BA 10/5 really a bad transmission?

[88mancheman]

Hey all so while I was on a road trip I was scrolling on Craigslist and seen a Jeep manual transmission for $100 so of course I called the guy up and scoop this hunk up and took it home, after getting it home and taking a fine tooth comb over everything I found out this ain’t an AX15 the guy claimed it was instead it’s a BA 10/5 transmission, while it’s still obvious it is a low miles transmission is this even worth my time and money to build and swap into my MJ? I currently have an AW4 that’s doing me well but I just want to return the MJ to its original state with a manual transmission... I’m just not 100% sure putting what came outta the truck back in is a great idea

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Eagle]

What year is your MJ? The BA 10/5 would be correct for an 87 or 88.

 

Is your truck stock? My '87 MJ and my '88 XJ both have the original BA 10/5 in them, and they shift fine. The XJ (and the tranny) has 287,000+ miles on them.

 

How do you drive? The BA 10/5 doesn't like to be treated like a drag race transmission. If you like to slam shifts, you'll probably kill it quickly. If you drive it like the [light duty] truck transmission it is, and allow the syncronizers time to line up and do their thing between gears, the tranny will likely last forever. 2nd gear, in particular, is "notchy." Mine don't like to go into 2nd when cold. On cold winter days, in fact, I run up a bit faster in first than I usually do, and skip 2nd until things have warmed up a bit. Also, I always double clutch downshifts -- in all gears. That's just habit. I was taught to double clutch by my grandfather, and my first several card didn't have synchromesh on all gears so double clutching was mandatory. It helps even if the tranny has synchros.

 

[88mancheman]

Thank you for the quick reply Eagle!
My MJ is an 88

Its close but not exactly stock, the current AW4 transmission driveshaft and Chrysler 8.25 rear end are swapped out of an 94 XJ, it has a spring over axle conversion in the rear which I’ve hear gives about 4.5” if lift in the rear(it really looks like 2-3”) and in the front it has a straight axle swap I believe out of the same 94 XJ with those ploy leveling blocks above the coils (I believe I measured them to about 2.5” ish but I could be wrong)she’s sitting on 31x10.5 MT tires everything else is stock to my knowledge :)

I usually drive like a grandpa to be honest there is the occasional time where I give it a little throttle to pass someone on the freeway... or get on the freeway for that matter or occasionally slide in some dirt but it’s very rare that my MJ sees more than 2500rpm on the street and no more than 3k rpm on dirt when crawling small hills and trials and obstacles and such in my local Offroad truck park called Holister hills ohv park

Would it be expensive to have a BA10/5 gone thru and synchros changed before I install it? And how hard is it to find parts for a BA10/5?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Eagle]

My understanding is that parts for the BA 10/5 are rare, and expensive.

 

Despite my preference for manual transmissions, if you do off-roading with oversize tires (even 31s), you're really better off with the AW4.

[88mancheman]

Eagle what size tire do you run on your rigs? Do you think 31” tires are majorly oversized for the BA10/5? I understand that the BA 10/5 is not ideal to be swapping back into the Jeep since I have the AW4 already installed and the AW4 seems to be the best option for off-roading, but in reality my rig sees road 80% of the time and the rest is mostly just trail riding and bumping over small obstacles like pipes and trees and crubs, I would eventually like to put an AX-15 behind the 4.0 in my MJ but I currently can’t afford a 2k transmission swap todo that so this to me seems to be the next most budget friendly option to get the MJ back to manual

Unless I am gravely mistaken aswell don’t some of the parts such as clutch and transmission crossmember and odd things like that from the BA 10/5 interchange with the AX-15?

Also of topic but a friend of mine called me up about 30 min ago and offered me another BA 10/5 outta his buddies MJ with a transfer case and driveshafts to swap right in...this makes me even more tempted since I will then have 2 transmissions Incase one takes a dump...am I crazy or am I just thinking outside the box..?





Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Eagle]

34 minutes ago, 88mancheman said:

Eagle what size tire do you run on your rigs? Do you think 31” tires are majorly oversized for the BA10/5?
 

 

The '88 XJ is riding on 31s now, but it was on 30s when I used it as my trail vehicle. Bigger issue is axle ratio -- I still have the factory axle ratio under it. I had intended to change to 3.73s, but then I picked up the '88 MJ Chief (which a previous owner had changed to an AX-15), and I used the new gears in that, instead. Deeper axle gearing makes life easier for the transmission.

[omega_rugal]

is a light duty trannny, so is best for on road use and little or no towing or heavy loads, are you sure is working ok? people usually ditch the BA10/5s because their are already damaged...i prefer a manual anyday but in this case maybe you should keep the aw4

[88mancheman]

The one I bought on my road trip to Reno I’m somewhat confident that it’s in good condition the older gentleman built his wrangler with a Chevy 350 and a th400 trans and said that it only had around 68k when he pulled it, only thing is I think I need to swap the rear housing from the MJ transmission to make the Transfer-case sit properly

As for the one I was just offered from my friends buddy he has paperwork to prove it was rebuilt about 30k ago but you never know...
Is there any way to know if they are just a big ole $100 boat anchor before I install them?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[omega_rugal]

On 12/25/2018 at 12:24 AM, 88mancheman said:

Is there any way to know if they are just a big ole $100 boat anchor before I install them?

 

AFAIK no...

[mjeff87]

On 12/24/2018 at 3:26 PM, 88mancheman said:

Unless I am gravely mistaken aswell don’t some of the parts such as clutch and transmission crossmember and odd things like that from the BA 10/5 interchange with the AX-15?

 

 

You are gravely mistaken

 

The AX15 uses all bits and pieces specific to only the AX15.  Crossmember, transfer case shift linkage/bracket (both the one on the tranny tunnel and the one attached to the trans), transfer case shift rod.....heck, even the cover panel for the floor inside the cab is specific to the AX15.

 

Most others (AX4/5, AW4, BA10/5) share at least some parts but no.......the AX15 is like that weird little kid that sat all by himself at the lunch table in 3rd grade.

[Darren]

I blew up a BA-10 trying to break the tires loose on wet asphalt with 4.56s and 30x9.50s. 

[87MJTIM]

1 hour ago, Darren said:

I blew up a BA-10 trying to break the tires loose on wet asphalt with 4.56s and 30x9.50s. 

 

Do you see the "cause & effect" from your actions?

[Pete M]

Mine grenaded itself while simply tooling down the highway in rushhour traffic.   wasn't even shifting at the time.  just a loud BANG then a cloud of smoke and a challenging drive home.  (it appeared that 5th gear somehow separated itself from the pack and blew a hole out the side of the case resulting in a quick loss of oil).  but in its defense, it last over 180k miles before that happened and it did get me the 30 miles home.   (I was stuck in 3rd for the last 10 and the screeching was painfully loud  )

 

it made me a bit gun-shy but would I skip buying a truck that had one?  no.  would I immediately swap one out that was doing fine?  no.  would I plan for the future and start hunting down an AX-15?  yes.  (got a TJ ax-15 in her now)

[JMO413]

Mine has a BA10 in it. I can tell you changing the oil with Redline MT90 makes it shift smoother. It's is severely better when it's 10 degrees out. I'm will be looking for an AX-15 while I drive it with the BA10!

[88mancheman]

Thank you guys for the reply’s! After a recent wheeling trip to my local OHV park I kinda made the decision that I need something stronger than the BA10/5 while it would be easy and cheap at the moment you guys are right it is a light duty transmission more geared towards street use with street tires and if I really want to put a 5 speed back into the truck I might aswell upgrade the truck and put an ax-15 or NV3550 into it......now that my next question thought... ax-15 or NV3550 which one is better?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Eagle]

1 hour ago, 88mancheman said:

.....now that my next question thought... ax-15 or NV3550 which one is better?
 

 

Having owned all three (my 2000 XJ Sport has the 3550), my opinion hands down is that the 3550 is the best. It's quieter, shifts smoother, and the gear ratios arr much better spaced out. Plus the first gear ratio is lower than the AX-15.

[jeeppapa]

Mine has a BA10 in it. I can tell you changing the oil with Redline MT90 makes it shift smoother. It's is severely better when it's 10 degrees out. I'm will be looking for an AX-15 while I drive it with the BA10!

That Redline makes a huge difference. I was having the second gear synchro problem too. Did the redline and boom problem gone.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[jeeppapa]

That Redline makes a huge difference. I was having the second gear synchro problem too. Did the redline and boom problem gone.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Look at it this way, you got two good transmissions and your out only 100 bucks. Sell them and you could triple your money. The way you drive sounds like a they would work out well for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[88mancheman]

@jeeppapa that’s kinda what I was thinking, while I was on my recent wheeling trip a few of the wrangler guys mentioned they had an ax15 and an nv3550 they would part with for $400 each I’m gonna sell off these two BA10/5 and get one of those... kinda off topic but what which trans would y’all pick out of the two? Nv3550 or ax-15?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[88mancheman]

@Eagle I’m slowly leaning towards the nv3550 becuase like you said the first gear is lower, But my only worry is I’ve heard mixed reviews about them having shifting problems? (Could this just be people driving them like the stole them?) also is the final overdrive drive ratio lower than the ax-15? I’ve done some research but information seems to change from site to site on that


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[JustEmptyEveryPocket]

my two cents: When researching my transmission swap I found lots more articles, information, parts, and guidance for the AX-15. Plus they can be found in jeeps from 1989 (midway year change) to 1999. The NV3550 was available in the 2000 and 2001 cherokee (not sure about wranglers) so there was a lot less out there for me to find. For me the background, documentation, and information on the AX-15 made it the hands down better choice. 

[schardein]

I run a NV3550 behind a Chevy 5.3 in this Jeep:

They hold up well.

[Eagle]

5 hours ago, 88mancheman said:

@Eagle I’m slowly leaning towards the nv3550 becuase like you said the first gear is lower, But my only worry is I’ve heard mixed reviews about them having shifting problems? (Could this just be people driving them like the stole them?) also is the final overdrive drive ratio lower than the ax-15? I’ve done some research but information seems to change from site to site on that
 

 

Shifting problems? I haven't heard of any shifting problems with them, but I don't hang out on "Jeep" forums, only on Comanche Club. But I used to spend a LOT of time at the dealership, in the parts room and jawing with the shop foreman. Never heard a single bad word about the 3550. As I mentioned, I have XJs or MJs with all three: The BA 10/5, the AX-15, and the 3550. If I had the money to make them all 3550s tomorrow, I would do it without a nanosecond's hesitation. It shifts MUCH better than either the BA 10/5 or the AX-15.