Our friend Doug H wrote this pictorial how to for this old Willys back in 2010. He rebuilt the transfer case from his 3B and took the pictures as he did it, adding notes as he went. It was such a good how to that when we discovered it here we asked Doug if he minded sharing it with the 3A population. He willingy donated the following tech article to us here. (We didn't even have to bribe him too much!) Doug did emphasize it is only his experience with his case, and everyone looking to rebuild theirs should also refer to the factory books and Rick Stivers rebuild guide too. Model 18 Rebuild Just relying on this page alone may result in less than optimal results. And, as always, use proper safety procedures and precautions, wear safety equipment like face shields and safety glasses when appropriate, and do this on your kitchen table ONLY when your significant other is at the relatives. The 3A page only presents this information for your trained eyes and mind to digest, and any use of the information contained within the 3A pages is completely at your own risk, as it should be. A note about parts: Do not rely on price alone to judge which part to buy, especially when purchasing repair pieces for your gearboxes. NOS Willys parts are best, as are older NORS (New Old Replacement Stock) parts made in the USA. Imported parts have had a reputation for early failures and questionable metallurgy. Rick mentions a way to test the replacement shafts in the home shop in his guide.
Made by Doug H
Jan 4 10 10:43 PM
Okay, here we go. Once again, I used Rick Stiver's guide to put this puppy back together. I got the
rebuild kit from Walck's. Still have some E-brake
parts to order, so this post will be a work in progress for awhile. I just need
to start putting pics up so I don't forget too much.
This will be VERY picture intensive. This is intended to be used in conjunction
with Rick's guide which contains important information
that I did not include in this topic.
Here we got all of the major pieces of the case cleaned and
painted and the small parts kit:
Here are the speedo gear, sleeve
and rear bearing cap:
Install the speedo gear and
sleeve. Use a bit of sealant on the sleeve but make sure not to get any on the
gear:
Bearing, snap ring and front cap:
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Bearing and snap ring installed in front cap. I used the
brass hammer and drift to drive the bearing in place. You have to drive it in
evenly all around. Watch your eyes if that snap ring decides to fly when you're
installing it:
Here we install the output clutch shaft into the bearing
that you just installed:
Next, we'll be installing the short shift fork shaft and it's associated shift fork:
Here's a shot of the shift rod and fork installed. The set
screw is tightened and safety wired in place. Last thing you want is for that
set screw to come loose sometime in the next 50 years and get all tangled up in
those gears The wire is approximately
the size of coat hangar wire and I used pretty stiff
wire; it was stiff enough that I wasn't able to use my safety wire pliers to
make a professional looking twist. But, it doesn't look too much worse than it
did when I took it apart:
Next in line is the output clutch gear:
The output clutch gear in place on the shift fork and
everything tucked away neatly in place in the front bearing cap:
Here is the longer shifter rod and it's
fork. In the next step, we will be installing both into the case:
Shift rod and fork installed in case and set screw
tightened:
And, this set screw should be safety wired as well:
Now, we install the cone bearing on the rear of the output
shaft:
Rick recommends using the old bearing on top of the new one
so you are not driving directly on the new bearing. It is pretty clear in this
picture:
Next, put the sliding gear into the case; it goes onto the
shift fork:
Now put the output shaft gear into the case:
Slide the output shaft through the case and gears from the
rear:
Output shaft installed:
Slide the thrust washer onto the front of the output shaft:
Next, slide the snap ring onto the front of the output
shaft:
Here is a shot with the snap ring full installed into the
groove in the shaft:
Now, we can drive the front bearing onto the output shaft:
The front bearing cup:
If you get the bearing cup tapped in flush with the case, that is good enough. When you install the front cap,
it will seat the cup to the proper depth:
Now we TEMPORARILY install the front cap. I put on the
gasket (without sealant) because we will be checking end play soon. The
interlock pin does not need to be installed in the front cap at this point; it
will be coming back off, so you can install the interlock at that point:
Next we will install the rear bearing cup; only tap in a
little bit:
Rear cup installed:
Now here we go with the shims. I absolutely hated this part.
You want to begin with a THICKER pack of bearing than you actually need. If you
use too thin of a pack, you will have no end play and will have to remove the
front cap to tap the main shaft towards the front. Believe me, I had to do it
two or three times I actually used all
of the shims that came in the pack plus a thick one that had been on
previously. Rick's guide wants you to start with a shim pack .060"
Here is how the shims go on there:
Once you have a shim pack of the correct size (use Rick's
guide to figure that out) to give you the correct end play, you'll remove the
rear cap and clean up the shims. Spray both sides of each shim with the Permatex copper gasket sealant or something similar:
Spray and allow to become tacky or follow
directions on what ever you use:
Before installing the shims and rear cap permanently, slide
the speedo gear onto the rear of the main shaft:
Now, install the shim pack and rear cap. Don't forget to
torque to proper specs - no cheating and using your "calibrated
fingers"
Remove the front cap (hopefully the only time you had to
remove it during the process):
Here is a shot of the front cap all the way removed:
This picture shows the hole between the two shift rod holes
in the front cap. This is where your interlock pin goes. You can drop it right
through where the poppet ball, spring and plug go:
The interlock pin. Keeps you from putting your rig into 2-Low. I chose to put
mine back in; some people leave them out:
The two pictures below show the interlock pin in place. The
first picture shows the pin protruding into the hole for the shift rod. The rod
will NOT go in if the pin is in this position. The second picture shows the
interlock pin fully recessed. The position of this pin changes depending on the
position of the shift rod.
I used a piece of tape to mark where the shift rod should be
in order for the pin to be fully recessed.
Don't forget the gasket and sealant before you put the front
cap back on. Tighten the bolts down to 30 foot pounds - no cheating again:
Next, I put the shift rail oil seals on:
A piece of metal tubing worked great to seat the seals.
Might be better off with PVC, but I didn't dent or damage the seals:
The tubing fit right over top of the shift rails with no
problem:
Here the oil seals are fully seated and hopefully won't
leak:
Okay, now we get to put the roller bearings and washers into
the intermediate gear (NOTE: apparently, there are different procedures for the
different size intermediate shafts. This shows the 1-1/4" shaft
procedure). I used the old intermediate shaft with a bit of grease on it as the
dummy shaft:
First thing to go in is a washer. I greased everything up to
help things together:
Now, one set of needle bearings:
Next, another washer. Then, I used
a screwdriver to push everything down into the gear.
Now another set of needle bearings and a last washer:
Everything pushed in flush:
Install the thrust washers into the case. Grease and an old
intermediate shaft or proper size socket helps hold the washers in place:
Intermediate gear in place with new intermediate shaft part
way installed:
Once the shaft is fully seated, I sealed up the front end of
the shaft:
Here, the locking plate is installed and the rear of the
shaft is sealed:
Next, we will be installing the poppet spring, ball and cap
on both sides of the front bearing cap:
This picture shows the poppet cap once it's installed:
The front main oil seal will be installed next. Rick
recommends the double lipped oil seals - not the ones that come in the kit.
Since the main reason that I'm rebuilding this case is due to leaks, I took his
advice and ordered two Federal-Mogul oil seals Part number: 473229. To install
the oil seals, he recommends the "Vernomatic
5000." After a quick internet search, I discovered what a "Vernomatic 5000" is.
http://www.willystech.com/faqs/Breakout/TransmissionTransfercase.html#VERNO
While I'd love to buy a wood lathe, I didn't figure that it was very prudent to
go out and buy one at this time. I liked the PVC idea better so I was off to
Lowe's after a quick check around the garage. I was going to buy a long piece
of PVC and cut it, but when I got there, I noticed the PVC couplers
(1-1/2"). They seemed to be just the correct length and were $0.66 each. I
picked up two. I guess I will call them the "Doug-O-Matic
100."
I tapped the seal flush with the mallet:
Then used the "Doug-O-Matic
100"
To fully seat the oil seal:
Now, the felt seal goes into the front yoke:
Then install the front yoke:
I used my impact wrench to install the front nut. I will
check the torque once I have the transmission and transfer case together and
can "lock" the gears up.
Next comes the emergency brake
operating lever. Rick's guide says to torque the nut to 20 foot pounds. When I
did this, I found that the lever would not move, even with washers on top and
bottom. I backed the nut off to the point where I could still insert the cotter
pin. The lever moves freely. I guess I will find out if it will work after it's
installed:
I screwed up at this point and installed the emergency brake
backing plate and forgot to put the gasket on. I forgot to get a picture, but
the picture below shows the backing plate on. I had to trim out the center part
of the gasket from the kit for it to fit. I didn't see anywhere in Rick's guide
to put the bottom pan on so I figured that it was a good point to do it.
Here is a shot of the bottom pan installed and a little
better view of the backing plate so far:
While waiting for parts, I built a little dolly to move the
whole assembly around easier. Here, the transmission is mounted back on the crossmember and the gasket in place:
Ready to bolt the transfer case on:
T-90 and D-18 back together again:
Install the transfer case mounting bolt:
Install gear, washer, nut and cotter pin:
Install the rear cover:
Here is a shot of the parking brake backing plate:
Cam and pin/ tension spring assembly:
Adjuster screws installed:
About the time that I was ready to install the drum, I
discovered a problem. Three of the bolts would have been fine, but the fourth
just spun in there. This had some damage before and was "repaired."
It needed further repair:
Time to bust out the new welder for a test drive:
I'm not the best welder ever, but it works:
Bolts now fit in and don't spin:
Rear yoke installed in drum:
This is the INCORRECT routing of your springs. Take your
hand away from this set up and it WILL try to bite you.
Here is the correct way to install the E brake shoes:
Drum in place:
Rear yoke nut in place and torqued:
Breather installed:
Pivot for clutch tube:
Finally, shifters installed to test everything out:
I guess that finally wraps it up. Nothing left to do but
install and test - and pray for no leaks
Update: I got mine fully installed and filled with oil. I
jacked the back wheels off the ground and ran through the gears a little bit. I
then drained everything to get rid of any contaminates that may have been left
over from the rebuild. No leaks observed yet.
Doug