T18 - Rebuild or Not?

I've got the 232 out of the jeep and ready to clean and paint the engine bay & frame, plus new wiring, power steering gearbox and brake lines before installing the 360. The T18 and transfer case were working good prior to pulling the I6 (shifted smoothly, no noises, no jumping out gear) but with the engine out would it be wise to rebuild them, or not? I'm installing a new clutch, pressure plate, throw-out bearing, front tranny seal while I'm there.
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Dave, same story here, my T-18 hasn’t given me any problems but while I have it out to install a new clutch I will rebuild both the tranny and t-case.

 

Thanks guys...that's what I thought the answer would be. I don't want to have any problems with the tranny or transfer case...especially with the beefed up 360 in front of them. Any upgrades worth doing while I'm in the tranny and transfer case? I'm tempted to remove the tub and do the entire thing right, even though I've almost finished all the welded body repairs and installed new body mounts. It would be nice to have the tub sand blasted and be able to get to the rest of the frame to paint it. I started this project with the idea of just making a few minor repairs and driving it....looks like it's going to be almost a complete rebuild! Thanks for the advice.

 

I'm from the camp that says why fix it if it isn't broke
the clutch, I agree with that; surface the flywheel as well
you give no reason to tear them down
at the least, maybe drain the oil, inspect for metal particles/flakes
then go from there
I would degrease/clean the units as best you can for any future leaks, etc

 

I'm with Jim on this ... the T-18 is so beefy for a light vehicle like a Jeep, I don't think you need to rebuild it routinely. Plus there is risk in taking things apart... even the best mechanics make mistakes.

You might want to change the blocking rings, and you could inspect it then. I might do blocking rings depending on how it shifts, seals, gaskets and paint - and put everything back exactly as I found it. I'd also inspect the D20, and replace the seals and gaskets. JMO.

If you want to spend money, you could upgrade the D20 (the T-18 is already pretty much bullet proof). There's a couple of articles on Pirate called "Uber 20" about mods to the 20. Mostly it includes adding Tera gears and upgrading the output housing with an AA part. That and different u-joints as I recall. The Tera gears would be a nice upgrade since you have the close-ratio T-18, esp. if you have 3.73 axles <never mind - read your sig - still worthwhile though>. I'd go with the Tera gears if it were mine.

 

Yep, if it ain't broke why try to fix it and possibly screw something up.

 

Yup, thanks to an old post by Lynn I found a good price for a Tera-Low kit $572 delivered to my door step, reason for the D-20 rebuild.

 

Another vote for if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 

At the very least go through the 20 transfer case. They also wear out the intermediate shaft and thrust washers just like an 18 transfer case, just not as fast. A very good time to reseal the transmission at the least. Personally I'd go through them so you don't have to do it later. Jeep's down now, why have to tear it down later when you could be driving it?
On the T-18, as said, they are pretty bullet proof but if you tear it down look for wear on the cluster gear shaft. Common wear point. Nickmil