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I searched the site but did not come up with anything. I have a T-18 and the shift pattern is extremely loose however it does appear to work very well. I was told there is a nylon bushing at the bottom of my shifter that is worn and its an easy fix. When I look in the manual, the exploded view does not show a nylon bushing. ANyone addressed this issue? Its a right and forward reverse granny trany with no synchro on the granny.
If you unscrew the cap holding the shifter to the trans cover, you will see a steel pin inserted through the threads, there is a slot in the shifter half ball, this holds the shifter in line. The pin. the hole it goes through, and the slot wear after a lot of use, letting it get sloppy.
The T18s didn't have nylon bushings on the shifter. I have a T18 in my '79 which is a different version than T18 from '78 and earlier, but it is still all metal on the shifter stick itself. The only nylon in mine are on the shifter forks themselves that slide into the shift collars on the main shaft.
The slop is more than likely from the small pin and hole in the top cover as stated by previous poster. There is a metal cap that threads onto the top cover, when you remove that, you will see a small pin hole in the threads on the top cover that secure the cap in place. The pin should be pointing towards the driver's door and is maybe 1/4" long. It inserts in the hole and into a groove in the shifter stick. If that pin is broken, the hole is wallowed out or the groove in the shifter stick is worn out that would causing sloppy shifting.
Novak Adapt offers many replacement parts for T18 transmissions, including shifter sticks. You will need to bend it into shape if you go with one from them. You might be able to find a used one but it may as bad or in worse condition than what you have currently.
The bushings the OP is talking about are on the shift forks.
Before removing the top plate with all the bolts in it that the stick is in put the trans in neutral or you may not get the plate with forks out but will never get it back in the transmission.
I dont remember who I got the bushings from but the transmission was so bad when the cover was pulled I got a used NP435 to replace it with as I wanted the granny first gear.
Because it was so bad, bad syncros and chipped gears, I could not tell you if the bushing helped or not.
I dont think the pin and slot were that bad fro me to look at it.
Dave ----
The bushings the OP is talking about are on the shift forks.
Before removing the top plate with all the bolts in it that the stick is in put the trans in neutral or you may not get the plate with forks out but will never get it back in the transmission.
I dont remember who I got the bushings from but the transmission was so bad when the cover was pulled I got a used NP435 to replace it with as I wanted the granny first gear.
Because it was so bad, bad syncros and chipped gears, I could not tell you if the bushing helped or not.
I dont think the pin and slot were that bad fro me to look at it.
Dave ----
Yes, there are multiple bushings on the shifter forks, but even with those missing it wouldn't make the shifting very sloppy. The shift stick itself is different on the T18 than the NP435. The T18 uses a much simpler setup with a screw on cap to hold the shifter stick in place and the alignment pin to keep the shifter oriented correctly. If the small pin is broken or is missing, if the hole for the pin in the top cover was wallowed out or the groove in the shifter stick is wallowed out, it would cause very sloppy shifting.
If it were the nylon bushings on the shifter forks that were broken/missing there would be little effect to how sloppy the shifter feels. Instead you might hear some metal on metal grinding noises and your shifter forks would quickly wear out and might get to the point that they break and make it unable to shift.
That picture is of my T18 before I put the plastic pads on.
The T18 needed a rebuild but I also wanted to drive the truck so I found a bolt in NP435 and yes the handles do come out differently.
I did not hear anything from the forks with the pads missing but it can add to play forward / back and side to side as the forks fit into the shifting rings and without the pads it adds more space between the forks and the rings. Note what little play you have down low on the stick adds to a lot up top where your hand is.
There are also detent ***** and springs in the cover to the rails the forks are fitted to.
That gives the notchy feel between gear changes. If the springs are weak you dont get that notchy feeling and can push the lever more than needed between changes.
Yes the pivot pin and slot can wear and add to the play but if the top cover is off to fix it why not check / fix the pads and detents?
Dave ----
That picture is of my T18 before I put the plastic pads on.
The T18 needed a rebuild but I also wanted to drive the truck so I found a bolt in NP435 and yes the handles do come out differently.
I did not hear anything from the forks with the pads missing but it can add to play forward / back and side to side as the forks fit into the shifting rings and without the pads it adds more space between the forks and the rings. Note what little play you have down low on the stick adds to a lot up top where your hand is.
There are also detent ***** and springs in the cover to the rails the forks are fitted to.
That gives the notchy feel between gear changes. If the springs are weak you dont get that notchy feeling and can push the lever more than needed between changes.
Yes the pivot pin and slot can wear and add to the play but if the top cover is off to fix it why not check / fix the pads and detents?
Dave ----
I just had my T18 apart and rebuilt it and the top cover too with all new springs. I will agree that the bushings missing on the shift forks would provide for a bit of slop forward and aft, and if the springs were weak or more likely broken on the top cover it would be more noticeable, if those springs are in good condition though the detent on the guide rod would compensate for any slop there since it would provide a positive stop fore/aft. The bushings would make zero difference in side to side motion and that is simply based on how the shifter stick engages in the shift gate that controls the shifter fork for a given gear.
I agree, if you have it apart, to go ahead and check the springs under the detent ***** for the guide rods, but that requires removing the top cover to inspect.
Inspecting the pin and groove on the shifter stick only requires removal of the rubber boot on the floor and unscrewing the retaining cap to get a look at it. If there is no issue there, then digging further in would be warranted and would require removal of the transmission cover from the floor so you can get the top cover off.
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