t-18 swap into a cj

[mike4089]

Im just about ready to get rid of the t4 in my cj and put in a t-18 with a dana 20...i was gonna get a jeep t-18 and i know that i need to get a short input shaft...anyone know a good place to get this kit???...other then that what else needs to be done to make this swap??...driveshafts??.. all help would be greatly appreciated

[dwg86]

I got mine from partsmike.com. Great guy, fast shipping and alot of help. Make sure you have the right front bearing for the new shaft. It should be a narrow bearing. When I rebuilt my t18, the kit had the same front and back bearing. With a wide front bearing on a narrow bearing input shaft, the trans will jump out of 4th gear (I know that from experience). Partsmike helped me out with that info and the right bearing. Also best price I could find for a short shaft.

[Mcktiger74cj5]

i just did a 360,t-18 dana 20 swap. what i did was send out the shaft to moser axle in indiana and had them cut it down for me 83.00$ tax and shipping. i have 2 centerforce cluthes 10 spline 1 1/8. mikes are 1 1/16 i didnt want to change disc.

[tufcj]

I believe the T-18/Model20 is shorter than the T4/Dana300, so driveshafts will have to be changed. Depending on the bellhousing, it may not be drilled for the T-18 pattern. Some have the bosses, and can be drilled, some can't. The 76-79 bellhousing has a rectangular hole for the throwout, and is drilled. The 80-up bellhousing has a bigger, perfectly square hole for the throwout. Some early 80s bellhousings could be drilled for t-18s, late 80s no longer had the bosses cast inside. The factory T-18 used a stud, pressed in from the inside on the lower driver side hole (now made from un-obtainium), the throwout arm also had a notch to clear the head of the stud.

There will also be a clearance problem with the skid plate. The T-18 hangs much lower than the T4. I had to modify my 80-up skidplate, and add about a 1" spacer under the tranny mount to get the engine/trans level.

The sticks for the T-18/Model 20 go thru the floor differently, so you need a 76-79 cover plate and boots, or make your own.

Also there's the input diameter mentioned above. I'm not sure what your T4 uses, but you may need to swap clutch discs.

That's about all the "gotcha's" I can think of right now.

Bob
tufcj

[Dusty]

if you have a t-4 d300 get the dana 300 tail housing for the t-18 then you might come out a little closer in length plus you have a better low range. i know its 400-500 butck from novak but saves you buying a d20 and your keeping imho a better case

[Saddle Tramp]

I have a web site to offer up that was a big help to me but I can't post it untill I have more posts. I will try again.

[Saddle Tramp]

Try this site. It will give you about all the info you will need:

http://www.jeeptech.com/convtrans/cjt18/