t18a/d300 a bust...what now???

[orangecherokee]

well, i'm giving up on my dream of a t18a/d300 combo. :confused: i just can't find either for reasonable cost. so here's my new thought...why not take a t18 out of a ford and use it. i was wondering a couple things. what t-cases hook to that tranny, what do i need to do about the bellhousing bolt pattern, will the shifter be under the dash??? i'm desperate folks, i know i've driven this question into the ground but i feel if i wait any longer i won't make the east coast memorial day run. please help.

[Retro93]

A Ford T18 or NP435 will bolt directly to an AMC/Jeep T150 bellhousing. If you swap your front axle to a drivers drop, you can use a Ford NP 205 transfer case. Only problem with this swap is the shifter will be up under the dash. You will have to bend it for dash clearance. :D

Another possibility is a SM465/NP205 from a Chevy truck. This would be a passenger drop set up that will work with your current front axle. To see what modifications are necessary, go to http://www.novak-adapt.com Instructions are posted there for using the SM465 with a T150 bellhousing. You will still run into the same clearance problems as with the Ford trans/tc however. :(

Hope this helps.

[scotty]

the info i found at novak was for replacing the t4,t5 or sr4. looks to be alittle more complicated than using a t150 bell. there are at least 3 guys in the local club here that run an sm465 behind amc motors. all they do is wobble out the top 2 holes in the bell,and drill 2 new ones in the bottom ears on the tranny.

either way,using a np 435 or a sm465 should be a more affordable way to go,and if you simply use the accompaning 205 youll have a more bulletproof xfer case to boot smile.gif

[Panther]

Well, unfortunately you are looking for something that doesn't exist.

You said in the other thread (http://www.ifsja.org/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=5;t=002185) that you don't want to go with aftermarket adapters but the T18/300 was never offer from the factory (jeep or otherwise). The T18 ceased in 79 in CJs and the Dana 300 was introduced in 80'. Heimeken is getting a T18a and Dana 300 from Parts Mike, might want to check on his pricing. He's basically providing the V8 input and AA adapter for 300 in the T18 case.

KYJPN, offered you are V8 T18a and Dana 20 for $350, not sure what's wrong with that. Gives you the granny low, tcase for passenger side drop, long shaft and bell housing spacer for you 360 and bolts right up without any extensive "mods".

Edit: Here's the Jeep T18 bell housing.
http://www.panther4x4.com/t18a/bellhousing.jpg
Not sure if you can see the different patterns but it has the bolt patterns for the Jeep T18 and F*rd T18.
The larger hole on the left side in the middle of the top and bottom holes is for Jeep T18.
The F*rd pattern is more of "square" (if that makes any sense).

[ January 08, 2003, 07:43 AM: Message edited by: Panther ]

[Smooshy]

what kind of price is reasnable, I might be able to advise...

[scotty]

Originally posted by Panther:

KYJPN, offered you are V8 T18a and Dana 20 for $350, not sure what's wrong with that...im not sure whats wrong with that,either. ive seen t18/d20s go for $600,$350 seems like a reasonable price to me.

[ozarkjeep]

Actually T18a from a 1981-1982 J20 will bolt to a Dana 300, they arent common, but they came from teh factory in front of a NP208.

The T18s used from the factory in AMC V8 FSJ have a really long input shaft, and a spacer between bellhouising and tranny, thats how they keep the shifter in the right spot.
good luck finding one, might be easier to get a $100 Ford tranny, buy the Adv Ad for $400, and then bolt it to a Dana 300.

Ive never heard the 465 option, thats pretty nifty, makes since though, i have seen guys run T18s behind SM chevy

[ January 08, 2003, 08:17 AM: Message edited by: ozarkjeep ]

[FSJeeper]

I would find a Dodge 23 spline NP435. The Dana 300 will bolt right up to it with zero mods. You can by a reletively inexpensive adapter to adapt it to the FSJ bellhousing or swap the mainshaft and adapter out of the Dodge NP435 into a Ford NP435 which will bolt up to the AMC T-150/T-176 Bellhousing. With any Ford tranny swap, you will also have to buy an Advance Adapters pilot busing which costs about $25.

[Panther]

Originally posted by ozarkjeep:
Actually T18a from a 1981-1982 J20 will bolt to a Dana 300, they arent common, but they came from teh factory in front of a NP208.Well, the bolt pattern is the same "round" pattern for both the jeep dana 300 and T18a/NP208 but the 80+ J20 shares the same spline count as F*rd, 31.

[ozarkjeep]

Wow, Panther, Ive never heard that.
Not that Im doubting your info!
why did they use a different spline count?
I know the back of a 727 from teh same era is 23 splines, is it a strength issue since its a 3/4 ton?

[Panther]

The reason for the different splines in that the Jeep T18a with NP208 is basically the same as the Ford T18 from the case back. The 7" adapter is the same along with the spline count. I have seen on offroad.com etc articles that say it's 23 but it's not.
I swapped this combo in my cherokee and have a page with pics. I wasn't aware of this either until scotty pointed it out several months ago. Good thing because I probably would have bought just the T18, BH and rear adapter, instead I got the 31 spline 208 as well. But yes, the 727 and T176 are 23 spline.

[orangecherokee]

you guys are probably right, $350 is reasonable but i wanted the low range in the t-case. if i'm not mistaken isn't the d20 have something like 2:1 roughly. but like i said originally, i'm desperate. so for now i'll take what i can get. i'm not going to miss this outing. thanks guys, you are great. i'll be hit and miss the next few months because i'm heading to school but i'll be in touch.

[Sycho15]

An '80 Scout D-300 has the shorter rear output (by 1") than the later models and a D-20 bolt pattern. It only came on the '80 Scout 2 (the one with square headlights)

[scotty]

it also must come from behind a t14 or t19 to have a swappable 6 spline input gear. the auto uses a 23 spline input gear wich does you no good unless you have a really crafty machine shop friend that can punch outthe 6 spline pattern smile.gif

[Joe J-Truck]

Originally posted by orangecherokee:
you guys are probably right, $350 is reasonable but i wanted the low range in the t-case. if i'm not mistaken isn't the d20 have something like 2:1 roughly. but like i said originally, i'm desperate. so for now i'll take what i can get. i'm not going to miss this outing. thanks guys, you are great. i'll be hit and miss the next few months because i'm heading to school but i'll be in touch.I'd grab that t18/d20 and use it. That's a great deal. If you come across something better later, you can ebay that t18 combo for double your money! :D I'm about to swap in that same setup myself on my J10. The low granny gear is nice. 2:1 low range is fine, especially if you have 4.10 r&p and 33" tires. Its also really nice to have factory parts that are a direct bolt-in. Definately underrated! Fabbing isn't all that simple or easy...