interested in cj7(please help)

[newtojeep]

I ran across a CJ7 for sale this weekend and it has been well maintained and looks good. I negotiated a price with him and then I drove the jeep. I was told the 6 was rebuilt and it does run good, however the tranny is from a newer model cherokee which is a 5 speed. Well I drove the jeep and the clutch is at the very (i mean very) end of the pedal and then under full acceleration the clutch slips in 1st and 2nd gear. It needs a clutch immediately. He mentioned he has only AMC 150 miles on the new clutch and the clutch needs adjusted! Also the guard that protects the flywheel is missing and the flywheel is exposed. I have never owned a jeep and have been wanting one for a long time and I do not want to walk away but then again I do not want a inherit a big problem either. I was told the 5 speed came out of a 85 cherokee! Does this sound right? Did jeep make 5 speeds in 85? If so can a 5 speed bolt up easily to the 4 liter? The original tranny was a 4 speed. He also said everything lined up perfectly from the tranny to the motor. Is there an adjustment on the clutch which prevents slipping? Can this be fixed easily or is this a headache?

Thanks in advance,
Rich

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

Yes jeep used a 5 speed in the 80s they had the T-5 at the begining on of the 80s then the pugot mid 80s then the early ax15s at the end of the 80s. I could probably answer your question about the clutch as I put a 5 speed AX15 into my CJ. I need you to answer some questions though. First off you said 4 liter engine in your post. Does this CJ have a 4.0 in it? If so then the owner has not only swapped the tranny but has also swapped the engine out. Second is there anyway you can find out the model of the tranny from the guy? You also need to find out if it has a hydraulic clutch or manual clutch. If it is hydraulic take pictures of: Where the clutch MC rod attaches to the pedal. Take a pic of the MC under the hood where it is punched through the firewall. Also if you want snap a shot of the slave attached to the tranny.

The dust sheild that is missing isn't absolutely important but it just keeps debris out of the bellhousing. If you aren't going to be mudding or offroading alot then I wouldn't worry about it as you have to pull the tranny to get it in and an ax15 tranny is much much more reliable.

As far as slapping another five speed in there it is easy and it isn't. If he has put an ax15 in there then obviously another ax15 wont be too terribly challenging to get in there. But if he has the Puegot I wouldn't recomend another one of those as they are supposed to suck.

Anyway in summary we need more specifics on the drivetrain to really answer your questions. Model of tranny, what flywheel did he use (4.0 or AMC 258 i6 / 4.2l ?) What engine does he have in there, hydraulic or manual linkage. I am willing to bet though that the reason the tranny is shifting odd is because he improperly installed the clutch pedal, which is an easy fix but can't tell for certain without pics of the setup.

 

[Trapshooter]

Does the seller have any receipts to prove the rebuild on the engine? If he does great, if he doesn't there is no way to be sure the engine was recently rebuilt.

You've made a good decision to post some questions on this forum. As ThisGuyUKnow stated it would be great to have some pictures. The best way I know to post pics to this forum is to create an account at photobucket.com, upload your pictures, copy and paste the .img file direct into your post. Just make sure your pics are email size (VGA), that way they won't be huge.

Hope this helps..........

 

[BajaEdition]

why would he be selling it with just AMC 150 miles on teh clutch? I think it has AMC 150 miles on a bad tranny conversion and he wants out before spending money on it, Offer him this, 3500 up front and you are bringing it to a mechanic, if it cost less than 1000 to fix the slippage he can have what is left over, if it cost 1000 or more then you will eat the cost. I mean trying to sell a vehicle running bad, he needs someone to offer him a deal, and that will work, he will have 3500 and knows that is good for a Jeep that is barely running.

 

[ThisGuyUKnow]

Bad tranny could be likely as well. I still think though there is a good chance than the guy upgraded to a hydraulic clutch Transmission and botched the installation of the MC. We can know anything till the op respods and posts pics though.