AX4 swap

[uplandhawaii]

Aloha all,

Haven't been on in a while since I sold my 89 at the beginning of the year. Just got an 88' and I have a few questions for you.

 

The 88 has the 2.5/AX4 combo, can I swap in an AW4 behind the 2.5? The engine is solid and I don't plan on changing it, with gas prices in Hawaii it works out for me.

 

I've searched but can't seem to find a bell housing for the 2.5 to AW4, info from the web says it was offered from the factory. Can anyone confirm or disprove it?

 

I already have a 1996 AW4/231 with the AWshift box from Brett from my 89 conversion. So I have the parts if it'll work. If not the MJ stays a 2wd DD.

 

TIA!

upland

[Eagle]

There was a bell housing to mount the AW4 to the 2.5L engine, but it was discontinued many years ago. Junkyard is your only hope, and good luck trying to find a junkyard that would know what tranny was in a 2.5L MJ.

[uplandhawaii]

That's not good. I guess finding one in a Hawaii junkyard is going be slimmer than slim. Guess its time to scour the web or just drive her for now.

 

Thanks for the info!

upland

[Pete M]

A bellhousing doesn't weigh all that much. Shouldn't be too hard if you can find a junkyard over here that will separate the housing and torque converter (and whatever else is needed) from the rest of the trans and then ship it. Try car-part.com I see there's a place in Virginia selling the whole 2wd trans for $50. I'd give them the 50 and tell them to keep the trans. :D

[uplandhawaii]

Thanks I'll give a look see and check on the shipping.

:cheers:

[uplandhawaii]

What search criteria did you use?

[Pete M]

I searched for an 89 Jeep Comanche transmission and then a 2wd 4cyl.

[uplandhawaii]

Thanks, I just emailed the VA parts yard. I was searching under jeep trucks instead of jeep comanche.

 

Was the AW4 the only available tranny for the 88? Or was the torqueflight available as well? It didn't mention tranny type in the add.

[Pete M]

As far as we've been able to determine, the AW4 came into play in 87 and replaced the earlier non-overdrive transmission. Best bet is to get them to read the tag on the trans.

[Eagle]

But the XJ 4-bangers didn't get the AW4 at all, and I don't know if the MJs all got it. When I asked the parts guy at my dealership about the bell housing, he didn't believe me that it might exist until he looked. This is a good parts man at a good Jeep dealer, where virtually all of the techs and parts guys drive some kind of Jeep. For Todd to never have heard of it suggests that it was a rather rare bird.

 

So ... this is why I wrote about good luck expecting a yard to know what tranny is behind a 4-cyl MJ. Most of them are going to be Chrysler 904/999s. If they say they have what you need, make sure they go back and triple check that the tranny is an AW4 before you give 'em your credit card info.

[mjtjnj]

The 87-89 MJ's with 4 cyl and overdrive autos were the AW4, believe it or not; nearly indestructible behind the 2.5L. Gearing was usually 4.56 for that setup as well.