Reassembling the T-18 Transmission
As I was waiting for the new mainshaft to get back from Arno's shop, I decided to go ahead
and put the countershaft back in. After reading a few articles on this, I was a little bit
daunted by the 88 needle bearings that have to go back in, but I was going to try using a
1" dummy shaft from an old closet rod. It was a total disaster because the inner diameter
is actually 1 1/8" -- thus leaving enough wiggle room for all bearings to get out of sorts,
and causing me to start all over. With a 1 1/8" wooden closet rod. After that learning
experience, it went right in.
It only took Arno 2 days to finish the work on my new mainshaft, and it is truly a work of
art! He ended up machining a slot and shaft arrangement for maximum strength, then a shear
pin to keep it from slipping during rotation, and then a high-quality weld bead. It is
awesome! And he managed to do it and still keep it .002" on true dead center! Arno is a
magician!
The rebuild kit from Novak had all the right bits and bobs, and everything went back
together with very little drama. I did have a few minutes of mild panic as I was not
positive about the position of some of the snap rings. I also used lots of sticky grease
to pack the remaining needle bearings in place for the input end of the mainshaft.
Once inside the main case, the two parts of the shaft slid together with no problem!
Once everything was back together and the bearings were in, I checked the endfloat and
everything seemed perfect! So, I popped on the top and shot it with some paint. While
it was drying, I tried out the shift lever, and it was near impossible to get anything
to budge. Turns out they had gotten pretty stiff in the interim with no lubricant, so
I doused them with gear oil and they shifted easily. Problem - the pin and spring that
hold the shifter in place were missing.
So, I had to make a pin, and as luck would have it, I had a scrap metal rod that was the
exact correct diameter! Bingo!
I kept going through the gears, and they worked great...until I got
to reverse. According to the knob that was on the shifter, reverse should have been to
the right and down...but this one is over and up. Note to self...get a new shifter knob!
Finally, I fitted the gasket, applied sealant, and put on the adapter plate. It fit
perfectly!!!
Woes with the Transfer Case
created and maintained by
Matt Atkins
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