DirtyComanche

This is my opinion. No normal external pump setup is reliable for a higher pressure FI vehicle. The Ford style pump that everyone uses actually came in conjunction with an in tank "lift" pump that provided it with a positive head pressure. When not used in this arrangement it is not reliable, and many people have proven this over the years by running it in a manner other than how the factory intended. The only way to make this setup reliable is to use a pump that was really meant to be run externally and actually drawn fuel from a sump, which there isn't many of and they're really expensive, or to run a lift pump, which defeats the purpose of the external pump, or to run one that is below the sump of the fuel tank using a bottom feed pickup (as in drill a hole in the bottom of the tank to feed it), which will not package well in this chassis using the stock tank and therefore isn't really viable either. All the racers that run external pumps, and actually want to finish the race, run dual pumps. Life is measured in hours rather than thousands of miles. The guys I gave a hand to with racing only ran a single pump, and it was replaced every race, and even then we still had a DNF due to a failed pump.

And?

Yuck.

There's also plenty of horror stories about the build quality of the Mishimoto (which is not in any way made in Japan, don't let the name fool you, it's made in China) radiators and their other 'performance' parts. I'd steer clear.

Thanks for that. Now my Amazon cart, it's going to replace the insanely bright blue spaceship POS that currently inhabits my dash.

^^^ Nice box, it should serve you well for a long time.

Change the hoses. They will come with new orings. If they are old enough to need orings then they are old enough to need replacement. Change the fluid at the same time. Looseness might be other things. Rule that out before changing or adjusting the box. In general good used OEM parts will be better than the hack remans out there.

Who sells ones that are worth buying? Debating building up my spare for my XJ as it doesn't really like the heavy tires.

I bought myself a Fein Slugger dry cut saw. Otherwise it's the usual, some socks and other clothes, nice shaving kit, a book, and some new towels. I'm bad for buying everything I want or need, same with the rest of my family, so meaningful/useful gifts are a struggle. I got my nephew a Thomas and friends "Super Cruiser" since I gave him the "Super Station" for his birthday. He's the only person in my entire family that's actually easy to buy gifts for.

Just screwing around with a cheap Amazon lens I bought. Damn riverboat rocked too much in the waves though!

Glad they could make you more better!

I recommend getting a copy of the factory service manuals off Cruiser's website. http://cruiser54.com/?page_id=365 They're a lot better than the Haynes or Chilton ones.

I remember the username, that's going back a while, he was a friendly and helpful person. My condolences to you and your family, and thank you for stopping in to tell us.

Snow shoveling gets so many people. It's harder work than you remember. Take care of yourself.

You're way better off using the HO TB, intake, fuel rail, etc, and then adapting the Renix TPS.

How about by starting with some pictures? I've never seen the inner parts of it.

I don't know. Google. Look at the P/Ns on Rockauto. Ask people that have done things. Etc. Pirate has a lot of good info if you're willing to look, but some of it is dated now. Most of the time you can find enough basic info about something to make a list of further questions and either go ask somewhere or slowly Google them away. The OP of this thread should read this from start to finish: https://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/jeep-hardcore-tech/735270-5-3-jeeps.html It's interesting because the understanding of the swaps evolved a lot in the 11 years.

Yes. Also wouldn't suggest it unless you were doing an electric "EV" conversion.

Also, for the OP, I'd pick up a GM NV3500 over an adapter to an AX-15. Then find a suitable GM tcase, a 241 from a 4L80E truck would probably work (don't quote me, I think the NV3500 used a 27 spline output actually and the 4L80E uses a 32, you may have to steal the input gear from whatever came with the transmission). The NV3500 is a better tranny than the AX too, snychro'd is all gears and meant to survive behind a 4.8L (wasn't offered with the 5.3L but would handle it fine. A 6.0L and abuse would not likely end well). There's some potential issues with this setup but they're all easy to solve. Factory everything that way. You want a speed sensor and a hi-low switch too, hence the GM tcase, as the "LS" tunes need correct VSS input to function correctly. Most hack tuners delete the VSS input (Novak does this) and it will quite likely produce some odd running issues when the vehicle comes to a stop or is moving slowly with minimal throttle input. The more factory parts that were mostly meant to be bolted together that you use the better it will be in the long run.

Sure. Let's look at what they have to say about the NV4500. The NV4500 isn't a great transmission for all applications, but it is a good choice for some. Probably not something anyone here wants though, but I've dealt with them a bunch so we'll go with it. Whole article below, no need to read it. What we need to know before we even get into it. They don't make adapters for the NV4500. Hence they aren't interested in saying anything good about it. The main reason they don't make adapters for it is because you don't need an adapter for many applications you'd likely use it for, so they wouldn't sell very well. AA also completely beat them to the punch on this and dominated the market for the applications that do need an adapter. I'm not going to pick the whole thing apart, that would take way too long. To break it down by parts: Ah. You've completely missed the fact that it has ANOTHER gear. Why would that be important? Because it means the split between the ratios is less, meaning you can actually keep the engine somewhere near the powerband when shifting. Granted, the NV4500 has less than ideal splits, but it certainly is way better than the HD 4-speeds they'd love to sell you an adapter for. And compared with a 3 speed it's night and day. Also it isn't mentioned at that point that the synchronized nature of 1st gear (and reverse on the later versions) means you can shift into those rather useful gears as hell of a lot easier on the fly. It's not 1986 anymore. We aren't building 82" wheelbase Jeeps. Yes, it's big, no, it's not that big. It is the same height as the SM420/465 or NP435 that you're going to tout as being the better option. If you had to mod your trans tunnel for the NV4500, you'd have to for one of those. There was one on Marketplace for $250 a few days ago. I paid $600~ (converted) for one. They're common now. Not rare. You can still buy them new, and that actually is a plus. Good luck buying any transmission new for much less money. No, just no. Behind a 1000ft-lb diesel they break, yes, behind a gasser they don't... They imply that a NP435 or SM465 would actually survive that reliably and for as long. They won't. It's been proven. Plus there is updated parts to fix these issues if you are using them in that application. But why mention that? Again, no. Here is what AA sells to bolt it to a Jeep engine: https://www.advanceadapters.com/products/712553--dodge-nv4500-to-jeep-258--v8-bellhousing-adapter-plate-kit/ They want $285 for it. Yes pilot bushings suck (Novak uses them too), but $285 is in no way expensive or complicated. Would use stock clutch linkage. I have no idea what they think is so hard about this. You can then bolt a Jeep Tcase to it if you swap the input gears. Again, what is so hard or expensive about that? Likewise AA has a bunch of fairly inexpensive adapters to put just about anything else behind it; I used their NP205C adapter with one in my plow truck. Wrong. They got to 1-1/4" input shafts in later production. That is relevant because the 10 spline 1-1/8" is the same as a Jeep clutch, but the later 1-1/4" isn't. Here is the LuK clutch with specs for such a variant: https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.php?pk=4696164&cc=1377569&jsn=1903&jsn=1903 Oh, so earlier on you said they have multiple gearing options. Then you don't include it here? Length also varies depending on input variant. Anyways, my point is that they present "factual tech" with a pretty serious slant to their product line. There is some more blatant errors in some other the other stuff, while the NV4500 piece is more an opinion piece.

And I'm going to say it now so I don't have to keep saying it. Their tech is wrong. They know 80% and base everything on that. You need to know more to have the right answer though. Don't treat what they said as gospel, it isn't, it's the result of not knowing and tailoring the answer to the products they sell.

They make some okay stuff. Their motor mounts for an LS in an XJ/MJ are terrible. Their tuning is so bad you might as well just not bother. Their radiator for that swap is a $100 Chinese Ebay radiator that's been repackaged.

Not interested in really reading the thread. Novak sells crap parts and has incorrect tech. Keep that in mind.

Or dual motors.

You may not need to change the clocking, assuming you're okay with some of the issues caused by that. It will fit, but it's super close to the floor, so most guys do a little massaging on it. The tcase linkage also might need some fiddling. Otherwise just drill the adapter housing. Instead of that jig you might be able to borrow a D300/NPwhatever clocking ring and use it to transfer punch the holes. Or just lay it out conventionally or by using a paper pattern. The hole tolerance doesn't have to be that amazing. You can also buy the adapter housing new: https://www.allstategear.com/AX15-Adapter-Housing-p/4636372.htm (Look around for a better price, they still make the AX-15 so the parts are all out there)