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BA10 to AX15 Swap


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The biggest worry would be the pilot bearing fitment.

I believe there is a pilot bearing for another Jeep that works.

NAXJA.org should have a write-up handy in their search.

Why would you need a pilot bearing from another Jeep? The XJ and MJ were offered with both the BA 10/5 and the AX-15 ... just buy the correct bearing for the tranny and install it.

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Might depend on the year AX-15. This excerpt is from the above article:

 

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. 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 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!

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Yeah, Pete, but you are quoting from a write-up about replacing an AX-5 with an AX-15. That means mating the AX-15 to an engine (and crankshaft) that Jeep never mated it to. This thread is about replacing a BA 10/5 with an AX-15. Both of those were 4.0L transmissions, so it's reasonable to think that Jeep has pilot bearings for them to work with the 4.0L engine.

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Mine's an '89 from a wrangler (258). I got a new bushing with my clutch kit and I looked at it and the one that was already in the crank and they were the same. So I threw some grease in the one that was in, and checked it for tightness and it is working just fine so far...

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Different years are indeed different size pilots. Mike the pilot shaft when you have both trans out and it's easy to tell. The slave cyl (integral type) is also different BA 10/5 to AX-15. And of course the bells don't swap.

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