joester1908 Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I'm buying an 87 Cherokee Chief this week. It's a 2 door with 190k on it. It has a D44 rear axle, no rust. 4.0 liter, BA10 and NP231. I drove the thing around the neighborhood and got it up to speed. The transmission shifts perfectly. Doesn't grind, pop out of gear, or anything. Visually, it is a smaller diameter than my AX15 in the Comanche, but how bad is it really? Obviously, I've heard the horror stories about them. What do you guys think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnkyboy Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I wouldn't go out of my way to swap out a good working one, but if it ever went out I wouldn't put another one in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nitroxsteve Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 The only part of the drivetrain in my 88 that is original is the ba10 the engine has been rebuilt the rear end replaced. I have also changed the tail shaft housing to convert it to 4wd and it works fine. I think that the problem that caused short life on the BA was the drain and fill plugs are oddball and most of them never got serviced. When purchasing an xj or mj I would only concern myself with it shifting properly at the time of purchase. Not what it is equipped with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joester1908 Posted November 25, 2014 Author Share Posted November 25, 2014 I guess that makes since. If its not broke, don't fix it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJTIM Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 My BA10 has 274000 on it. It has never left me stranded. My complaint about it is the internal slave cylinder. As the original owner, it is on it 5th slave cylinder. It will not get a 6th. I have an AX15 waiting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mnkyboy Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 The only part of the drivetrain in my 88 that is original is the ba10 the engine has been rebuilt the rear end replaced. I have also changed the tail shaft housing to convert it to 4wd and it works fine. I think that the problem that caused short life on the BA was the drain and fill plugs are oddball and most of them never got serviced. When purchasing an xj or mj I would only concern myself with it shifting properly at the time of purchase. Not what it is equipped with. I had a neighbor that went through a 4.0l and a D44, the original BA10 just keeps on going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glundblad Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I have one too. But my truck hasn't had the crap beat out of it and it has low miles. It works like new. I have no intentions of swapping it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glundblad Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 BTW, a 2 door chief is pretty sweet. Black interior too? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted November 25, 2014 Share Posted November 25, 2014 I'm buying an 87 Cherokee Chief this week. It's a 2 door with 190k on it. It has a D44 rear axle, no rust. 4.0 liter, BA10 and NP231. I drove the thing around the neighborhood and got it up to speed. The transmission shifts perfectly. Doesn't grind, pop out of gear, or anything. Visually, it is a smaller diameter than my AX15 in the Comanche, but how bad is it really? Obviously, I've heard the horror stories about them. What do you guys think? The horror stories are mostly wildly exaggerated. The BA10/5 is not the ideal transmission of you expect to run huge tires and always hammer on the stupid peddle. Otherwise, driven more or less sanely, it's just fine. My '88 Cherokee has the BA10/5. It currently has a bit over 287,000 miles on it. Gear lube has been changed once in its lifetime. I've carried HEAVY loads from New England all the way to New Mexico. It's been off-roaded in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Paragon in Pennsylvania, and northern New Mexico. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
willi2ds Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Mine had over 100k on it when I lifted it, I've since put 40k-50k on it pushing 35's and have not had a problem. Light to moderate wheeling and I actually drive it harder on the street than I should. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjrev10 Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 Pics of the Cherokee?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joester1908 Posted November 26, 2014 Author Share Posted November 26, 2014 Pics of the Cherokee?? I didn't take any, but here are the ones from his ad BTW, a 2 door chief is pretty sweet. Black interior too? yep, I love the pattern of the seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
az comanches Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 The BA10 in my 88 Pioneer has 265,000 miles on it. I off-road this truck, I don't beat it, haul some huge loads of firewood out of the forest with it. Like Eagle I had the fluid changed once at about 100,000. Can't remember when I checked it last, never has leaked a drop. Most of the stories you hear of unreliability are probably the guys that do some hardcore wheeling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joester1908 Posted November 26, 2014 Author Share Posted November 26, 2014 I'm buying an 87 Cherokee Chief this week. It's a 2 door with 190k on it. It has a D44 rear axle, no rust. 4.0 liter, BA10 and NP231. I drove the thing around the neighborhood and got it up to speed. The transmission shifts perfectly. Doesn't grind, pop out of gear, or anything. Visually, it is a smaller diameter than my AX15 in the Comanche, but how bad is it really? Obviously, I've heard the horror stories about them. What do you guys think? The horror stories are mostly wildly exaggerated. The BA10/5 is not the ideal transmission of you expect to run huge tires and always hammer on the stupid peddle. Otherwise, driven more or less sanely, it's just fine. My '88 Cherokee has the BA10/5. It currently has a bit over 287,000 miles on it. Gear lube has been changed once in its lifetime. I've carried HEAVY loads from New England all the way to New Mexico. It's been off-roaded in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Paragon in Pennsylvania, and northern New Mexico. I don't doubt that's true. I am real easy on the skinny pedal, actually. Like I said, I don't plan on wheeling it at all. I think it will be ok. The body has a few dents from wheeling it. Totally worth it for $700 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillbilly51 Posted November 26, 2014 Share Posted November 26, 2014 My 88 Comanche Chief 4.0L has 133K miles and is on it's third BA10/5. I've never driven this truck hard and have always maintained the gear oil. The first transmission to break was when the truck had about 90K miles. The symptom was a "click, click, click,click" when my wife started the truck and drove it down my driveway. I knew that the noise was internal to the transmission so I pulled it and took it apart for inspection. Some how, or for some reason, one of the first gear teeth on the main cluster was broken off. The inside of the transmission looked pristine. I priced a new cluster gear, but decided to simply replace the transmission. I've still got that transmission and may get around to fixing it one day. I bought a used replacement on E-***, but it was a couple of months before I installed it. I should have checked the oil when I received the gear box, but I waited until I had it installed. When I did check it, about a cup full of water and black oil came out....that was all. The transmission had several bearings that were grinding, and always made a noise until it failed. I did get about 25K miles out of it though. The transmission that I now have was bought at a local junk yard and was guaranteed to be good. It has been, and still shifts smoothly and runs quietly. This time, I replaced the clutch with a new Luk kit. That said, I will never replace it again. I will make the change to the AX-15 with the external slave cylinder if it ever needs replacing. All in all, if you don't abuse the transmission and run recommended tire sizes, the BA10 performs pretty well. hope this helps Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joester1908 Posted November 26, 2014 Author Share Posted November 26, 2014 Thanks for the info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joester1908 Posted November 28, 2014 Author Share Posted November 28, 2014 I took some pictures of the Cherokee, and I've already swapped the 2 door seats in my MJ :rotf: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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