t18a swap questions

[CJ5-Man]

I'm about to start looking for a t18 after taking my jeep through a rock garden this weekend and realizing a 27:1 crawl ratio sucks.

My question is this. Is there a cheap way to convert a ford 2wd t18a to adapt to a dana20? can I use stock parts off a jeep or scout to do this, or is AA or Novak my only option?

[ozarkjeep]

no, not without either a Jeep T18 to donate parts or an expensive adapter.

find a Fullsized Jeep truck with a T18, hope its cheap then swap the input shaft for a Ford T18s input shaft.

you can buy complete Ford T18s for $50-$100 ( spare guts PLUS the input shaft you need)

I found a J10 with grannt T18mated to a Dana20 for $100, granted thats cheap, but even at 3 times that its cheaper than most Cj length T18s you see for sale, ans the adapter for a Ford T18 to Dana 20 is $400

basically its whatever you can find for cheap.

I looked for well over a year for mine

[Rock Taxi]

How long can you wait Flem? I will be selling the T18a and Dana 20 out of my Jeep later this fall. The T18a is a 79 CJ unit and the Dana 20 is from a 1978 CJ.

Ed

[loco4x4]

Read through Novak's site. Lot's of good info. The best thing is that his adapter only adds 1" between the tranny and T/C. The AA adapter adds lots of inches.
http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/t18_t19.htm

You'll need to do driveshaft length changes, probably mod your crossmember and you may have to cut and fab the tunnel cover sheet metal.

[oldjeep]

Originally posted by The Flem:
<STRONG>

My question is this. Is there a cheap way to convert a ford 2wd t18a to adapt to a dana20? can I use stock parts off a jeep or scout to do this, or is AA or Novak my only option?</STRONG>

Yes, if you are willing to do some work. I've got a Ford T18, with a scout T18 rear shaft and adaptor plate on it. A Ford T18 should be under $100, then find a close ratio Scout T18 - around $100 - $150. All you want from that is the output shaft and the adaptor. Now here's the part that is a pain. drill the Ford case to fit the scout adaptor. You can either tap the case, or use some small head studs from the inside (that's what I did). Not as easy as the AA or Novak route, but a lot cheaper.

[CSP]

Originally posted by Loco4x4:
<STRONG>The AA adapter adds lots of inches.
</STRONG>

The AA adapter for the Dana 20 is only 1", just like Novaks. I have two of them right now. It's the adapter for the Dana 300 that is longer.

[syko]

Originally posted by Loco4x4:
<STRONG>You'll need to do driveshaft length changes, probably mod your crossmember and you may have to cut and fab the tunnel cover sheet metal.</STRONG>

I'm doing this right now. I found a jeep T-18a. I gave $500 for mine.
You will not need to cut and fab a tunnel cover. Just move the crossmember back one hole(assuming it's a cj) and modify the transfercase shift linkage. It moves the transfercase back 3 3/4"(from a t150) Yes you will need to have the drive shaft modified.

Listen to Old jeep <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[oldjeep]

One other nice thing about using the scout adaptor is that since you have to drill all the holes on the back of the case, you can actually clock the adaptor somewhat. If you do that though you need to make sure that the shift lever bracket on the tcase doesn't interfere with the t18 case.

[CJ5-Man]

Originally posted by Rock Taxi:
<STRONG>How long can you wait Flem? I will be selling the T18a and Dana 20 out of my Jeep later this fall. The T18a is a 79 CJ unit and the Dana 20 is from a 1978 CJ.

Ed</STRONG>

Thanks Ed, and everyone else for the info.

I PM'd you about that tranny. I gotta get rid of this t150, its a fawking joke off road.

[CJ5-Man]

Originally posted by Syko:

You will not need to cut and fab a tunnel cover. Just move the crossmember back one hole(assuming it's a cj) and modify the transfercase shift linkage.

I'm probably going to ditch the stock crossmember, its now C shaped. I'm thinkin about building something crazy looking with lots of tubes

[syko]

Originally posted by The Flem:
<STRONG>I gotta get rid of this t150, its a fawking joke off road.</STRONG>

That's the same thing I said <IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[syko]

Originally posted by The Flem:
<STRONG>I'm thinkin about building something crazy looking with lots of tubes</STRONG>

Just take lots of pics
<IMG SRC="smilies/eyemouth.gif" border="0">

[jchio]

Here is an article about my 350 t18 d20 swap, HTH

T18 Swap

Im using Novak Adaptor and love the combo so far, wish the D20 had a lower ratio now, even with the EB-T18 gears its just 2.47:1 for an overall of 75:1 not too bad... My rear Dshaft is 24"

[Adam Ant]

You know You could have Drilled the Stock Sm 465 Bellhousing to fit The T18 Instead of that Plate In front of the Tran's Unless you got some weird setup?? This is what I did Drilled the Two lower Bolt Bosses on the Tran's and Tig welded a Little Material enough to To tap On the Bellhousing and Done Just Curious?????


Adam, <IMG SRC="smilies/jeep1.gif" border="0">

[Panther]

Originally posted by cmegoup:
<STRONG>The AA adapter for the Dana 20 is only 1", just like Novaks. I have two of them right now. It's the adapter for the Dana 300 that is longer.</STRONG>

Here's the AA to 300, and why not use the 300 instead of 20?

[CJ5-Man]

Well after thinking it over I'm going to try to find a cheap ford 2wd t18a in a junkyard and get the d300 adapter for it from novak. I picked up a d300 for 20 bucks, and I can still upgrade to an atlas in the future.

[jchio]

Originally posted by Adam Ant:
<STRONG>You know You could have Drilled the Stock Sm 465 Bellhousing to fit The T18 Instead of that Plate In front of the Tran's Unless you got some weird setup?? This is what I did Drilled the Two lower Bolt Bosses on the Tran's and Tig welded a Little Material enough to To tap On the Bellhousing and Done Just Curious?????
Adam, <IMG SRC="smilies/jeep1.gif" border="0"></STRONG>

[Not meaning to offend you, but] You know I could Swap an SM420 and instead of getting the T18-350 adaptor get the D20 or D300 adaptor? OH well hehehehe

Novak sell the kit for a really good price and we thought it was worth, rather than doing a test-failire on this swap.

Im considering going with an SM420 and D300 with Novak adaptors now that I see how the T18 works!
<IMG SRC="smilies/biggrin.gif" border="0">

[Rat Patrol]

I bought a t-18a w/ the novak adapter to d300 to replace the POS SR-4 in my 80 cj-7. The adapter was already installed, it cost me around 500.00. It bolted directly to my bell-housing. I used the stock skidplate for a while. I had to cut the front out a bit for the bottom on the tranny to drop thru, but the whole setup was slightly shorter than my previous set up, no drive shaft modification. I have now made a custom crossmember and bash proof skid plate. The tranny swap was probably one of the best mods I have made to the jeep. Other than the un-syncroed first gear the tranny is awesome. I would reccommend the swap to anyone.
good luck,
jeremy