92 AX15 vs 95 AX15 HELP!!!

[s.hiles]

My 1995 AX15 transmission recently crapped out on me, i think its stuck in 2 gears and the front main bearing is shot. The engine tranny transfer where swapped out of a 1995 Cherokee fyi.

So heres the thing, i found great deal on an ax15 from a fellow nc4x4 member (criminalxj). When i bought it i had not done much research on the different ax15s cause i thought an ax15 was an ax15. When i bought it he said it was out of a 92 or 93 and mines a 95 so i didnt think much of it. So i get it home and drop the old one and go to start swappin parts and first i see the bell housings are different, no big deal right. Start to swap them then i notice the input shafts are different sizes CRAP. First thing that came to my mind was swappin the shafts out in the trannys, then i thought why not get another pilot bearing. So we go to THoff forgeting to bring the old bearing we get a pilot bearing for a 92 cherokee awesome right. Get home and the outer diameters are different so the new one (for the 92) will not fit into the crank. This is the point im at now.

So my chocies are swap shaft(really hard), Find a pilot bearing that fits(what i would like to do), Mill the outer sleeve which is separate from the bearing so it will fit into the crank(friend has the equipment).

Anyone done this or had this problem? Any help would be appreciated.

 

[s.hiles]

bump

 

[MtnYJ]

When we swapped the wife's Peugeot 5 speed out for a AX-15 we used the pilot bearing out of a 1973 CJ5 with the 304 V8. I wonder if that same one wouldn't work for you? You could pick one up and try it, for $4 it might be worth a shot!

 

[csudman]

I would almost bet you have an ax-5 not an ax15. Count the output splines. 21 = ax-5, 23 = ax-15

 

[ghost]

I would almost bet you have an ax-5 not an ax15. Count the output splines. 21 = ax-5, 23 = ax-15

Could be. I had this problem. A friend had a 96 xj ax-15 that lost 3rd. I had a good one. He came down one weekend and we preceded to swap them. Come to find out the bering you are talking about was different between his and mine. We could not find any info except that one of the big swap companies AA I think makes the right bearing for the swap. We ended up swaping inputs and had him rolling home the next day.

 

[ncgamedog]

the info i was able to find when i did my swap (96 ax-15 into 91 MJ) was that the 91 engines were the only HO edition 4.0L that had the odd sized pilot. I was under the impression anything 92 and up should have the same size input. BUT, I used the 304/CJ pilot bushing and it seems to be working just fine. The only problem I am having is that when the jeep is cold something squeals pretty loud when I push the clutch in, once it warms up it quits. I have replaced the throw-out bearing twice and it keeps coming back. The only thing I can think of is that the input shaft is just a tiny bit undersized for the CJ bushing and is causing the squeal, once the bronze bushing warms up due to friction it expands enough to stop the squeal. I dont think it is hurting anything, just kinda annoying and it draws some funny looks from folks in a parking lot. Also my case may be a bit different than yours b/c we had to slightly ream the bushing on installation b/c we put a knick in it by smacking it with the input shaft trying to reinstall the tranny. Now that being said, I strongly believe that you just need to use the CJ bushing (as I did) for whatever reason. Its a cheap place to start anyway. Just be careful when you swing the tranny back in not to marr the bushing and that should fix you up. If you're still unsure about it, use a mic or dial caliper to measure the pilot nipple on the input shaft and the hole in the crank, compare those measurements against the CJ bushing at the parts store and the existing bushing/bearing. I talked to Advanced Adapters about it and they claim to make a conversion BEARING for this swap, but I was not convinced after talking to them that they fully understood what I was trying to do and just wanted to either sell me a part or get off the phone so I said F it and when with the CJ bushing. I hope that helps! Give it a shot and let us know how it works out. I know others have done this exact thing before w/ good success.

 

[ncgamedog]

Also, are you swapping into a YJ, XJ, or other? The XJ/MJ AX-15's are slightly different than the YJ versions. They will each work in either application, but the difference lies in the way the tcase bolts on in the back, the YJ trannys will cause the 231 to be clocked up higher in an XJ/MJ and interfere with the floor pan slightly (nothing a BFH wont fix). The inverse would be true as well, If installing an XJ tranny in a YJ the tcase would be clocked lower than stock. Just something to be aware of. The bell housings could be different, but I have no idea on that. Just relaying info that I came across when going through the same process. I was able to find an AX-15 from a 96 XJ to go into my 91 MJ and didnt have to deal with the whole clocking issue.

 

[s.hiles]

well the trannys def an ax-15 i know that but i think i have got it all worked out. Since i bought a 92 pilot bearing and it didnt fit since it was 5 thousands to big i took it to a machine shop and they milled to down the the exact same size as my old 4.0 HO pilot bearing for 10 bucks. It has a nice tight fit like the old one so im pretty sure every thing is gunna work. just ended up switching over the bell housings of the two too so i didnt have to use the internal slave.

also the engine tranny tcase came out of a 95 cherokee and swapped into my 88 yj they didnt come out of a yj though.

 

[sgt_wisecup]

I know this is an old posting but I wanted to offer my experience and let you know what I did. I have an 89 wrangler that has a 91 4.0 swapped into it with ax-15. the tranny was gone when I bought it. I bought one from a junk yard and i noticed that the pilot shaft was different. The one that was coming out had a 17/32" pilot shaft and the one going in had a 3/4" pilot shaft. If you go to the autoparts store and tell them you need a pilot bearing for a 91 cherokee(thats what the engine was out of) they are going to give you a "pilot bearing". Anyway, what I did is called Crane clutches in south Carolina and they had a pilot bushing that had the right inside diameter which was .751 inches. I simply pulled the old pilot bearing and the sleeve that is inside the crank shaft and replaced it with the new pilot bushing. I think I paid like 5 dollars apiece for them and they came in like three days. Like I said, i am sure you have fixed this but I thought I would just add my experience.

 

[Johann]

well the trannys def an ax-15 i know that but i think i have got it all worked out. Since i bought a 92 pilot bearing and it didnt fit since it was 5 thousands to big i took it to a machine shop and they milled to down the the exact same size as my old 4.0 HO pilot bearing for 10 bucks. It has a nice tight fit like the old one so im pretty sure every thing is gunna work. just ended up switching over the bell housings of the two too so i didnt have to use the internal slave.

Make sure you swap in 95 clutch parts as well. They are different. You also need the line that connects the external slave to the master. You can reuse the master by pushing out the roll pin holding the line to the slave but it is easier to buy a sealed system of the slave, line and master.


Ah, just saw this was a necrobumped post. Hope it helps someone!