SHIFT TOWER BOOT for T18 TRANSMISSION

Like many top-shift transmissions, the Jeep Borg Warner T18 has no provision to seal around the shift lever. There’s a domed steel lever retainer. Directly under the dome is a matching steel washer held up against the under side of the dome by a spring. That’s all there is! Any water that gets splashed up there can dribble right into the gearbox.

What’s needed:

• Honda four-wheeler CV joint boot 42202-HC5-003
• One stick of 3/32” steel welding filler rod
• Brazing or soldering equipment

Here’s a modification that will stop water and dust entry. The boot costs about $25.00 at your friendly neighborhood bike shop. It’s made of very high quality rubber and should last forever.

It measures about 2 3/8” in diameter at the big end, and 5/8” at the small end. It couldn’t be better if it were made for the application. And since it’s meant to be filled with grease, it’s not going to be degraded by oil or gear lube.

There’s only one catch to installing it, and that is that it will slip off the domed lever retainer the first time it’s moved. To prevent that there must be a ridge on the retainer. That can be made by brazing or soldering a ring of 3/32” filler rod around the retainer.

First clean the retainer thoroughly and sand it shiny. Then mark where the ridge is to go. Inside the boot is a groove that should mate with the ridge. The groove is just above the clamp groove on the outside of the boot. Mark several places around the retainer with a felt tip pen.

Next bend a piece of filler rod into a ring. The best way to do this is to wrap a full stick of filler around a piece of round stock about 1 7/8” in diameter. That will produce a nice, smooth ring a bit smaller than the dome. Go a little farther than a full circle to be sure that the ends of the ring are formed properly. After checking for size, snip off the excess. The ring does not have any sealing function so a little gap at the ends doesn’t matter.

Slip the ring over the retainer, line it up with the marks, and braze it into place. That’s a tricky chore. You must apply heat almost exclusively to the retainer a fair distance away from the ring. If you heat too close to the ring it will burn through before the retainer gets hot enough to accept the brass.

You can also solder the ring into place. Done properly, the result will be plenty strong for the application. Next time I’ll probably solder it.

After cooling, clean and paint it. Then apply a bead of gasket silicone to the flange only. If you get silicone on the threads it could be difficult to take apart later.

Clean the top of the shift tower so that the silicone will seal to it, and put the parts back together. Go a little tighter than finger tight, but don’t get carried away. Add a few drops of oil to the moving parts.

Slip the boot into place. You can feel the groove in the boot pop over the ring. Install zip ties top and bottom, and you’re ready for deep water.

As an added precaution, you can fill the boot with grease. And don’t forget to run the vent hose up high!