Another Jeep Buildup And Transmission Question

I have a 69 CJ5 t14 dana 18. The tranny slips out of 2nd.So my question is I'd like 4 spd but which one will work sounds like a sm420 but fab work isn't a strong point in me.Is it doable by a shadetree mechanic or will I have to farm out a bunch of stuff. I am going with a dana 44 flanged rear but am unsure on what to do with front end? I understand the dana 30 narrow trac should be a direct replacement is this correct? What are the measrurements on this frontend? And is there a dana 44 frontend that could be used also or would it have to be modified extensively? Of course this all in the planning stages. But I am trying to gather all parts necessary to do this since I'm still wheelchair bound at this point. But at least i can stand on one leg through Physcal Therapy or should I say PAIN & TORTURE. Any and all input is apprecciated.

 

SM420 can be done with a adapter kit. im not sure but i would asume that you would have to take the tranny apart in order to change out the output shaft. thats something that with my T-18 i took to a tranny guy to do for me... $75 well spent he even cleaned the case up for me.
44 front would have to be modified but a dana 30 is a direct replacement which is what i have done. all you would have to do is change the gear ratio in the 30 to whatever you have in the rear which is something else that i farmed out.

 

I just wanted to beef up drivetrain abit some light rockcrawling and trial use plus I have a 17 year old son. So the more bullet proof I can make it the better I'll feel. And I used to race motorcycles til this last crash and so far 6 months without being able to walk. So 4 wheels and caged sounds so much better at ths point. Plus something for me to do as a project with my son.

 

The dana 30 is not a direct bolt in but it is as close as you can get to one. If you have 4.88's in your 44 you will also need to change them out in the 30 as you will probably never find a dana 30 with those gears already in it.
The sm420 needs only the adapter and a couple of the bolt holes in your bellhousing drilled out to accept the bolts into the threaded transmission case instead of the other way around. Then you have to shift your crossmember and such, not quite as simple as it sounds but not overly difficult by any means.
The adapter will set you back about $600 with shipping and you will then have to modify both front and rear driveshafts, probably another $250 depending on where you live.

 

With one small transmission repair your jeep would be back on the road and usable.

There's a junk 1947 cj2a on ebay right now. It ran fine until the guy blew up the old engine and decided to replace the engine with a V8 and further 'improve' his vehicle.

Guy claims he owned if for seven years, spent $4,000 over and above the purchase price for 'improvements', and has an incomplete project and no motivation to finish, just wants it out of his garage. Or more to the point, his wife wants it out of the garage.

Opening asking bid was $1,000 -- No takers.

Now, if the opening bid was, say, $100 instead there might be someone who would buy it for the body tub.....

Let's put on our accountant's 'green eyeshades' and do some cipherin'.... 1,500 estimated purchase price for the jeep plus 4,000 to "fix up" minus what it could sell for, say, 500 equals a loss of $5,000.

ouch !! And if had only simply put a used L head in or rebuilt what he had that 5 grand would still be in his pocket. And he would have a little 2A to cruise to the golf course.

 

Listen to Mike, he'll save you lots of dough and trouble.
Stock is always cheaper, and there's plenty of fun to be had on the trail with a stock (or real close to it) jeep.

 

If you're not crazy on the skinny pedal, and you aren't running huge tires - you'll be perfectly fine with the stock drivetrain.

If you *want* to upgrade tranny and axles - that's your business. But don't think that you *have* to upgrade just to be able to wheel.

Ever seen the old footage of the WWII Jeeps jumping over hills and pulling trailers through 10ft brush piles? These are amazingly capable vehicles in stock form.

FWIW: This Jeep is running a T-14 and V6. Locked on both ends with Dana 44's. It has been used and abused pretty hard, but the T-14 hasn't given any trouble yet.



Oh - did I mention that the tranny had plenty of rust inside it, and the shift tower was stuck when I first got it? I didn't rebuild it - just freed everything up and ran it...

Of course - YMMV.

 

i have mikes setup... lets just say Advance adapters really liked me that day. i can still remember the girls voice as she said " and the total will be... $1200" man my wallet sure felt lighter the next day

 

Well guys as far as the tranny is concerned you've convinced it will be much more cost effective at this time to rebuild it. Although there doesn't seem to be much info on this, that I have found yet. Please enlighten me if anyone has this available. But I already purchased Flanged d44 rear and am in the processs of searching for d30 frontend.

 

The Dana 44 rear will be a direct bolt in, if it came from a '70 or '71.

 

Yea it was from 70 cj with 4.88s also. So that should be fairly easy . But still looking for Dana 30.

 

Good move. Spend the big $$ elsewhere.

 

All of the Borg-Warner cast-iron case 3-speeds are of similar design. There's discussion and instructions about the T90 several places on the net, including here: http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/t90_rebuild.htm

The T14 was also used in other Jeep products, including the Trucks and Wagoneers behind the AMC 232 I6, and in CJs behind the AMC 232 and 258 I6. The best instructions for fixing your T14 will be the FSM for the year and model of your Jeep. There is a '72 manual online that covers the T14 used in that year: http://www.c104.net/manual

 

So can anyone clue me in on where to get info on teardown and rebuild of t14. I'd like to do this myself if possible. I've never done anything like this but what the heck nothing ventured nothing ventuerd.