Over drives for dana 18

I am under the impression that there are 3 overdrives for the dana 18. Warn (saturn), husky, and dual-matic. How do you tell the differences? Which were the most common? I found one from a 1946 mated to a dana 18, but I don't know enough to tell them apart. There are electrical connections, and what seemed to be a cable pull acuator. The owner knows less than I do, so we are kinda lost at this point.
Thanks in advance,
Randy

 

I'm in the same boat searching right now. Check out hermtheoverdriveguy.com to see what units he has & what to look for. Also check out http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/transfer_case_gears_grid.htm to verify what is in your Jeep. I don't know about the Husky or dual-matic. But the Warn (Saturn) is the recommended choice of this forum. Make sure you match up the tooth and spline count to your combination. Good luck

 

is this a cj you are looking at? is it 4 wheel drive? there were overdrives available for 2 wheel drive jeeps made by borg warner (i believe), but these are not to be used on 4 wheel drive jeeps. sounds like you may be talking about a 2 wheel drive overdrive unit. got any pictures?

 

thought all the early Jeepsters were just 2wd ?
either way, the unit was adaptable and used in 4wd applications
just couldn't use it in 4wd
that's how Rancho got their start

 

ok, i thought jeepsters of that era were both 2 and 4 wheel. i guess not. either way, sounds like a 2 wheeldrive jeepsters hes lookin at.

i've heard the borg warner units were adaptable to 4 wheel drive units but i wouldn't want to accidentally shift in 4wd with the OD engaged!!!! doesn't sound like a good idea to me. so randy, if it is indeed a borg warner unit on a 4wd jeep, be sure it all still works and was never mistakenly shifted into 4wd while the od was engaged. if you want an od for a 4wd, its probably best to stay away from the borg warner unit all together. if its for a 2wd jeep, the borg warner is what you want.

 

opps, just reread it. i missed the part about the dana 18. i was going on the electrical connection and cables. i'd love to see pics to see what sounds like a borg warner unit adapted to a dana 18. i'd be very wary of running that setup, but would be interested in pics.

 

Sounds like a Borg-Warner unit that's been adapted, probably by Rancho as said above. IIRC these units had a governor that only allowed engagement above certain speeds. You could engage them, but wouldn't engage until a certain speed is reached. Decent unit in a long wheelbase, say a wagon, pickup, or CJ-6. Because they replaced the rear output on the transfer case they made for an extremely short rear driveshaft in Flatties and CJ's, but some have found there way there also. Herm has more info and is having some of the parts made, I think the switch and maybe the governor, you'd have to check with him to verify. He's always looking for parts for these also. Nickmil

 

The Borg Warner R-10 overdrive is easily distinguishable from Husky, Dualmatic, Warn, and Saturn, which are all pretty much the same thing from what I know.
The R-10 attaches in place of the rear output so the drive shaft will actually be connected to it.
The Husky, Dualmatic, Warn and Saturn OD’s attach at the PTO port at the rear so they don’t actually take up any drive line length.

Here are pictures of the Borg Warner R-10 overdrive I removed, and later sold on EBay, from my transfer case.
The second picture you can’t see very well, but that’s the OD attached to the back of the transfer case in place of the rear output.

 

Yup, that’s exactly why I removed it from my transfer case. Here’s a picture of the drive shaft I removed and the one that took it’s place.

 

I owned a '51 ford 4door sedan way back when (my second year in the navy) that had a 3-speed on the column and an overdrive with a cable actuator on the dash (plus an electrical connection of some kind). Studebaker also had one out at the same time for trucks. Niether one could be used for 4x4 but could be used for 2x4. What I mean is if you wanted to 4-wheel the vehicle you had to turn off or disengage the overdrive. It only connected to the rear driveline on 4x4's. Although I suppose if you were creative you could mount up two of them, one to the front and one to the rear.R) Looked a lot like that picture.

 

Man, thats one short driveshaft!R)

 

8” from u-joint center to u-joint center.

 

I posted the pictures the owner sent in my original post. Not very clear, but you guys in the know might be able to make them out. It was from a 1946 CJ, 4WD, from what I am told. I was looking to put it in my 68 Commando. I just wanted to see if it is the saturn (warn) OD unit, or some other brand. This guy lives about 2 hours from me and didn't want to make a trip if it isn't what I'm looking for. Gas here is $3/gal!!
Thanks in advance,
Randy

 

I have the V6, T86, D18 combo. Should work out.