Is this a good deal?

[fordy4]

I have a buddy that has a xj with a 4.3 litre chevy vortec. It has an external cage and stock 5 speed manual trans. He has stripped off the axles, transfer case and the front suspension. He wants $500 for what is left. I know the motor is decent, but will the transmission hold up? And if I can get a junkyard np231 will it hold up until I can put a tera low in? I have a dana 44 front and ford 9" rear to swap in with 4.56 gears, lockers, and 35" tires.

 

[mbryson]

I think the 5 speed is a little suspect for a true 'Vortec' but it'd be fun until it bombed, wouldn't it?

$500 for something you just need to add axles and a transfer case to sounds pretty good to me.

 

[PierCed_3]

Definately upgrade the transmission. I have the 4L60E in my YJ and it works really well. If my 4 cyl can mess up an AX-5 I would hate to see what a 220 HP vortec would do to it.

 

[Caleb]

Definately upgrade the transmission. I have the 4L60E in my YJ and it works really well. If my 4 cyl can mess up an AX-5 I would hate to see what a 220 HP vortec would do to it.

I doubt its an AX5, those only came behind 4cyl (and I think maybe only in wranglers???)...more likely an AX15 which is a pretty decent tranny...for a manual

 

[Brett]

I doubt its an AX5, those only came behind 4cyl (and I think maybe only in wranglers???)...more likely an AX15 which is a pretty decent tranny...for a manual

I am going to also guess that it used to be a 2.8 V6 Cherokee (otherwise, why swap out the 4.0?) so it could have had the old Peugot behind it.

 

[Badcop]

Id say go fot it if you have the time and patience to build a XJ like that. It sounds like alot of the time consuming items have been taken care of. In an XJ Id look into and auto swap for the trannie, it would also make putting a 231 or 242 behind it alot easier. If your starting from scratch without the Tcase, the 231 is a good one, but why not find a 300 to mate to it, especially since your already planning on using the 44/9.

Its possible the the 5 speed was left behind and it will be a puegot which in my opinion is a heep o' shiite. I havnt seen many last long under hard use. If your getting into the XJ thing, visit NAXJA.org. Youll see alot of names here over there too.

If your in the need for some parts I have a AW4 auto sitting at the house along with alot of misc XJ parts.

Brian

 

[fordy4]

Ok, so it sounds like I need to find out exactly which trans it has.
I am definitely not a manual fan, but I don't really know jeep/chevy stuff all that well, so help me out, is an aw4 auto going to hold up as well as the ax15 manual? Is the 4L60E a manual or auto, and how does it rate? I am building this for my wife, and for those not so extreme outings when we want a top and doors, so durability and price is probably more important than all out performance.

Badcop, I am possibly looking for parts. Front coils? Maybe the auto trans? Transfer case?

 

[mbryson]

Ok, so it sounds like I need to find out exactly which trans it has.
I am definitely not a manual fan, but I don't really know jeep/chevy stuff all that well, so help me out, is an aw4 auto going to hold up as well as the ax15 manual? Is the 4L60E a manual or auto, and how does it rate? I am building this for my wife, and for those not so extreme outings when we want a top and doors, so durability and price is probably more important than all out performance.

Badcop, I am possibly looking for parts. Front coils? Maybe the auto trans? Transfer case?

I'd go with a GM tranny/case just for simplicity. Any of the GM autos (T350, 400, 700R4, 4L60, 4L80, etc) would work out pretty well with your 4.3L. A Jeep D300 is kinda nice as you can twin stick it and it has some gearing options. {That does bring up issues with which side you'll have the pumpkin on for the front axle, but if you're starting from scratch, that's not a biggie at all--The D300 can be flipped, but that adds to the cost a little.} Novak has a great input shaft and adapter for the GM trannies to the D300 for pretty reasonable cost.

 

[4x4phil]

You definately need to find out what transmission you have. An ax15 should hold up just fine if you don't dump the clutch, slam gears, and if the vortec isn't modified. The vortec has more horse but not as much torque (please correct me somebody if I'm wrong). Some people feel confident putting them behind low horse v-8's. I'm willing to bet the trany's been changed. I wanted to put a vortec in an 85 cherokee of mine but I had to change the housing to fit the original trany. I called every adapter place to find a housing and nobody made one. They all told me to upgrade to the ax15 (which is really good advice) and they had an adapter for that. So unless I missed something I don't think it's even possible to put the peugot p.o.s. or the ax5 behind a vortec. The 2.8 is a chevy block but doesn't share the same housing as the vortec. The vortec housing is the same as that of a chev small block. If it was originally a 4.0 it will most likely have the ax15 but you'd still have to buy an adapter housing. If you can't visibly identify it then count the output splines and see if it has 21 or 23. If it's 23 you probably have the ax15 in which case you buy a 231 hook it up and drive it. My brother's jeep (pierced_3) has a 231 and he hasn't had any problems accept for driveshaft vibes from 7" soon to be 9" of lift that he already fixed with the sye. The ax15 and 231 should do fine and take you where you wanna go, but they aren't beefy so don't rev the motor to 5000 rpms and dump the clutch in 3rd gear cause it won't hold. It is however gonna work fine until you have time to upgrade and it won't take you forever to get it going. Should also be very cost effective.

 

[PierCed_3]

All of the transmissions that MBryson listed are Auto's. I like mine but one mistake I made was going with the B&M Rachet shifter. I like the shifter but I have to adjust it everytime I go wheeling. I would have rather spent my money on a Lokar shifter. I am pretty sure the cable is what is messed up with my shifter but the Lokar has rod instead of cables AND you can mount the shifter on top of the tranny and run it through the stock boot of your old manual transmission hole.

Swapping from a manual to an auto is not to difficult also. I kept the NP231 as my bro (4x4phil) said but I dream of upgrading to an Atlas or a D300 w/4:1 kit and triple shifter setup. :greg: It will be mine! OH yes... it will be mine!

Be aware that the wiring harness for a Vortec is a lot of money. Other than that I love my Vortec... when it runs..

 

[Caleb]

Swapping from a manual to an auto is not to difficult also. I kept the NP231 as my bro (4x4phil) said but I dream of upgrading to an Atlas or a D300 w/4:1 kit and triple shifter setup. :greg: It will be mine! OH yes... it will be mine!

um, how are yo going to triple stick a D300 or an Atlas??? The third stick is usually for the EXTRA case like a klune or 203 gear box on a doubler setup.

 

[mbryson]

All of the transmissions that MBryson listed are Auto's. I like mine but one mistake I made was going with the B&M Rachet shifter................

There's other trannies???? (I'm not sure I've had ANY B&M product that I've liked over what was available from Hurst or other.....for almost the exact same $$$)

 

[Caleb]

actually I am very happy with my B&M sport shifter...and none of the other companies could even get close to the price.

 

[PierCed_3]

from what I am told and what I have seen... one stick is for 2wd/4wd, one stick is for low/high range, one stick is for front axle/rear axle.

Maybe the 300 doesn't have that functionality but I thought it might??

 

[Rusted]

dana 300 twin stick shift pattern here

http://www.sierrajeep.com/shift.htm

 

[PierCed_3]

I believe the 3rd stick would be Rear/Normal/Front pattern. I know that I have seen one before but I am not sure if it was the 300. How do the buggy guys do it in competitions (front wheel drive)?

 

[mbryson]

I believe the 3rd stick would be Rear/Normal/Front pattern. I know that I have seen one before but I am not sure if it was the 300. How do the buggy guys do it in competitions (front wheel drive)?

put the rear stick in 'neutral'.... and the front in 4 Low.... (I think....I've not driven my D300 yet, but it's 'twin-sticked'...)

 

[PierCed_3]

put the rear stick in 'neutral'.... and the front in 4 Low.... (I think....I've not driven my D300 yet, but it's 'twin-sticked'...)

hmmm, I could "test" it for you... if it's not in a vehicle....

Maybe we should start another thread on it so we don't clutter up this one.

 

[mbryson]

hmmm, I could "test" it for you... if it's not in a vehicle....

Maybe we should start another thread on it so we don't clutter up this one.

Define 'vehicle'............
....nah, it's set up with the Novak adapter and 27 spline input shaft for my 700. I hope to have it mobile over the next 4-6 weeks and wheelable shortly after that. Vandall has a great deal in the "For Sale" section. 4 to 1 gears and outputs......wish I had $800 or whatever he's asking.

 

[4x4phil]

now guys, I think I remember him saying somewhere that he was on a budget, or are you just dream talking. I like to think about what I could do too, but then I get my paycheck and realize that yea, I'm just dreaming. Well then again I have seen Mark's (spelled with a k or c?) wrangler, wow.