jpnjim

hey man, if I can get a bad rap for being a piece of sh*t, then so can the pukegoat. I've not once seen one that didn't have issues after it was even mildly abused. as for an ax5 behind a 4.0....it's NOT possible. there's no bellhousing for it. that all said, I transplanted a buick 3800 from a 1996 camaro into my 1986 longbed comanche. it's a 60 degree gm bellhousing with a 90 degree block, and more or less bolted to the transmission (custom clutch @$$'y and modified bellhousing for starter). I abused that motor ALOT. beat a 2 cylinder rotary RX7 with it hands down lol. the 3800 outputs more hp and more torque than a 4.0 liter while being more efficient, in stock form. mine is bored over .030 with competition cams, outputting 263hp and around 230ftlb torque, and it EATS ax5's like nothing. as I've said, I can't get more than 1K miles on an ax5 with it. hence I have an ax15 and dakota bellhousing. unfortunately something got in the number 3 bearing on the motor, so I have it out and am rebuilding it now. Wow, I didn't want to polute this guys thread with this stuff, but here goes: I know an AX-5 won't bolt to a 4.0L. I also know they could've easily built a bellhousing to fit, if they thought it would hold up. The fact that they didn't, and designed an AMC to AX15 bell instead should say something about what they thought an AX5 could handle. If the cheaper AX5 could hold up, why go to the 15? As far as Peugeot abuse, I ran converted 88/89 2wd Peugeots, that had the taller 3.76 1st gear. It's not much difference, but the 2 blown up ones I dissected both had deeper 4.00:1 first gears. (all things being the same, deeper gears = weaker). I also ran 85w90 gear oil, instead of 10w40. Like I said above, I would sometimes bring a spare with me, so I wasn't holding back on them, and I never had one fail off road. I've broken plenty of other stuff, but the Peugeot's held up.

I agree. I've also had more good luck, than bad with them. At one point, when worn, nearly junk BA10-5's were selling for $1000+ each, I'd bring a spare when wheeling out of state, but I never needed it. When the 250k one failed in my 87', it made a ton of noise first, and gave me plenty of notice it was crapping out. That was before I knew you could convert 2wd BA's to 4wd, so I nursed it along for months, till I could buy a whole YJ, just for the tranny. (still less than $1k tho).

At a car show, I walked up to a guy & his Javelin, with a huge 871 blower sticking through the hood. Not exactly my thing, but nicely done. Then I was surprised to notice the engine was a 304, instead of being a 360,390, or 401. I didn't want to insult him, but was wondering why throw so much money at a 304, when a 390/401 would've been such a better choice. Even a 360 would be a huge advantage. His reply: "Well, you'll find that the 360's & 390's are actually Ford engines, and the 401 is a factory overbored Chevy 396" Me : :huh???: Him "I wanted to build an AMC engine, so I went with the 304". I thanked him, and walked away. :clapping: It takes all kinds. :D

The Peugeot tranny was expensive, and only used to fulfill 'French Content' requirements put in place by the French government over Renault. Once Chrysler took over, they no longer had to meet those requirements, and worked to phase out the French parts. Yes, but if it was a good transmission, don't you think they would have kept it? :rotf: I guess my point is that the AX-5 isn't a bad trans. I think the Peugeot gets a bad rap. I replaced one bad one @250k miles, and had 3 others that held up fine. I really doubt an AX-5 would hold up as well behind a 4.0L. Using it only behind the 2.5L gives the false sence of it being stronger than it is. Even still, plenty of people break them with 2.5L's, and that's saying alot. They went to the extra effort & cost of using AX-15's in 2.5L Dakota's for a reason.

Easiest guess would be the tranny is bad, but I'm confused that the noises went away for a day after the swap. Might have been the new fluid, and getting rid of the metal filled old oil. If the shop did the oil change, they should've known you have serious damage, and driving it like that will only make it worse. Safest bet would be to drain the oil again, and look at it. If there was shavings in it before, and you didn't fix anything internal, they're probably back again. Are the noises worse now than they were before you did the work? Is it possible they used the wrong lube? As far as the clutch, it sounds like something isn't tight, and letting air into the system. Is the res still full? Look at the oil, if there's metal in there again, already, start thinking about a replacement.

The Peugeot tranny was expensive, and only used to fulfill 'French Content' requirements put in place by the French government over Renault. Once Chrysler took over, they no longer had to meet those requirements, and worked to phase out the French parts.

My 87/88 book shows two numbers, the 83502855 & 83503114. Maybe one was for the earlier 207 case (IDK). Either way, earlier YJ yokes I have pulled off were more rounded, like the XJ yoke I posted (but with a deeper throat), and later ones were squared off. If I can find the other's, I'll post pics, and I'll snap a couple of the ground down XJ yoke if any of them are still around.

Here's the first two shafts out of the 'pile' (yeah, it's a mess down there). On left is YJ yoke on an XJ driveshaft (87 4.0L 5spd shaft). On right is XJ yoke, on XJ driveshaft (85 2.5L/auto shaft) Both unclearanced & stock as far as I know. Inside of XJ yoke (splined right to the end): Inside of YJ yoke (not even close to the end): It's possible that this is an aftermarket part, but atleast 3 of the 4 YJ yokes I have came off of stripped YJ's (I forgot to include the 4th YJ yoke off of the 92 Renegade that donated the engine currently in my MJ in my last post). I'd be shocked if every one of these yokes was replaced at sometime with aftermarket parts. I don't mean to sound p!ssed, but putting a huge "bogus information above" at the top of your post isn't the best way to disagree with someone who may have had different experiences, and come to different conclusions than your own. I can tell you for a fact that the castings changed over the production run of YJ's, so even if they use a newer, superceded part number for earlier years, that doesn't mean the same part was used for the whole run.

More bogus information above... Both of my '94 YJ yokes have full length splines. The yoke is 1/2" longer and allows for a large increase in axle droop before binding. The splines are the same length as a MJ yoke. Since the splines are full length you gain 1/2" of engagement. Just don't buy an aftermarket yoke one because some don't have full length splines. What do you mean BOGUS INFORMATION Have you been digging through the 20 years of Jeep parts in my basement? What would you like to know about the YJ yokes I have? I bought the first one from 'American Metal' in 1994. American Metal was an XJ specific lift manufacturer that rose from the ashes of Golden Desert Mercantile, around 93/94. They're long gone now, but you could get a custom 6.5" lift from them in 1995. The owner, Mike's black XJ, on old style Goodyear MT's was the first XJ I ever saw on 35's. That was in 1995. (on the above mentioned 6.5" lift). Also the first I read about on ft & rear 44's, with 4.88's. My memory is pretty good from back then, especially when I was spending money. I bought LCA's & that YJ yoke from Mike. Was it aftermarket? I have no idea. it was brand new, he sold it as a YJ yoke, and I believed him. It was longer than my XJ yoke, it allowed more droop, AND the splines DID NOT extend all the way to the end of the body. I measured them, and it worked out to EXACTLY the same spline engagement as the XJ yoke I removed. I know all this is true, especially since I ground down the XJ yoke, and used that with the spare driveshaft I used to carry. Once it was ground down, it was for all purposes exactly the same as the YJ yoke I had bought. The second one came from a bent 87' YJ I bought in 1997. The t-case was broken in half, but the yoke was fine, so I saved it. Was that aftermarket, or replaced sometime in the 10 years before I bought it, I have no idea. The yoke from that was a different casting from the 'American Metal' yoke, but it's splines were also not any longer than the XJ & later YJ yoke's I was already using. I know this, because I compared them, but did not bother to swap the ground down XJ yoke for this 'new' YJ yoke. The next year (1998), I bought the ft axle & T-case out of a 1995 YJ. I used the disconnect style 297 shafts in my MJ's axle, and, since it had 4.10's, I used the open carrier for my 4.65 gear swap. That third YJ yoke was a squared off casting exactly like the one I bought from American Metal (later style), and it's splines also did not extended all the way to the end. That one went onto the driveshaft I had shortened for the MJ. If I feel like it I'll snap some pics of all the bogus yokes I have kicking around here, and you can tell me how I'm making this all up, and/or casting them in my basement.

I got into AMC's first, then Jeeps. Got my first AMC (74 Javelin/AMX) in 1987 (@18 yo) for $100. Got my first Jeep (73 J4000 factory 360/4bbl/T-18 SF D60 rear) 3 years later. Next it went: XJ,XJ,MJ,MJ,YJ,MJ,ZJ,XJ,MJ. :D

What you gain in length you loose in spline engagement. So it's really a wash and not worth it as it actually does not do anything to make it longer. I've found this to be true too. YJ yoke 'was' longer, but splines inside were recessed from edge. YJ yoke did allow more joint angle, but (atleast the one I had) didn't allow any more spline engagement. FWIW, an XJ yoke can be ground, to allow the same joint angle as the YJ yoke, if you need more shaft droop.

I think I am reading this differently than you, to me, it sounded like the issue was only during shifting. I re-read it after your post, and if it's a constant noise, it would not be syncro's, or clutch (as you said). Your also right, that if it is a constant noise, they should not have diagnosed TO & clutch. :nuts:

Also, how does the clutch 'feel'? Does it engage/disengage very close to the floor, or higher up, where it should? Are you holding the pedal hard to the floor before shifting? What's on your floor (no rug, OEM rug, thick pad, thick floormats, etc)? Floor covering shouldn't matter much, but if you're engaging very low, it could make a difference. Also, assuming hydrolic clutch fluid level is correct & bled.

Welcome to CC. :D Those tranny's are failure prone, but from the sound of it, I'd still lean towards the throwout bearing. Could be the syncro's tho. Does it do it with the engine running & T-case in neutral (assuming 4wd)? What if (when driving normally) you match engine RPM's to speed (raise RPM's for a downshift, lower RPM's, but not to idle for an upshift)? If a throwout isn't completely disengaging, it can do this kind of thing, but syncro's could too. What does the 'tranny expert' you talked to earlier say?

PS, FWIW, this is more than just a little bit nuts.

A quick solution is to drill the another center pin hole in your spring perches, rearward of the center one you're using now. (measure carefully, so both sides match) Move the axle forward to the new hole, drill the top plate to accept the top (nut side) of the center pin in it's new location, and bolt everything back together. You can move the axle forward 3/4"-~2.5" this way (depending on how long your perches are). Also works to move the axle rearward. I drill multiple pin holes in the perches for every axle swap I do, right now my SWB MJ's axle is set back about 1.5". This D60 rear's been that way (in 2 different MJ's) since 1998. I had a slightly short driveshaft made for the original D35 (when I did the original 4x4 swap in 97), so I moved the 35 forward. When I put the 60 in (much longer pinion), I used the same trick to move it back, and keep the same driveshaft. Over the 11-12 years, I've had zero problems whatsoever with this mod. Of course you'd have to trim the ft edge of your flares/wheelwells, depending on how far you moved it.

Pic hog post trimmed down..... 4.5" ZJ coils (6.25"), SOA 33's Same lift, 33x12.5" TSL's (33 5/8" x 11.5") & flares moved up: Poser Pic on 37's: Different MJ, 1" less lift (3" ZJ coils = 5.25ish) With Q/78's ft (35 5/8" x 10.5"), 37x13.00 Boggers rear:

2.5L to AX-15/NV3550 w/Dakota bell: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?t=181361

With a lopey idle, at some point, you're gonna P-off the computer. If you don't go overboard, you can tighten up the lobe centers of a cam (as in 108, or 106 vs 110-112). This increases the overlap, increasing the lope of the cam, while actually beefing up the bottom, to midrange. It beefs up this range, because the total valve timing now happens over a shorter span. This may be counter-intuitive, but tigher lobe centers really does = rougher cam, AND beefier bottom-midrange. http://www.classicinlines.com/lobe_center.asp Only problem is finding how out far the computer will let you go with this.

Tough situation man, I wish you well. :thumbsup: For a locked rear end, with max ground clearance (max driveshaft clearance a plus), & high reliability wheeling, on 30" tires, I guess your choices are: 1) The fully polished D35, Detroit, & possibly 30spline shafts. I don't like this option, but if there ever was an application for it, your's is it. IF I went this way, I'd def run some kind of a brace, even that bolt on one could help. Lockers don't like it when the tubes are out of alignment, and D35's weak tubes like to bend. The only thing that would push me in this direction is if I got a great deal on one used. People build these up, then change their minds all the time. 2) MJ D44, with a locker (you said Detroit, so with a full Detroit). Probably cheaper than the above, but you'd likely end up putting the extra money into rebuilding the brakes (they're 2.5"x10" vs your D35's 1.75"x10", so the parts are different). Stronger housing, stronger gears, same size shafts (tho aftermarket shafts above may be stronger) Less ground clearance. 3) Aftermarket high clearance, high pinion D44. more diff clearance, more driveshaft clearance. Gear set is weaker than the 44 above, since it's running on the coast side of the gears. Assuming a 4.0L & 30" tires, the gears are more than up to the task. Negatives, cost. 4)Way over the top for this, but if you're looking at aftermarket 44's, you could also consider aftermarket 9's. A shaved 9 would give you even more clearance, and if you wanted to run a high pinion gearset, there's two options now (Currie HP9"/8.8", or the TrueHigh9"). True High 9" is stronger, with a higher pinion (highest of all HP axles), but is extreme overkill for this. Currie's HP is still overkill, but cheaper. Low pinion 9's have the lowest pinion of all common rears, so that would be a downfall if you went with a regular (LP) 9 rear. 5)Closest thing to a stock axle, that would give you ground clearance, strength, durability with a locker, and still be affordable, is a Toy diff. Tacoma rears are in our 60" wide range, and 2wd's even come in our 5 on 4.5" bolt patturn, but I don't think they make an 8" dropout in this size (I'm thinking all 2wd 5 on 4.5" Taco rears are 7.5" dropouts). Probably worth doing the research tho, since even stock, unshaved Toy axles have decent ground clearance with 30's. There's a factory high pinion version, if you really need the driveshaft clearance, and/or factory electric lockers. http://home.4x4wire.com/erik/diffs/ Just another option. (8.8 & 8.25's are also still options, but this post is already way too long winded :cheers: )

With 30" tires, I'd keep the D35, and keep one eye open for a better alternative (especially if I was going to go bigger someday). A high pinion 44 rear 'could' be worthwhile in a short wheelbase Jeep, with moderate tires & horsepower, but I couldn't ever see running one in an MJ. A stock MJ D44 would be the best option if you want bolt in reliability. Ford Explorer 8.8's, or a XJ 29sp 8.25" are easier to find, but require a little more work. Either way, with 30's, even that turdy-five should stand up reliably under moderate use. Tho I would not spend the $$ to upgrade the shafts on the 35.

I REALLY like full width cowl hoods. Kinda like the raised section of some late model Ranger pickups, but with the rear portion cut out. 71-74 Javelin AMX's had hoods like this, here's mine :D, (shameless plug ) Image Not Found Image Not Found I'd really like to do an XJ/MJ hood like this. Maybe someday.

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: Thanks! (better than I thought it would be).

I was scratching my head how to mount mine. I ended up putting the res forward & up, instead: Either way, hopefully the tire doesn't come close enough to grab the line as it exits the shock. It doesn't show in my pics, but I also flattened out where the line crosses under that sheetmetal joining point (where metal sticks straight out). Have you flexed yours up yet to see if it rubs the line anywhere? (I haven't). Glad to hear they ride nice :thumbsup: (mine's still in 'parked' mode).

X2. Anyone ever call & get a price/availability? I'm guessing (without the tire carrier) it would be in the upper $300, to $400 range based on their XJ bumper prices. I really like the shape & design. :thumbsup: