TH350 in a cj5

[battleship]

As you all know I am working on a CJ5 project andI am no to far along but a good friend suggeted instead of going with the t 176 or T-18 to use a TH350 he is a car guy since highschool an I respect his oppinion, and he is willing to help withn my project. However using a GM auto from eveything I have seen is not a good idea with a CJ5 due to length of the tranny. Any Ideas on this? The guy knows cars Well and has put a 350 into a CJ5 at least once that I know of but he comes more from Dragracing background anybody gone this route? Pros Cons?

 

[mylittlecj5]

AFAIK, you could put it in there, as long as you have no intention of lifting the Jeep. The driveshaft angles will do bad things then. IF you don't need the suspension to flex (think street driven), it doesn't matter how long the driveshaft is, right?
I learned to not really trust "car guys" when it comes to things 4x4, cause a lot of them have no clue when it comes to dirt performance (not that I have a clue either lol).

 

[Cheepjeep85]

i wouldn't go with the auto, but a sm465 gm 4 speed, will bolt right up and give you the shorter drivetrain, although you will need an adapter for the tcase, if you can find a factory jeep T-18 it will bolt to your tcase but would need a bell housing adapter, either should keep your driveline short enough. the T-176 is a medium duty tranny, although short enough it might not hold up, just depends on how much hp, tire size, and gearing you plan on, the + side of a T-176 is they are easy to find, and they bolt up to a Dana 300 , but you will need a bell housing adapter to mate it to the 350, which is cheaper than a tcase adapter to bolt up a jeep tcase to a gm or ford tranny.

 

[IOPort51]

I am sure your buddy meens well. 5's are pretty short, what motor are you going to use?? The 176 is a pretty good Transmission , it isn't a T-18 but what is?? If there is anyway to find a drive train that could be considdered "stock" that still makes it happen for you. thats, IMHO, the best way to go. The 5 doesn't weigh but about 3,000 pounds dripping wet, It doesn't need a lot of horses to push it arround.

 

[battleship]

Thanks all you pretty much confirmed what I thought, if I remember right the last th 350 I saw out of a vehicle was almost as long as a manual and t case combined. O h and IO If all goes according to plan I hope to be able to use an SB chevy 383 when time comes to install a motor if it is in what I consider to be cost benefit.

 

[Mattduran]

If anyone has experience with converting there CJ5 over to an auto Transmission i'm curious how long there driveshaft is? Contemplating switching over to an auto tranny but worried about the length of the driveshaft. Only 19" centered with a t-18A

 

[Fifesjeep]

My numbers might be off a little but it'll give you a rough idea.

A T-18 with the 1" adapter and a Dana 20 is roughly 23 1/2"....
A T-176 with the Jeep adapter and a Dana 300 is roughly 24 1/2"....
The TH350 is roughly 21 3/4".... an NP205 is about 14" so if one were to go this route in a CJ5 the driveshaft MIGHT be 10" with a worn out tape measure...

 

[CJim7]

A 727 is a very short auto tranny that will hold up easily to the power put out by a sbc...the question is how easy it would be to adapt. I haven't done the research, so I dont know.

A friend of mine is running a 401/727/300 in his CJ5 SOA and has no problems with driveshaft length.

If you are going manual, find a NP435/205 combo. That's about the best option behind the 350.

 

[Old Dog]

Just to give you an idea with my 350/350/300 combo in a CJ7 , My rear driveshaft is 22". But I'm a little longer wheelbase than you, so you might end up around 12" or so.

 

[Petescj]

The power glide is a bit shorter ? Just throwin it out there. Never really checked into putting an auto in a CJ5 .