Doing a Ax15,and YJ Booster Swap

[ThisGuyUKnow]

Putting an AX15 into my 82 CJ7 with stock suspension and 31" tires. The T-5 went out and prompted this upgrade. I would be very interested in seeing pics of what people who have done a ax15 or nv3550 swap did with their clutch linkages or tranny x-member.

The tranny is already bolted up and I am ready to start on these two issues while I wait for my Advance Adapters Dana 300 clocking ring and in put bearing kit and the Redline fluid to come in the mail

 

[BajaEdition]

Good choice in a tranny, I am putting one behind my 225 in my CJ6 , they are one of the best 5 speeds Jeep ever put in,and better than a 3550 in strength.

 

[gert]

order the hydrulic clutch components and enjoy

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

I have a stock MC and SC from both the donor cherokee that the ax15 came from and a 95 yj with AX5. From what I understand you can bleed the ax5 not the ax15 one. Would I be better off just ordering a new kit when I have a linkage from a donor?

 

[BajaEdition]

I have a stock MC and SC from both the donor cherokee that the ax15 came from and a 95 yj with AX5. From what I understand you can bleed the ax5 not the ax15 one. Would I be better off just ordering a new kit when I have a linkage from a donor?

if you can get the external setup, go for it, if the internal, about 3 years use is all it gets and you will need a new setup when starting your project as the old one is self destructive when you mess with it.

 

[My1stnicejeep]

You can blled either of them.Its one is internal and one is external.The external can be changed without pulling the Transmission off the motor.The internal requires splitting the engine Transmission to change.Both styles can be bled.

If using the external on on internal Transmission you will need to change the input collar.

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

Hey guys sorry I wasn't clear. I have a 94 AX15 which is an external slave setup with a internal TO fork. The 95 AX5 linkages are external slave as well. I also have the linkages from the donor ax15. Just have read places that these cant be bled so if they lose the fluid you have to buy new linkages. WHere could I get new linkages for this application? How much will that run me?

 

[BajaEdition]

You can blled either of them.Its one is internal and one is external.The external can be changed without pulling the trans off the motor.The internal requires splitting the engine trans to change.Both styles can be bled.

If using the external on on internal trans you will need to change the input collar.

did not know that about the collar, good to know

 

[My1stnicejeep]

Hard to bleed yes.Not able to bleed no.They are a pain to bleed but they are bleedable.

Yeah the collars are different sizes for the throwout bearing.Very simple fix but sucks when you dont know you need it

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

You can blled either of them.Its one is internal and one is external.The external can be changed without pulling the trans off the motor.The internal requires splitting the engine trans to change.Both styles can be bled.

If using the external on on internal trans you will need to change the input collar.

Hey cool so how do you bleed the external set up? There is no bleed screw on the slave and wouldnt you need one there in order to bleed the line?? Maybe I just dont know how to do it? I was thinking about drilling and tapping a hole into the bottom of the slave cylinder and then bleeding the line and using a screw with some silicon or plumbing thread to seal it back up.

The manual says that the 94+ set ups are a closed system and have to be replaced as a hole

 

[BajaEdition]

this gets more interesting all the time
a great thread to follow, I am wondering if a aftermarket slave cylinder might be in order and which ones might fit with little or no mods.
guess we need to hang out at a YJ forum to gather information and bring it here.

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

Ok I snapped a shot of the hydraulic linkage. i drew and arrow to a nipple that is on the slave. This looks like it would be the bleeder but no dice. It has threading inside it but does not punch through all the way into the slave. I am assuming that somehow Chrysler used this to bleed it in the factory then sealed it up so you would have to spend more money if it fails.
I intend to drill through the center of this and find a screw or bolt that matches this thread. Well first I am just going to try it as is because I had a closed set up but i decided to push the MC rod in by hand and launch off the plunger on the SC. I want to avoid buying a new SC if i can and I also want to stick it to Chrysler for making such a retarded setup is what I hope to accomplish here.

Here is a shot of the linkage:


The price tag for this conversion has blown up a little faster than I anticipated.
SO FAR:
AX5 mistakenly purchased because I am an idiot and didnt check to see what an AX15 looks like before I went to pick it up-200 with pedals and clutch linkages and tranny mount
AX15-200 came with clutch linkages and pedals
Dana 300 clocking ring and new input from AA-175 shipped
Luk gold clutch kit from Pep Boys- 145
flywheel resurfacing-26
Redline MTL(as suggested by DailydrivenTJ.com)-28.5 plus shipping
New Driveshafts(maybe I can have the originals modified and save a tad?)-300 (this is what I was told worst case for having new ones made from scratch)

So if you don't include the AX5 looking a close to 900 bucks just in parts. ANd that doesn't include the large amounts of beer need to keep me from yelling and screaming and smashing things when the CJ doesn't see thing my way

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

I have been keeping track of my progress here:
Putting An AX15 In My 82' CJ7 - JeepForum.com
If people are interested I can copy and paste everything to this thread and kinda start a technical write up. Pics start on page two of the linked thread. Enjoy

 

[My1stnicejeep]

That little allen head is the bleeder.If it doesnt go all the way through there is something blocking it.

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

The threaded bit on the slave is not a functional item. THis is what I am thinking after some investigation, The MC has a small hole in the in the reservoir cap that allows air to pass through it but not fluid. I beleive this is so that the setup can basically self bleed(if that is possible i hav eliterally noexperience with hydraulic clutches) This would explain why the shop manual says that you cannot bleed and they mc and SC have to be replaced as a unit. so basically if you bust the line or slave or master cylinder you have to get a matched set but if you are a dummy like me and pull the rubberstopper on the slace out and let air in the system then you can still use the linkages.

I am going to copy and paste my write up from jeep-forum to this thread with all my feed back and stuff from doing this. I am not a professional mechanic so it is just a guide from someone who did it.

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

As of today I have the old T-5 out and on the ground I have the New, Used Ax15 sitting next to it along with the 4.0 Fly wheel and starter/spacer plate.

I had to huge hang ups today. The first is that I tried test fitting the Dana 300 to the AX15 and I dont think I can get away without the clocking ring from AA or CJoffroad. I spoke with AA a week ago and was assured that if I redrilled the AX15 tail housing to match the Dana 300 clocking that I should be able to bolt it up. When I lifted the Dana 300 (which feels like it weighs twice what the whole AX15 does) I found that I couldnt get the input to fit all the way to the tail housing (I clocked the Tc so it was Perpendicular to the tranny and lined up the bolts ) Upon further investigation I found that the Output on the T-5 sticks out about a quarter of on inch more and has a dramatically different shape than the Ax15s tail housing.

I also found that the metal for the shifter assembly was very much in the way and hitting the Tranny if you tried to fit the Dana 300 at its correct clocking. Not cool! I called AA back and today they were singing a different tune about how the Dana 300 will absolutely not fit the Ax15 without the clocking ring and their new input gear they sell for 200 something bucks and then to get around the shifter assembly I was going to either have to grind out some metal or get a twin stick setup(trying to keep costs down but it is mighty tempting) which is supposed to replace all that metal. This CJ is not supposed to end up a HC offroader, hence the five speed tranny over something more stout, so I will probably go the way of the grinder since I cant possibly imagine my GF ever utilizing the Twin stick.

Ok so fine My plan today was to bolt up the TC and swap the shifters and install the TO bearing/fork yada yada. But since the TC is going to not be as simple as I expected I went ahead and focused on removing the clutch and fly wheel so I can just install the Tranny tomorrow and Start working the Issue of the Hydraulic linkages while I waited for the clocking ring I will have to order now to come it. 3 hours later I have a Smashed thumb and Have not gotten a Single bolt on the Fly wheel to budge a smidge. I called a shop and the Torque specs on these bolts is something lie 105 or AMC 150 Ft/lbs cant remember which. but its ---->

The real trouble I am having is that I just end up rotating the engine and cannot figure out a decent way to lock the fly wheel in place. Everything I tried wedging in that sucker either just falls out or stay in long enough to give me false hope then smashes my thumb when it slips out while I am wailing on the breaker bar with a mallet! I am hoping that I wont be told that you need impact tools to remove this because I dont own any .

Seats and Tranny access plate removed

T-5 on the ground

Shot of Tc pulled off an the original Starter

shot of the BH still on the engine... just so u know this it is a PITA to get to the top 2 bolts with the Transmission still attached(hence the BH still being attached)

Trying to remove the BH

Shot of the Ax15 in the truck ready to drain. You can see the offending ax5 in the background.

You can see some metal shavings stuck to the AX15 Drain Plug. i Hope there isn't any serious damage internally. (130k already on the tranny)

Original CLutch-90+K miles

pilot bearing-90+k miles

New Peppy's Clutch Kit: FP, PP, Pilot Bearing,TO bearing, Grease, and Alignment tool

Shot of the Flywheel bolts that refuse to come out

Shot of all the trannies next to each other(front to rear: AX15, T-5 ,AX5)

Was hoping that I could just unbolt the AX5 Yj shifter and mount it on the AX15 but as you can see the bottom is longer for the AX5 and wont work now I got to fgure out how the heck to remove the Shift levers so I can swap em.

The Dana 300 Shifter Assembly that will have to be ground down or replaced with A twin stick

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

the AX5 i have came from a yj and the ax15 came from an XJ the Yj shifter would be more appropriate for my application so I wanted to swap them. After messing with it for a while trying to figure out how to get the lever off I gave up and ubolted the assembly hoping they would by chance be the same size. Of course they weren't. You can see in the pic, the bottom is longer for the 5. Is there a tool for removing this out there somewhere? I also noticed the T5s lever has a square receiver on the bottom. I am hoping that maybe it will work cause i always thought the curvy shifter looked neat in CJs. I can see it has two pins on the front and back that it looks like you are supposed to push in to release it just cant find anything to do that job successfully yet.

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

Today I called a local machine shop and asked how much to resurface the Flywheel(25 bucks) and it was cheap enough I decided I really ought to not be stingy and try using a fine sand paper or something. The process took 30 minutes and was definitely worth it.

I used a vice to hold the fly wheel while I hammered the out of the flywheel bolts. Then bolted up the new/used 4.0 flywheel. I went with 110ft/lbs because I had been told 105 and then 115 on seperate occasions so I just split the difference. I found that it does matter whatangle the flywheel is at as the bolts only line up in one configuration. Same with the PP. I torqued those bolts to 38 Ft/Lbs(I found a write up on daily driven TJ and thats what they said do).

I picked up a transmision plate adapter for floor jacks. I found that it is a huge PITA to install because for some reason the base of the adapter is two peices and they are cut at an angle and the thing is sort of dense so its hard to hold them in one hand and twist the bolt with the other. I had to recruit the GF(its her CJ anyways) to help me get it on.

I installed the New TO bearing and slide the trany under the truck and tomorrow am going to put it on the jack and try to lift it up.

No real aggrevating issues today but I do have a slight concern because when I removed the alignment tool the pilot bearing stuck. to it an pulled out of its slot. Not cool. I used a small wrench to manuever it back in but I didn't think that it should come out so easy but when I pulled the clutch off from the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l flywheel the old bearing just fell out so i am sure as long as it is in the correct place when I go to install the ax15.

The FlyWheel fell off before I could snap a victory photo of it.(Thanks FATMAN for the solution to my flywheel problem!!!)

The damage the mallet took from my missed strokes.

SPacer plate from the NV3550 installed. I had to force the alignment dowel on the right (I beat it with a hammer) because it opened up slightly when I was trying to get the FW bolts out.

Flywheel freshly resurfaced

FW installed

Clutch and Friction Disk installed

Another shot of the AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l Flywheel, pressure plate, friction Disk, spacer plate and Throw out bearing. If anyone needs any of these parts PM me.

Throw Out Bearing Installed on the AX-15. This was probably the easiest part to put on.

A shot fo the base of that tranny adapter

Shot of AX15 ready to slip under the truck

Shot of Ax15 under its new home(Yes I know it is backwards!)

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

So I found a difference between the two tranny BHs today. RIght where the alignment dowels the material on the BH on the AX15 is thicker. So if you did like me and accidentally widen the dowel while removing the Flywheel and cant get the tranny flush before running the bolts through, the stock bolts are a tad to short to grab the thread. I managed to bolt up the top right bolt and that pulled the BH close enough to the right to thread the bolt but pushed the one on the left out a tad further. so tomorrow I am going to try to either find a bolt at lowes that has the same thread just longer or find a super long skinnier bolt and slip it through the center and squeeze it together then put in the original.

Other than that didnt have any big issues today and the tranny is in place just need to get that last bolt in then the starter and tomorrow I expect to be able to test start it then move on to the Hydraulic linkages.

The Tranny Safely( ) set and strapped to the POS tranny adapter.


Shots of the AX15 hoisted into its permanent position.



SHot of the gap where I misshaped dowel

I got over zealous once I finally threaded the right side so I caused this gap here. I am just going to have to get a longer bolt tomorrow to fix this up

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

I ended up ordering an AA clocking ring and bearing retainer kit today AutoPartsDealer.com Search

I was hoping to avoid this the whole conversion but this definitely isn't going to work without a clocking ring and I keep reading mixed reports of whther I need to change the input out. So I figure better safe than sorry I have had enough roadblocks during the last week.