll be all she wrote.

 

The guys at Novak are great to work with. I emailed Eric for some advice and he was very helpful.

 

OK, I hope one of the gear guys is still watching. I need your experienced advice.

I installed the front input bearing today, using a haller and brass drift, to tap it in. I had the snap ring on the bearing and, when it was up against the case, I still did not have room for the snap ring that goes on the output shaft that retains the bearing and the bearing was not yet seated up against the output gear. I removed the snap ring on the bearing which allowed me to tap the bearing the rest of the way home, up against the gear. Had to work at this a bit, tapping the bearing farther onto the shaft then, tapping on the back of the bearing to push the bearing and shaft back out of the case to allow room to install the snap ring that goes on the bearing itself. Back and forth, back and forth until the bearing was up against the gear and I had room for the snap ring. Got it. Everything spins freely in the transmission as it should and it is in neutral.

Question is this: The snap ring that goes on the output shaft to retain the bearing: with feeler gauges I measured .127 - .128 as the thickness needed for the snap ring. Thickest, of the 3 I have, measures .122 - .123. So, will this be good enough or should I look for a thicker snap ring somewhere? I will be installing an OD and I don't know if this will create an issue, somehow, with like endplay at the output end of the shaft, messing up the operation of the OD. Or any other issue, for that matter. Seems like a slight issue only like .005 but, I don't know.

Pics of todays events:

warming the inner race on a light bulb. Not sure if this was necessary or even helpful but, I did it.



Bearing installed:




Bearing shown seated against input gear:




The snap ring for retaining the bearing on the input shaft:

 

Dave all good . take your time . have watched your build . .005 I am no trans guy but that's hardly nothing . use it and keep going . one thing I did pick up over the years when dealing with snap rings . sharp edge side always out