Opinion, Mopar internal slave or external conversion

[pizzaman09]

I'm getting tired of bleeding the air out of the internal slave of my AX15 every week.  According to the records I have, the slave cylinder is a LUK and was put in about 10k miles ago.  It seems to suck in air but not leak fluid.

 

I'm annoyed enough that I've decided I'll pull the trans.  Question is, should I do a Mopar internal slave: https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mop-05037518aa?seid=srese1&gclid=CjwKCAjwjYKjBhB5EiwAiFdSfp7Dh2fq-2LROiSEpzI_rG8BAnbuVSrVeSQh2GpmgA5S92WagFbdExoC7fMQAvD_BwE

 

Or Advance Adapters external conversion:

https://www.advanceadapters.com/4993

 

Are the Mopar internal slave cylinders actually reliable?  Or is it just worth it to spend the money and effort to do the full conversion?

 

[Pete M]

hypothetically speaking you should be fine with either.  Mopar parts should last 100k+, not a measly 10k.   

[gogmorgo]

Seems like a lot of the replacement internal slave leakage seems due to reusing the old lines, potentially causing problems for sealing the new connection.

When I went external on my 2.5 I collected parts online, with a used bellhousing but otherwise all new from the master down to the front bearing retainer and seal, which was cheaper than getting a full kit. I think most parts came from Rockauto and Summit (won’t buy from them again if I can avoid it). It was definitely a ton more expensive than it would have been just to put in a new internal slave, and knowing now easy it was to drop the trans, I think I’d chance it on the internal slave if I were to do it again. But then a 2wd ax5 isn’t a lot of work to pull, and I do throw wrenches for a living. And a 2wd isn’t going anywhere that I’d be uncomfortable getting out of without a clutch.

If I was going to be paying someone else to do the swap and likely would be paying again to pull the trans if the slave failed again a year or two down the road, I think it would be worth the trouble to go external. Or even if I was going to do the job myself but wasn’t fully comfortable with it and didn’t want to risk the do-over.

[pizzaman09]

7 hours ago, gogmorgo said:

Seems like a lot of the replacement internal slave leakage seems due to reusing the old lines, potentially causing problems for sealing the new connection.

When I went external on my 2.5 I collected parts online, with a used bellhousing but otherwise all new from the master down to the front bearing retainer and seal, which was cheaper than getting a full kit. I think most parts came from Rockauto and Summit (won’t buy from them again if I can avoid it). It was definitely a ton more expensive than it would have been just to put in a new internal slave, and knowing now easy it was to drop the trans, I think I’d chance it on the internal slave if I were to do it again. But then a 2wd ax5 isn’t a lot of work to pull, and I do throw wrenches for a living. And a 2wd isn’t going anywhere that I’d be uncomfortable getting out of without a clutch.

If I was going to be paying someone else to do the swap and likely would be paying again to pull the trans if the slave failed again a year or two down the road, I think it would be worth the trouble to go external. Or even if I was going to do the job myself but wasn’t fully comfortable with it and didn’t want to risk the do-over.

Your point about the line is interesting, I suspect it is original on my truck.

 

I'm willing to do the work, I have access to a two post lift, I just am unexciting about wrangling an AX15 with a transfer case attached.  Getting a transmission aligned with the pilot bearing is always frustrating.

 

9 hours ago, Pete M said:

hypothetically speaking you should be fine with either.  Mopar parts should last 100k+, not a measly 10k.   

As far as I can tell, the LUK lasted less than 1k, I've been limping it along for a while.

[mjeff87]

I've pulled many different transmissions in my lifetime (not as much as others, but enough).  The AX-15 has to be the most finicky unit I've dealt with to get lined up and seated on the backside of the engine, ever.  I wouldn't even think about trying with the TC attached to it.