Swapping To An Ax-5 W/ 231 Q's

[Zenobian_84]

I know internally the AX-5 / 4 are different (1 gear exception); but are the two transmissions different externally?

 

Not sure when I plan on doing this, but I recently came into a little extra money, and have decided to try and find a good running 4x4 system to put into the truck. I know I need the following:

 

- Front and Rear Axles

- Setting up MJ perches in the back (assuming I get an XJ rear)

- Rear drive shaft shortened

- AX-5 Speedometer cable

 

But am unsure of these:

 

- Front driveshaft? Could I snag one out of an XJ and throw it in there (assuming it comes from a 231/AX-5 combo) Or would I have to find a suitable one from a 2.5?

 

- Brake Proportioning valve; how would I go about setting it up on an XJ axle? Does it need to be on the truck (IE: is it a must have for an MJ) or can I forego it altogether?

 

- Different or additional crossmembers?

 

- Is there an easy way to distinguish an AX-5 from the AX-15?

 

Could anyone help a newbie to the 4x4 scene out; is there anything else I need to obtain before I swap everything?

- - - - -

 

And I know this question has probably been done to death, but I'm still getting used to using the new search function (not on much anymore, sadly :( ) and I can't seem to find any results from searching for 2.5 4x4 related topics.

[Bounty Hunter]

The AX15 transmission case is 16-1/2" long. It features a cast aluminum case with a cast-aluminum mid-plate.

 

The AX5 transmission case is 15-5/8" long. It features a cast aluminum case with a cast-iron mid-plate.

 

I think the type of mid-plate is the easiest way to tell the two apart.

[mjeff87]

_{yup....use a magnet on the midplate. If it sticks, it's an AX5, if not it's an AX15}

 

_Jeff

[Biotex]

A tip on making searches more user friendly

Words with only 3 letters or numbers don't do well on most forum searches. For instance if you want to search for 2.5, that would be three characters and most likely ignored. If however you use a wildcard character of an asterik (*), and instead search for 2.5* then you will get more hits. So anytime you need to find a three character word, just add an * to the end of it.

Hope this helps...

[Geonovast]

The only way to tell the difference between the AX-4 and AX-5 is to count the gears... externally they are identical.

 

I'm a little confused about your front driveshaft question. Front shafts having nothing to do with XJ/MJ, it's all about engine/trans.

[Guest]

The only way to tell the difference between the AX-4 and AX-5 is to count the gears... externally they are identical.

 

I'm a little confused about your front driveshaft question. Front shafts having nothing to do with XJ/MJ, it's all about engine/trans.

So I remembered correctly; thanks.

 

Er; I believe what I meant was from what Engine/Trans combo would I be able to use the front driveshaft from. It's dependant on the spline count, correct?

[Geonovast]

No splines to worry about on the front shaft. Bolts on on both ends, has a slip joint in the middle. You'll need one from an 87+ 2.5 with a manual. 84-86 used the NP207, and had a CV joint on the T-case end instead of the double cardan U-joint system.

 

Spline count issues come up with mating a T-case to a transmission, which you'll not have to worry about if you buy them already together.