Should I rebuild my Dana 18???

I just removed my 1 1/4" shaft Dana 18 as well as the T14 because I'm tired of refilling them every month (hence my screen name). I've not had any operational problems with either one and everything looks good inside them both except the usual wear on the intermediate shaft and that the front intermediate shaft o-ring was broken. My main objective here was to stop the leaks but I bought the entire rebuild kit a while back anyhow. *My question is whether or not I should undertake a complete rebuild?* This is my first time at it and I don't own a press for the bearings. I am leaning towards just a new intermediate shaft and needle bearings, etc. as well as the new gaskets. As for the shaft, I have read about problems with the cheap ones but the Novak one is over $100 (my kit shipped with the wrong size) any experiences with these different makers??? Also- my jeep has about 60,000 miles on it and the current gaskets look as though they are not original (tons of blue RTV). Thanks for the advice!

 

:iagree: Rebuilding a D18 is fairly easy. My transfer case also needs rebuilt. It's making alot of noise. I just need to find the time and the place to do it. Thanks Howard. I needed that link. :smash:

 

You don't need a press for the bearings on the Spicer 18. Novak has fairly detailed instructions for the rebuild. It's pretty straight forward. Take your time and take some pics before you tear it apart. One ool you will need is a dial indicator to properly set the end play on the output shaft. Use a thin sealer on the shims for the output bearing. It's a common place for leaks to develop.

 

If I could not afford the hardened shaft, I would reuse the original countershaft rather than replace it with one of the current generic offerings. You can measure the diameter of the shaft to get an idea of how much it is worn.

I'd be ok with reassembling without new parts if everything looked ok, and there were not terrible noises coming from the transfer case. These cases are not quiet though, so I would let the condition of the parts guide my actions ... I think excess noise will go along with obviously worn parts.

 

Great advice y'all! The detailed pics will really help. I am going to go for it and order the novak shaft while I am at it since I found a tiny chip in my intermediate shaft. Thanks for the quick replies!

 

Just punched out the I-shaft on my transplant 1.25" D18 (while installed in my 'A1) over Thanksgiving. I bought the shaft, needles, washers, thrust washers, as a kit from Herm ... $40. If it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me (DAMN nice looking shaft with shearable o-ring seal on the rear end)

 

:iagree: I also just got done installing a complete kit ( bearings and everything ) from Herm in my 1.25" shaft D18, Quality bearings and nice looking shaft. Everything fit like its supposed to