DNE 2 Overdrive....ATTN Joe MC Dieselguy 123, Others help!

[Diesel JD]

Hey guys I'm trying to figure out how this 2wd unit is supposed to work. The T18s that I have seen have a 9" plus tailshaft, while the adapter for the 2wd unit is only 7 " and looks like it might accept only a shorter output shaft. Even the guy from US Gear wasn't to sure what was up. Is the T18 tailshaft different than the T19? How can you get around it. Help me!
JD

 

[Diesel JD]

No one knows...? This sucks! Its hard to get info on this stuff!

 

[Joe Mc]

I have always heard that the T-18 and T-19 are the same transmission with just a different 1st gear setup. This page from Novak Conversions may help: Click Here. These are the people I would ask about the tailshafts, they seem helpful.

How sure are you that this unit came off a T-19, could it have been a C-6?
Does your truck have a T-18 or T-19? My 86 has the T-19 and I didn't know that Ford ever put a diesel to the T-18.

 

[Diesel JD]

Joe, Ford never did put T18 behind the diesel. I'm as sure as I can be that this DNE was from behind a T19. It would have bolted right in behind the short shaft T19 that was my donor transmission. That T19 was junk so I got a 2wd T18 from an F150. As you said, same tranny except non syncro granny first gear and a few different gears. I wonder if the T18 and 19 have the same type of output shafts in the 2wd configuration or if the 18 is always using the 12" tailshaft. I even called the guy at US Gear, they still have plenty adapters for these units. I wonder if I ask him to look it up for a T18 in a 1980-86 F150 if it would be a different adapter than the one he's been calling up for me. Are the 2wd T19 trannys normally set up with a short or long output shaft? My donor transmission has about a 4.5" output. I'm sure my unit is T18/19 compatible it has the correct spline count and has the 7.5" adapter US Gear says the T19 should take. Maybe there is a way to make it work. I'm hoping also to hear from Dieselguy 123 as he actually used this exact unit on a T18 behind his diesel. Thanks so much for your advice

 

[Joe Mc]

Novak rebuilds and sells parts for both the t-18 and 19 transmissions, they also convert them for non-ford applications. They would know about your shaft question.

Are you building this truck as a rock-crawler? With the ratios in the t-18 it would be hard to do anything other than run empty on the highway, even splitting the gears.

T-19: 4.02, 2.41, 1.41, 1 - for a diesel
T-18: 6.32, 3.09, 1.69, 1

I had a t-18 in a ford gasser and I rarely used 1st, at 5,000 rpm the speedometer needle just bounced a little on the peg.

 

[Dieselguy123]

Ok, I went Through a similar problem with mine. My original t18 had the 12" ext. housing Which I am honestly not sure if they build adapters for or not, but anyway, I changed out my output shaft on my transmission because of it, I got it from Rockland standard gear, Now when I went to order the output shaft I had to be very specific of which trans I had....From what I was told there are 5 differant output shafts that where used in the warner 18, From what I have seen ford only used 3 of them. One was for a 12" tailhousing, One was for the 4.5" tailhousing, and the other was for the 4x4 unit. The 4.5 Tailhousing is Identical to what you would find on a t-19, and is what you should have(IIRC). I hope that may help a little, if you want I can go take a pic of my setup later for you to compare.

 

[Diesel JD]

OK that is the info I needed. It sounds like the T19 2wd has the 4.5 tail shaft and the 2wd t18 has the 12" I'll check and see if there is a t18 adapter. If there is no adapter I'll just use the t18 without the DNE box until I can afford to rebuild the T19 and then swap the rebuilt t19 box and the DNE later. I just need to get that thing moving again. Brad did you find the ratios of the T18 to be problematic behind the diesel? I've heard people say that it is and others say those ratios are actually better.

 

[Dieselguy123]

Well they did make the 18 with the 4.5" in a 2wd model also. It seems like the 12" housing is in the newer models(with the 18) 86-up but I could be mistaken. The ratios arent bad at all, Granted I dont tow much but the engine has plenty of power to get it up to speed without going to redline so it works for me.

 

[Diesel JD]

Brad, I checked with US Gear and there was only ever 1 adapter for a T18/19 same for each, no mention of different output shaft lengths. He thinks we should probably be able to simply do away with the splined sleeve that adapts the output to the input gear in the Doug Nash unit. He says that the input gear at the front of the Doug Nash transmission has enough adjustment in it for at least a few inches, that you shouldn't have trouble as long as you don't press on the gear so much that it gets forced against that freeze plug in the transmission itself which might then damage the gear or blow out the freeze plug. As far as my use for the vehicle its 95% of the time a daily driver mostly empty, but the other 5% its hauling tanks and traps for my business, firewood, and a boat which is around 3500lbs including the trailer. Still really light duty stuff for an IDI.

 

[Diesel JD]

Just wanted to let you guys know what I found out. I pulled the adapter and indeed there is a coupler between the input gear and the adapter spline. It looks like with that out of the way, the DNE 2 will accept the T18s longer output shaft. I'm so stoked to get to drive the truck with the Doug Nash and T18, everything I want and probably the last big project I will do to this truck....unless maybe I find time for an intercooler in the future.

 

[Joe Mc]

It is just a bolt-in. That is Great!

Give us an update after you have driven it.

 

[Mr_Roboto]

Just a theory.... the tailhousings and tailshafts might be different between single and dual driveshaft. Single driveshaft uses a slip yoke, dual uses a bolt on yoke (in general).

 

[Diesel JD]

Psych... I thought it would slip right together after I took the sleeve out of teh adapter but now it won't even spline together at all, and the tailshaft from the T18 is still too long....arrg, there has to be some easy way to adapt the T18 to a Doug Nash. What a downer. Anybody have any literature on the DNE 2 and how to install it? Thanks,
JD