Tranny and Rear End Help????

[81CJ5baller]

So I just started gutting my CJ5 81 with an Iron Duke in it. Duke had loads of torque and would climb a wall but with speed limits in the 70's, it just was plain holding up traffic and sucking fuel.

Gutting it and looking to convert to a SBC or a Ford 302. Needing help on the tranny identification and the rear end. Need to evaluate whether a new engine would eat my tranny for lunch or not.

I am probably to much of a novice to do this but WTF.......you only live once and the internet is like an alternate brain. We will see what i can do! Plus i love that jeep! Figure i will be done in time to give it to my kids....they are 5 and 7 so that should give me just barely enough time!

Good luck with your challenge.

Any idea on what i have for a tranny and rear? See pics. Also.....any recommendations on whether this should be swapped out with a bigger engine going in? thanks for the help in advance!!!!

 

[81CJ5baller]

CONTINUED - So after looking on line, i am guessing i have the Light Duty SR4 . weasel......so i am assuming, upsizing the engine means this baby is out. Comments?

Looks like an AMC20 rear end. Circular 12 bolt. Yep.

As they say, re-doing a jeep affords you the opportunity to spend 20,000 on a vehicle that will be worth 7,500 when your done...oh the man-sanity

 

[cass]

you are right. SR4 , AMC20 , and Dana 300 Transfer Case . the rear end and the Transfer Case are up to the job. the rear ends can be as strong as a Dana 44 if you put in 1 piece axles and truss the rear end and weld to tubes. the Dana 300 will hold up fine unless you are running a very lethal motor. you can go to advanced adapters or novak to adapt any tranny you want to the Dana 300 . i am currently running a 350 chevy and a T-4 (almost the same as a SR4 ) it has held together for 2000 miles so far but i know its limitations. no popping the clutch and speed shifting it. im going for a T-176 this weekend. it is factory adapted to the Dana 300 . im still running a stock rear end to (except its spiders are welded) good luck with the build. feel free to ask questions any time.

 

[BusaDave9]

I think cass already answered your questions but at the risk of redundancy you don't want to use that tranny after any engine swap. I guess you already knew that.

That rear end is also but the worst part of it is the 2 piece axle shafts. If you replace them with one piece axle shaft then you should be fine.

 

[csuengr]

Along as you don't have big tires and big power, the AMC20 as is, is fine.

Keep the bell housing you have. It's Chevy on the front and Ford on the back, so a SBC and T-176 will bolt right together, after cutting off part of the T-176 input shaft. That way you can keep your existing hydraulic clutch.

Just have to make sure you get a T-176 originally mated to a Dana 300 .

 

[cass]

well today i took out my T-4 to put in the T-176 . the bolt pattern where tranny bolts to the bellhousing is different. after some measuring im pretty sure it will work fine but i will have to drill and tap 4 more holes in the bellhousing.

 

[csuengr]

Okay, I'm wrong. I though for sure that the Jeep SR4 , T-4 , and T-5 used the Ford butterfly bolt pattern. Looking further, they use the T-15 pattern.

 

[81CJ5baller]

if you put in 1 piece axles and truss the rear end and weld to tubes.


So.....as a mechanically handicapped individual.....what do you mean by "truss and weld to tubes".

thanks for the advice and help. I am not going for "off-road crushing"...more on road with the ability to do some off road work.....no lions back or anything like that! Your advice seems pretty reasonable!

 

[cass]

trussing the rear end is just adding reinforcement across the rear end. you wont need to do that if you only go off road sometimes and not getting crazy with it. and i meant to say "weld the tubes" you just weld the axle tubes to the center "pumpkin" the AMC20 has been known to have an axle tube spin in the housing. you are basically adding reinforcment there to. im going to weld the tubes on mine but not going to truss it. if i go that far, i will put truck axles under it.