Master7122 Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Just curious if anyone has gotten their ax15 rebuilt and roughly how much it cost them? Have the opportunity of buying a nice comanche but the trans has no 3rd gear so it’ll need to be rebuilt, called a shop and mechanic said he needs truck in shop to give a quote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete M Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 does his quote include removing it from the truck? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Lots of rebuilders do not really rebuild them, they pull them apart and fix whatever is blown up. Hence probably wanting to see it... You can buy a brand new one later style one from Novak for $1540, it comes with everything other than a bellhousing. I doubt Novak is cutting any sort of a deal, so I'm sure it can be found cheaper. So don't pay anything more than that for it to be rebuilt. Ideally if you're going to do this you should track down an external slave bellhousing and convert it over. Another good option would be to get a whole later style AX-15 from the a wrecker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJTIM Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Playing devil's advocate... It wouldn't make much sense to go that far and only change 3rd gear. A complete rebuild kit sells for ~$350 at Morris Jeep - but that is Crown (C.R.A.P.) I don't see seals or gaskets listed on the included parts list - add another ~$200. That's $550. Different (better quality) brand would add to that price. So let's say materials, all in, is going to run $700. Now you have to pay for the labor to tear down and rebuild. With a $50 labor rate and 10 hours (guess), you can add $500 more. You're already $1000 to $1200. Have you looked on Craigslist for used Jeep 4.0 with a manual. For the price of a rebuild, you could get a parts Jeep. Just my 2¢. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnj92131 Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 If you Google "AX-15 Rebuild" you will find a bunch of rebuilt ones offered for sale. Prices have a wide range. You will have to add in a new clutch/flywheel/ slave cylinder and who knows what else. Then you will have to price out the labor for a "normal" transmission change. Don't forget that there will be more things that previous owners have left off or buggered up. You will have to pay for those also. All the above is why the shop tells you they need to see the truck in their shop. Suggest you tell the seller he needs to get the truck to your shop so you can get a repair estimate and then decide if you can reach a reasonable price agreement with the seller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnj92131 Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 3 minutes ago, 87MJTIM said: Playing devil's advocate... It wouldn't make much sense to go that far and only change 3rd gear. A complete rebuild kit sells for ~$350 at Morris Jeep - but that is Crown (C.R.A.P.) I don't see seals or gaskets listed on the included parts list - add another ~$200. That's $550. Different (better quality) brand would add to that price. So let's say materials, all in, is going to run $700. Now you have to pay for the labor to tear down and rebuild. With a $50 labor rate and 10 hours (guess), you can add $500 more. You're already $1000 to $1200. Have you looked on Craigslist for used Jeep 4.0 with a manual. For the price of a rebuild, you could get a parts Jeep. Just my 2¢. $50 labor rate??? Labor rates are different depending on what kind of place does the work. Here in San Diego, the truck I have the 91 Comanche in right now is $110 per hour. If I want to get a lower labor rate, I have the option to take the truck to a shop in Tijuana, Baja California for about $45/50 labor rate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
87MJTIM Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Labor rates do vary from place to place. I was being conservative. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 10 minutes ago, 87MJTIM said: Labor rates do vary from place to place. I was being conservative. Is there a shop anywhere in the first world that charges only $50/hour though? It's $100-135 in my experience, dealer is about $150. Honestly I would buy a brand new one before trusting some sort of 'rebuild' any day of the week. As I see it, the only good options are buy new ($1540 US), buy a good complete unit from the boneyard ($650 CAD here no discount, so that's about $500), or buy a parts XJ that you know shifts correctly for ???? (normally can be had for under $1000, but you probably want to pick and choose so you get a transmission worth swapping in). Then plan to buy a flywheel, clutch kit, and a master/slave, plus you might as well change the transmission mount while you're there for another $20. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 Rebuilder wants it in the shop so he can talk you into taking it out for inspection, then with it on the bench in a pile....................you get the big F....... Buy NEW! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master7122 Posted May 1, 2018 Author Share Posted May 1, 2018 Thanks everyone for their input. Jeep is an 88’ and the owner swapped in the ax15 with external slave as an upgrade but found out no 3rd and lost interest. I’m gonna look for already rebuilt ones (cheaper obviously) and put it in myself. Also new clutch flywheel ect when ax15 went in but I’ll find out Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DirtyComanche Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 If the rest of the Jeep is nice I'd consider just buying a new one. You already have the external slave and bellhousing, and I'm assuming you're getting a deal on the Jeep because it has no third gear. Like I said, I think you can get one cheaper than Novak's price. Brand new, with a warranty. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Master7122 Posted May 2, 2018 Author Share Posted May 2, 2018 Yeah I’m getting the Jeep for 600$. It has 92k miles and it’s a metric ton package as well so i wanna jump on it ASAP Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnj92131 Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 1 hour ago, Master7122 said: Yeah I’m getting the Jeep for 600$. It has 92k miles and it’s a metric ton package as well so i wanna jump on it ASAP Jump on it! I could be interested in buying the complete transmission/bell housing etc if you want to sell the whole thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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