Peugot to AX15 Swap
[This is a write-up which pertains to a Cherokee. This info
may also be of use to YJ owners who are considering such a
swap.
There is also a conversion write-up at:
http://www.dirtroad.com/article1.htm ]
Transmission Swap Saga
Swapping out a 1987 Peugeot to a 1996 AX-15
I have been driving my 1987 Cherokee since October 1991.
After owning it for 6 months, I started to modify it for my
off-highway rides. I installed custom bumpers, winch, 4"
lift, ran 32" AT's, and installed 4.56 gears with ARB's. My
2dr 4x4 Pioneer model Cherokee came from CA equipped with
4.0l, 5-speed, AC, Dana 44 rear, and with 90k miles. I
wheeled in this configuration for over 6 years with little
to no major problems of breakage. After 70k+ miles, I broke
my Peugeot BA10/5 transmission on a trail ride in July 1997
driving up an incline I have done too many times to recall.
I couldn't tell you if the trans was rebuilt prior to my
purchase but it lasted till 160,000 miles! I was unemployed
at the time and had no capability ($$$) to immediately
repair/replace the trans. The damage to the trans was I only
had 1st , 2nd and 5th gears. I had no gates for 3rd, 4th and
reverse gears. In 2nd, the whining would make you cry. I
could be heard from several hundred feet away. Once I got
re-employed, my options were:
1 - rebuild the stock trans (est. $2000 for removal, rebuild
with bearings and synchro packs, (if gears are ok) and
reinstall; limited 90-day guarantee) Advantage: none.
2 - replaced with another same trans (purchase at $900 w/
limited 100-day guarantee) Advantage: none.
3 - replace trans with another stock Cherokee trans (upgrade
of course to an AX-15 with external slave cylinder- cost
est. $1500-2000 range but its all stock Cherokee! w/
limited 101-day guarantee) Advantage: Slight advantage
over Peugeot.
4- replace with granny low trans with OD if possible
(requires all custom adapters, runs $3000 for AA NV4500
kit to swap with Peugeot equipped Jeeps][AA also has
4-sp granny adapters that would work; I have 4.56 gears
running with 32" tires - I need an OD]) Advantage: Best
solution technically.
After hearing of the difficulties associated with the
lasting of the Peugeot trans, purchasing another
with/without rebuild would be a high risk and not be a good
swap. I personally do not have the income to be able to
build a real rock crawler so the granny trans would be out
and the OD option is too costly. Installing a NV4500 could
have been a possibility but the floor would have had been
`reformed' to fit the trans also. Rebuilding the stock
trans requires someone else to do the work which costs $$$.
2 years ago I replaced the leaking internal release bearing
along with a new clutch and pp. Had no problems with doing
the work. I prefer to do my own work on the truck so I
opted for the stock upgrade option - installing an AX-15.
Looking at all options, my placed budget at $2000. I went
looking around for an AX-15 that had an external salve
cylinder (newer design). I would require all bolts, mounts,
everything to do the swap. Even though my XJ is a 4.0l
generation XJ, there are minor differences between the
years. I was taking the first year production 4.0l truck
and replacing the trans with a newer model trans. I would
require all involved in the swap. I finally found a 96
Cherokee with 33k miles sitting in a cycle yard. I
negotiated a stiff hefty price ($1200) for the trans but it
would come with everything for the swap except the transfer
case (t/c). After investigating the possibilities of such a
trans swap, my t/c required a swap of its own. The Peugeot
has a 21 spline count output shaft. The AX-15 has a 23
spline count output shaft. I would be required to replace
the input shaft of the t/c to mate it to the AX-15. Looking
at a cost of $200 (Advance Adapters, Inc.) for it. I tried
to negotiate with the yard to get the t/c along with the
trans, but they wanted another $750 for it plus my core! Not
doable. Way out of my budget for stock replacement trans
swap. In addition while upgrading my Cherokee over the
years, I replaced my output shaft/tail cone with a MIT kit
and converted my rear driveshaft to a two piece design.. If
I was to make a deal on the newer t/c, I would have to
switch out the tail cones. Also, a 1996 XJ t/c has the
electro-speedo and no vacuum switch to run my disconnect
front axle. When installing the MIT kit, I did this with
the t/c in the truck and had no problems doing it. So I felt
confident of taking the t/c apart and replacing the input
gear, more savings of $$$ on my part.
So with $$$ spent on the AX-15, I got the bellhousing, the
crank sensor (why? I don't know), the reservoir, the
external slave unit, no hose (bad mistake), the release
bearing and fork, the trans, the shifter/boots, the shifting
rods for t/c actuation, the crossmember, the trans mount,
and all bolts/nuts that came from removing the trans out.
With some help from a fellow enthusiast and club member (its
best to have friends in the same hobby) named John, he and I
did the trans swap in his driveway in a townhouse community
at night over a period several weeks. Its not acceptable to
do such repairs on your property in a townhouse community,
but it was the cheapest way of doing it. I live in a
townhouse environment too but he offered his place since he
has a good allotment of tools. It took over 3 weeks partly
do to me doing all the work myself until I need support from
John. John recently moved into this townhouse (which has a
garage) and he was organizing his territory to his liking if
you get my meaning (air compressor, large tool boxes, bench
areas, etc.). What also didn't help with time was the parts
availability. I would take apart the t/c to find the 4x4
fork plastic guides off the shift fork and its all in the
pump screen. This requires dealership special order. Plus we
are both married and have young children which required our
attention some evenings. In my opinion, the swap could be
done in 2- 8hrs days or less if all possible wear items are
available for replacement. I have a parts cost description
below. One thing to take special note is the hydraulic hose
from the reservoir to the slave cylinder. Its plugged into
the reservoir and the slave cylinder and the whole item
comes as One Unit. The yard cut the hose off to speed the
removal up which cost me another $122 for a complete 1-piece
unit from the dealer.
Night #1
It wasn't difficult to remove my stock trans/tc out from
underneath the Cherokee. It took 3 hours to prepare
(interior/exterior) and remove the trans/tc out. To help
with the removal, I totally removed the exhaust system and
starter. The bellhousing is held to the engine via 2 6-pt.
star bolts up top on the bellhousing (requires special
reverse torx E-12 socket), 2 size 11mm bolts holding the
crank sensor on, 2 size 15mm bellhousing side bolts, 2 19mm
size bottom bellhousing bolts, 2 (1-14mm size and 1-15mm
size) bolts holding the starter on, and 3 10mm size
sheetmetal screws displaced evenly along the bottom 2/3 of
the bellhousing. To remove the trans easily, I previously
matched the side bolts with long studs. I slid on 2 precut
long screws (ex-bolts with heads cut off and a slice in it
for the screwdriver) in place of the 2 side bolts. This
helps support the trans upon removal and reinstallation.
They act as loonngg guides. Then remove all other bolts and
slide the trans out. With the Peugeot on the ground, I took
measurements in comparison of old trans to new trans. Took
some pics (which with a bad camera, nothing came out). Both
had same length of input shaft beyond the bellhousing
(meaning could use same pilot bearing), measured real close
to same length from bellhousing to tc mating surface of
trans (meaning same location for tc and driveshaft lengths),
and measured for shifter location (meaning same location of
shifter hole). What I didn't measure and did find out it
was necessary, was the location of the crossmember and the
4x4 actuator linkage. More on this later. Inside the
bellhousing of the Peugeot, it looked like it had the
ability to have the external slave unit bolted to it. There
was a place on the right side for a ball stud for the pivot
point of the release fork/bearing such as on the AX-15.
However, the Peugeot would require drilled holes for the
studs to hold the slave unit on the side as in the AX-15.
Night #2
Removed t/c from trans. Received new input gear. Upon
inspection on the input gear, there were several cuts on one
tooth of the gear. Returned it to AA for another. I also
checked to make sure this new gear would work with the
23-spline output shaft of the AX-15. This delayed my time
for another 5 days on a holiday weekend! After contacting
AA about the input gear problem, I inquired about other
possible scenarios which could delay the install. I was
told to get a new bearing and seal to go along with the
input gear. I ordered those from local Jeep dealer. Took
another 4 days. Looking at the possibility of using the same
pilot bearing, I purchased new pilot bearings for a 87 XJ
with 4.0l 5-sp and for 96 XJ with 4.0l 5-sp. WOW! There is
a huge difference between them. The 87 had an outside
diameter close to 1" with ~ 0.625" inside diameter. The 96
had ~ 1.75" outside diameter with ~ 0.8125" inside diameter.
Major difference. The pilot bearing had to have an inside
diameter of ~ 0.8125" to fit onto the 96 AX-15. I removed
the pressure plate and clutch to get a good look at the old
pilot bearing and the scenario for the new one. There were 2
levels for pilot bearings to fit in the end of the crank. I
could fit the 96 application in the outer level, but both
trannys had the same measured shaft length beyond the
bellhousing face. This outer level may interfere with the
clutch splines of the input shaft. My 87 application pilot
bearing is set to be in the inner level. I would have to
find a bearing capable of having the ~1" outside diameter
with ~0.8125" inside diameter. Plus the same depth of the 87
application (~0.625"). What application has this? I expected
to be looking for several days through the parts book of the
dealership.
Luckily, I was doing this with some help from John who owns
a 73 CJ5 equipped with 304,3sp. He replaced his pilot
bearing several years ago and happened to keep the old one
around. It looks very similar to the needs. Took
measurements and WELLA, its fits real close to the needed
application! I went out and purchased a new one for that
application. It was a little longer in depth to the 87 but
it fit the input shaft of the trans and was real close to
the outside diameter of the 87 pilot bearing. Even though it
was overall a tad deeper than the 87 application, I still
have some room in the crank end to fit it. It wouldn't be
flush with the crank face but it would fit and most
importantly WORK!
Night #3
Took the Peugeot apart to see what was wrong. Come to find
the synchro packs for the 1-2 and 3-4 gears were destroyed.
The forks fell into the synchro pack and wouldn't budge out.
Also, the input shaft of the tranny had atleast 1" movement
in a circle pattern. Very bad for a trans. The bearings were
shot. The synchros gone. The input gear synchro was gone.
When driving it to John's house 20 miles away from mine, I
would have it out of gear at stop lights, however, I still
would creep into the intersection. I had to stop the engine.
The input gear synchro was gone and it showed on the input
gears why I was going into the intersections. The looseness
made contact with the gear teeth and this moved me into the
intersections. From this swap, I do have for sale (very
cheap!!!) the bellhousing of the Peugeot and the
crossmember. AA has a kit to fit a NV4500 to a 4.0l using
this Peugeot bellhousing. ?Anyone interested? The other
trans parts are, well, disposed. The shifter was bent from
me pulling it several hard times into gear. Take note: the
original crossmember does have the holes necessary to place
the AX-15 trans mount on it. The 96 AX-15 crossmember only
has the holes for the AX-15 mount.
Night#4
Upon taking the t/c apart, I found lots of plastic in the
pump screen and the magnetic disc was full of dark sludge.
What went wrong? What is this stuff? What had happened is
the plastic bushings for the 4x4 fork dislodged, broke apart
and became plastic soup in the case from the gears/chain.
Then the metal-to-metal contact by the fork and the synchro
made tiny part-like metallic pieces float around until they
were magnetized to the disc. Delays once again. Bought new
plastic bushings (special order) and installed them. Cleaned
up the magnetized disc and reinstalled. Had a machine shop
press the new bearing onto the new gear. However, I needed
to transfer the pump paddles (sorry no pics bad camera) to
the new gear. Had the machine shop press off the old
bearing, transfer the pump paddles to the new gear, and
press on the new bearing. Then united trans to t/c. It
FITS! One piece of the puzzle working towards completion.
Night #5
Ran the hydraulic external release bearing around my crowded
engine room. Its a 1-piece unit which was difficult to
maneuver under the first generation of the 4.0l XJ. Ran
into a little problem with the clutch brace on the clutch
bracket under the dash. The original reservoir on the
firewall is installed with a stud and bolt. The new
application is installed with 2 studs, 1 on the support
bracket and the other on the reservoir. Plus the mounting
point of the reservoir rod is smaller than the original. I
checked all stud locations prior to running it around the
engine area. I did have to ream out a little the support
brace. I did not check the rod mounting point diameter. It
wouldn't fit on the clutch pedal. I had to remove it out of
the busy engine bay, drill out to a larger diameter the
mounting point of the rod to the clutch pedal, and
re-install the one piece unit. ROYAL PITA!!! to do a job
twice. Installed the pilot bearing, clutch and pp.
Night #6
Lined everything up and cleared all lines. Removed the
breather cap on the trans and added a breather hose to the
top of the trans. Ran this to the valve cover. Did the same
with the t/c hose. Configured the reverse switch to mate to
the original harness. Installed a new release bearing. Lined
up the trans/t/c combo and installed it. While I had the
trans out, I hesitated about closing up the open areas on
the bellhousing of the trans. It was discussed on different
jeep lists about filling these holes in to help keep debris
out of the clutch area. I took a light and moved it around
the rest of the bellhousing, its not sealed all around at
all. So I left it and saw no point in filling it in.
Mounted it to the engine with no problems. Verified the
location of the trans shifter looks good. Installed the
mount, then the crossmember. But what now!!! The crossmember
is moved back 4 or so inches. The trans is attached to the
engine. It wasn't longer in any shape than the Peugeot. Took
a measurement in respect to the Peugeot location in the
frame in relationship to the front lower control arm mount.
Compare this to the AX-15 donator and there is a 4"
difference! There are holes in the frame for this but they
are not threaded. My XJ holds the crossmember with a
stud/bolt and screw combo. The screw is inserted into a
threaded hole in the frame. See miles2.gif items #16, 15 and
11 are typical for the XJ. Pulled up the carpet. Above the
stock location for the stud, there is a plug hole. Popped
the plug and there is a plate with bolt looking blocks in
the location of the holes. I will have to tap the holes to
accept whatever screw I intend to use (larger than the hole
itself). Delayed once again. Went to get the metric tap
(10x1.5mm) to fit the stock screws.
Night #7
Cut threads into the frame holes. Cut holes in crossmember
to provide room for the original stud/screw arrangement of
the stock crossmember. The crossmember is 6" or so wide
where its moved back only 4" in the swap. Installed
crossmember. Went to install the 4x4 shifter linkage. The
shifter rod on the Peugeot was to long for the application
of the AX-15. If you look at miles1.gif, you will see item
#11. On the AX-15 its total length is 6". On the Peugeot its
10". I also had to replace the floor mount (item #14) of the
pivot point for the shifter rods because of the location of
the tranny is approximately 4" back. In the pic the pivot
point (items #21,22,23) shows its close to middle of the
bracket. In the AX-15 application, its back near the rear.
This piece is the floor mounted point for the linkage near
the trans. Everything is relative!! When I removed the
linkage from the donor, I cut away at the joint between item
#11 and #9. Of course its easier to cut away at something
small so I cut at item # 11 to break it loose from the
truck. Bad thing to do. So now, I'm enlarging the hole on
item #24 (the block) to fit over the Peugeot link.
Then there is the support for the exhaust. Mine came with a
`c' channel which is welded to the catalytic converter. In
miles2.gif, item #21. The 96 comes with a rod for support.
John cut the channel and I place the rod into the `c'
channel and left it as is. Installed the starter and truck
is up and running.
My initial pics were trash. I went and got the attachments
from the dealership to help describe it in a drawing form.
In looking over miles2.gif, items 24 are the trans mount.
The spread of the bolts is different in comparison between
the 2 trannys. However, my 87 crossmember is predrilled for
both mounts whereas the 96 is not. Item #17 is similar to
the Peugeot mount. Item # 25 shows how the crossmember is
relocated back 4". That leading plate has 4 holes to mount
to the AX-15. I can get at the AX-15 mounting bolts without
removing the crossmember. On the Peugeot, I could not. On
miles1.gif, the pic does not show a comparison to item #16.
Item 16 is the location for the trans support of the t/c
linkage. On the Peugeot it was just a little flat plate
which had a bent finger on it to keep it from rotating on
the Peugeot.
Its a swap which is easily done but can come with headaches
and delays as I have found out. Hopefully this write-up
will entice the DIY's in doing the same even if its with the
AX-5 swap. I didn't get into too much detail in breaking
down the parts and re-installing them, because it:
1. would require extensive detail on the write-up which
requires brain memory
2. take up more space in the write-up using correct terms
(again more brain power)
3. and would always be stopping for pictures (which means
another drink or two) and getting a good camera.
The t/c is a kind of design which is not difficult to tear
into then reassemble it like it was. There are several
levels which requires the removal of a snap ring, but it all
slides together and they are all different size snap rings.
Only one place to put it.
The torque settings are:
t/c to tranny bolts 26 ft#
bellhousing to engine bolts 28 ft#
tranny mount to crossmember 33 ft#
crossmember to frame bolts 30 ft#
driveshaft bolts 170in#
And one last thing don't forget to fill the tranny and t/c
with proper fluids.
Costs: (~$1640)
1996 AX-15* complete - bellhousing, slave cylinder,
reservoir, 4x4 shift linkage, boots, shifter, crossmember,
mount, tranny (33k miles), crank sensor, and all bolts
associated Yard sale: $1200
Advance Adapters Inc. 23 spline input gear for NP231 T/C
Part #716053 w/ shipping $182
Pilot Bearing for CJ 304-3-sp combo. Part # 690-042 $2.75
Machine Shop labor: press off old input gear bearing, press
on new bearing $10
Jeep Dealership Purchases:
- Hyd Ctrl (Hydraulic reservoir, line and external slave
cylinder as one unit) Part #52104110 $122
- Input Gear Bearing Part # 4338891 $52
- T/C front cover plate seal Part # J5359457 $3.60
- Release Bearing (96 application) Part #53008342 $57.50
- Pad Kit Part #21-109-15 $7.10 (shift fork plastic)
- Bushing Part #21-118-47 $2.70 (shift fork rod plastic)
*Side note: The cycle yard did have a Peugeot trans from a
stolen XJ with 135k miles. They would guarantee the trans
for 90 days. It sold for $950. I took the AX-15 route in
looking to keep my XJ on the road or off by my choice
whenever I can.
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