Will It Fit

local trade paper has an ad that reads;
T18 heavy duty 4 speed transmission and transfer case, bell housing and drivelines out of J10 or J20.
no other info. just curious if the T18 might fit a CJ with maybe a 225 V6, or would length be a major issue?

 

Will likely need an input shaft change. Mines out of a mid 70's Wagoneer and was very long. Other than driveshaft lengths completely doable.

 

J truck and Wagoneer transmissions can be a huge sucker hole. After sourcing and swapping the shorter input shaft, it is usually cheaper to hold out for a 77 to 79 CJ version that is a direct bolt in with the right bell for most GM engines. They will fit behind a v6 however if you are willing to do lots of fabrication moving the engine assembly as close to the radiator and grill as possible. The longer input shaft and 5" spacer simply made them the same length as the 400 turbo so that they all used the same driveline lengths.

 

You can get a kit from Parts Mike to swap the input shaft. 1T18-SBR T18 short shaft kit Jeep installation So that's an additional $200. The Novak site describes how to adapt the Ford T-18 to the Buick bellhousing. The Jeep pattern is one bolt hole different from the Ford case, so you will need to modify the bell. Alternately, you can also source a 2WD Ford T-18 and use the main shaft and adapter from Jeep T-18 to make a Ford-style conversion. This requires some drilling, tapping and plugging to get the adpater to mate with the Ford case - no personal experience, but Nick says it can be done with modest effort.

I know that Daryl has collected a lot of these parts, but I am unsure that the '77-79 stick-out is right for the Buick bell. Certainly the Ford input has the right length for the GM or Ford bells.

Regarding the FSJs, I'm sure the driveshafts are not the motivation for the long input. From what I've seen, the main issue is location of the shifter in the cabin and firewall/heater box/brake booster interference with the V8. The FSJs were originally designed to use the 230 inline 6, and when V8s were offered, the back of the engine was a lot further forward, since the tower locations were mostly the same and the V8s are shorter. The long adapter and input moves the shifter back so it comes up in the original location in the cabin. Put a Ford NP435/T-18 or GM SM420/465 in a V8 Wagoneer, and the shfter comes up under the dash. According to the parts book, there are dozens of different drive shafts for these apps, 3 or 4 speed, manual or automatic, so if unifying the drive shafts were the issue, Jeep failed utterly.

 

I went down this road a few years ago and just found a T18 out of a CJ with the right bellhousing already on it. Went right in. I think total was $500 plus shipping. Remember, these are heavy duty truck transmissions so they should last almost forever in a light CJ application.

 

Borg Warner / Ford T-18 wide ratio 6:32 Low gear transmission is much easier to deal with input shaft length and attachment to various motors, notwithstanding parts are easy to find...........

 

thanks a bunch for your input guys!! would love to have a 4 speed, but I think I will pass on this one. sounds like there easier ways to do this

 

Despite Daryl's negativism, I would not pass if it's cheap.

Of course, I have no reservations about taking transmissions apart and merging the parts. Fun!

 

$450, I think

 

Too much. The Ford T-18 adapter kit is ca $500 - that's what I'd compare it with. You don't need the D20.

 

I would say if the price is right and you have shelf space pick it up. I used that combo along with a Ford T-18 to get a 4spd in my 5. The only thing I used off the Jeep T-18 was the shifter and the trans/T-case adapter. Also I only had to machine the Ford bearing retainer to match the Buick bell and throw out bearing.
I started with this

Ended with this