Just got an 84 wagon with an automatic. Definitely prefer a 5 speed. What is the best full swap to a 5 speed?
I like the sound of using the Cherokee 5 spd and getting the 2 speed transfer case as well, will the jeep CJ or YJ, etc. trans and cases work too, there seems to be a lot more of them available than the Cherokee pieces.
http://www.amceaglenest.com/~iowaeagl/guide/index.php?title=Automatic_to_Manual_Transmission_Swap
Thanks, I just got registered for Eaglepedia and was reading that one.
The best 5 speed swap is the one you can get ahold of first. The fate of all cars rests in the boneyard. The ones you find there serve as salvage to keep the same thing from happening to the ones that still work. It is extremely common here that I find compatible manual transmissions and NO automatics. The best swap I can suggest will come out of an 86-87 Comanche with the 4.0L engine and some 2 speed NP transfer case. These are usually an Aisin Warner brand and so far the only available transmission I've ever been able to find.
I'll be on the lookout for those, but they don't seem ot be very common. I was hoping the CJ or YJ 5-speed and transfer case could work because I've actually found those available.
These were all offered with the 4.0, and should be able to be bolted up to a 258 with some flywheel & pilot bushing work. (Fourth gear is 1:1 on all of these.) There are several OD ratios for the T-5 and they can be swapped, but .86 is a common 6cyl OD.
1 2 3 OD REV
NV3550 4.01 2.33 1.39 0.78 3.57
T-5 4.03 2.37 1.50 0.86 3.76
SR-4 4.07 2.39 1.49 3.95
AX-15 3.83 2.33 1.44 0.79 4.22
T-4 4.03 2.37 1.50 3.76
BA 10/5 3.39 2.33 1.44 0.79
The BA 10/5 is the weakest, but was used for many years in Jeeps, so it would probably be fine behind a stock 258 without aggressive driving.
If you're not into heavy offroading, many of the cases that Jeepers cast aside can be had inexpensively by asking on some Jeep boards, it's just dealing with the transfer case yoke and the rear drive shaft length depending on what you swap. The 219, 229, 247, & 249 will give you an Eagle-like AWD mode. The 242 is a compromise.
Of those, the 247 and later 249 models require a new rear drive shaft or a slip-yoke eliminator. I like an early 249, but I don't drive in any serious offroad conditions. Many people here have used the 229.