Ataki Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 I'm having an issue with the shifter for the AX-15 I swapped into my Comanche. With the shifter installed correctly, The upper part contacts the dash when I go for 1st, 3rd, or 5th. If I reverse the lower pivoting part, and turn the upper part around, It hits the console in 2nd, 3rd, reverse. I'm sure the transmission is in the correct place, Does anyone know if the ax4 and ax15 shifters are different? I have a feeling I may have used components of both when I put it back together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 what did the AX-15 come from? did you use the Dakota bellhousing to adapt the AX-15? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ataki Posted August 27, 2017 Author Share Posted August 27, 2017 1 hour ago, Pete M said: what did the AX-15 come from? did you use the Dakota bellhousing to adapt the AX-15? The AX-15 and 4.0 came from a 1990 Comanche, and I used a 98 XJ bellhousing to go external slave. I think I used the lower shifter part from the ax-4, and the upper from the ax-15, or vice-versa. I don't recall seeing any differences, but something's not right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Mesa XJ Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 I've heard of people who do the swap in the XJ have trouble with the position of the shifter. Not like this really. Some trim the Dakota bellhousing to fit properly it. Many say buy a aftermarket shifter. i can't think of a good reason for it to be like this unless it's a Dakota or Wrangler shifter. how did you separate the shifter haves? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ataki Posted August 27, 2017 Author Share Posted August 27, 2017 1 minute ago, Green Mesa XJ said: I've heard of people who do the swap in the XJ have trouble with the position of the shifter. Not like this really. Some trim the Dakota bellhousing to fit properly it. Many say buy a aftermarket shifter. i can't think of a good reason for it to be like this unless it's a Dakota or Wrangler shifter. how did you separate the shifter haves? I placed the lower part with the pivot ball in a vise, then drove the parts apart with a drift punch and hammer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88whitemanche Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Cherokee/comanche shifters are the same wether from ax4/5//Ax15 except the mounting plates that mount on the transmission... if your using the ax4 mounting plate how are you shifting at all? When I tried to swap my ax5 mounting plate to the Ax15 it was too small to fit on the transmission I had to get one for an Ax15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Mesa XJ Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 4 hours ago, Ataki said: I placed the lower part with the pivot ball in a vise, then drove the parts apart with a drift punch and hammer. If the fittings are perfectly square maybe you miss aligned it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 He's gotta have a stick from a Wrangler. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ataki Posted August 28, 2017 Author Share Posted August 28, 2017 2 hours ago, 88whitemanche said: Cherokee/comanche shifters are the same wether from ax4/5//Ax15 except the mounting plates that mount on the transmission... if your using the ax4 mounting plate how are you shifting at all? When I tried to swap my ax5 mounting plate to the Ax15 it was too small to fit on the transmission I had to get one for an Ax15 I used the base plate from the 1990 AX-15, so no issues there. I'm thinking the pivot ball section of the shifter may be different, but unfortunately, I don't have the other part to check. 1 hour ago, Green Mesa XJ said: If the fittings are perfectly square maybe you miss aligned it. I suppose this is possible, But wouldn't the shifter be at an awkward angle at the knob? 1 hour ago, Jeep Driver said: He's gotta have a stick from a Wrangler. It's unlikely, but anything is possible at this point, I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 I have a shifter (and ax-15) from a wrangler and the knob is reeeeeeeal close to the dash. what trans crossmember did you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88whitemanche Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Do you have any pictures? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJTIM Posted August 28, 2017 Share Posted August 28, 2017 Is the shifter from a YJ? Those are taller and straighter. The MJ/XJ shifter are shorter and angle back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ataki Posted August 28, 2017 Author Share Posted August 28, 2017 18 hours ago, Pete M said: I have a shifter (and ax-15) from a wrangler and the knob is reeeeeeeal close to the dash. what trans crossmember did you use? I pulled the crossmember from a 96 XJ. I would have grabbed the shifter as well, but pick-n-pull was soft-crushing all the early xj's for some reason. 9 hours ago, 88whitemanche said: Do you have any pictures? I'll take some tonight and post them up. 8 hours ago, 87MJTIM said: Is the shifter from a YJ? Those are taller and straighter. The MJ/XJ shifter are shorter and angle back. I suppose it's possible, but I was told it's a factory mj/xj part. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ataki Posted August 29, 2017 Author Share Posted August 29, 2017 Here's a couple of pics. you can see I have the lower shifter portion reversed. With it in the correct position, I have to slam the shift knob pretty hard into the dash to get into the upper gears. (In Neutral) A pic of the transmission placement: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Looks like a Wrangler to me. Do yourself a favor https://core-shifters.com/products/core-hurst-shifter-1989-1999-jeep-cherokee-comanche-6-cyl-w-ax15-5-speed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Green Mesa XJ Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Look a little off to me. But not quite like a wrangler. Or at least the wranglers i can google a picture of. is it absolutely seated correctly? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88whitemanche Posted August 29, 2017 Share Posted August 29, 2017 Ok that is a xj/mj shifter... have you been able to drive it? Maybe when you installed the shifter the little plastic ball didn't settle in the pivoting hole..that's the only thing that I could think of that could've went wrong... as far as hitting the console while shifting into the lower part of the box it's normal. mine hits and moves the console all together Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ataki Posted August 29, 2017 Author Share Posted August 29, 2017 21 hours ago, Jeep Driver said: Looks like a Wrangler to me. Do yourself a favor https://core-shifters.com/products/core-hurst-shifter-1989-1999-jeep-cherokee-comanche-6-cyl-w-ax15-5-speed I would love to have that, But the move still has my bank account tapped out. 18 hours ago, Green Mesa XJ said: Look a little off to me. But not quite like a wrangler. Or at least the wranglers i can google a picture of. is it absolutely seated correctly? It is, I made sure 10 hours ago, 88whitemanche said: Ok that is a xj/mj shifter... have you been able to drive it? Maybe when you installed the shifter the little plastic ball didn't settle in the pivoting hole..that's the only thing that I could think of that could've went wrong... as far as hitting the console while shifting into the lower part of the box it's normal. mine hits and moves the console all together It does work, It's down in there. With the lower portion reversed, I can't even mount the console. The only thing I can think of is that the lower portion is different from the ax-4 to ax-15. I can't recall seeing any difference, though. I lost the other parts in the move, so I can't verify it. I suppose I could put another bend in the shifter, but I'd rather do it right. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88whitemanche Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 Shouldn't be any different, i used my handle assembly from my ax5 when I swapped to an Ax15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 The bottom piece is either the incorrect one for an AX-15 or somehow it's 180° off. This is mine as it exits the trans it bends towards the front, the shifter is in neutral in the picture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
88whitemanche Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 Shouldn't be any different, i used my handle assembly from my ax5 when I swapped to an Ax15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ataki Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 14 minutes ago, 88whitemanche said: Shouldn't be any different, i used my handle assembly from my ax5 when I swapped to an Ax15 Mine came out of an ax-4 10 minutes ago, fiatslug87 said: The bottom piece is either the incorrect one for an AX-15 or somehow it's 180° off. This is mine as it exits the trans it bends towards the front, the shifter is in neutral in the picture. Edit trying to load picture Thanks for the pic, I'll have to examine that. You picked the proper interior color, btw. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ataki Posted August 30, 2017 Author Share Posted August 30, 2017 Tomorrow I'll flip that lower section around the proper way and double check, but from the picture it does seem to have less of a bend on yours than on mine. Strange. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 According to the 87-90 parts manual these are the part numbers for the gear shift lever assembly: AX4/5 XJ/MJ gas 83500518 AX4/5 XJ/MJ diesel 83501407 AX4/5 YJ 83503110 AX15 XJ/MJ 5252042 AX15 YJ 5252055 So AX4/5 and AX15 are different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fiatslug87 Posted August 30, 2017 Share Posted August 30, 2017 It looks like your shifter is from an AX4/5 the pictures in this thread look like your shifter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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