18 single to double shift conversion.

I have an d18 single,and all the the front parts off a D18 double.. anyone know if the front caps that hold the shifters interchange, regardless of age and intermediate shaft size.... going back to two shifters sounds like fun.
Thanks

 

Yes they will. Common conversion. You will need the front housing, shift rails, pivot pin, shift levers, anti rattle clips, etc. off the twin shifter transfer case. The transfer case must come apart to convert so a good time for an inspection/rebuild. You can also remove the interlock between the shift rails and get 2 wheel drive low. Just be careful as all the torque in low range will be going to the rear axle, not divided between the front and rear.

 

HA if you do it lets see some pics

 

Thanks for the info guys, now just get to it

 

Nickmil and all --A probable snowstorm this weekend has squelched my Rubicon plans, so I started dis-assembling to install my planned twin stick conversion kit that I purchased from Herm the overdrive guy. It came without instructions because he said there exists plenty on the internet and jeep forums. Well just my luck, I cannot find any, so thought I'd tag onto this thread. I thought I could just pull the front housing, swap in the new parts, and re-fab my floorboard opening. Does anyone have knowledge of a decent link with photos, or should I take some extra steps to create a how-to-do-it-right-the-first-time set of instructions?? I'll still need some guidance on those steps. Thanks--Mike

 

Factory Service Manual (fsm) is the best but Rick Stivers ? has a guide that's quite good from what I understand. Hopefully someone has a link.

Found a link off of Vernco.com

http://www.willystech.com/wt/Model18TCase/Model18TransferCase.html

 

Is this what you are looking for, It doesn't address the conversion but it describes the disassembly and reassembly.

http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/dana_18_rebuild_guide.htm

 

I followed the Rick Stiver's Guide linked to by nickmil

http://www.willystech.com/wt/Model18TCase/Model18TransferCase.html

I used the instructions to get the front bearing cap off (D10, D14-D15). The icky part was removing the high/low shift rail. You have to remove the bottom cover, and the rear bearing cap (D17-D20), then follow steps D21-D26 to disassemble the gears on the main shaft. In his guide he shows a hacked up hatchet to shift over the front bearing to get to the snap ring, on one of my transfer cases the bearing was loose, so it was easy, on the other I was able to move the bearing over using a large screwdriver and a pickle fork. The gears on the main shaft need to be remove so that you can get to the high/low shift fork. You will need to unscrew the allen head bolt (or safety wired bolt) that attaches the shift fork to the high/low shift rail. The single stick shift rail has a hole in the end of it that the single shift assembly bolts to. The twin stick shift rail has an indent machined out of it that the shifter rod fits into. That's why you need to swap the shift rails.

After you take the single stick shift rail out, you can replace it with the twin stick shift rail, then follow the instructions on the above url to reassemble the gears on the main shaft, reassemble the rear bearing and front bearing caps.

nickmil can probably point out any errors I have made and probably has a better description than this.

Eric

 

Nick, Larry, and Eric--A big thanks for the info!! The diagrams will definitely help me identify what Rick Stiver and Novak's websites are telling me to do. I thought I could do this upgrade just from the front bearing cap while still in my jeep, but I guess I get to pull it, and get into it a bit more deeply than anticipated. I'm sure I'll know my transfer case more intimately, which is not a bad thing for the next one I meet! Eric--thanks for the specifics, as those other articles were definitely more info than I need. I'll let you all know how it goes, and THANKS again--Mike

 

Mike,

You don't need to pull the case unless you want to. I did the swap with the transfer case in place.

Eric

 

Eric--I was thinking the photos with the hatchet tool were from the top, but that was actually the T-Case turned upside down, so COOL, I'll attempt it in place following the instructions you mentioned. I almost pulled it out last night, but my wife had other plans for me, so I lucked out a bit. Still planning on getting it completed this weekend!! Thanks again--Mike

 

In the long run it really is easier to do it on the bench. Good time to check u-joints and torque mount.