AX-15 swap questions

[Zoro]

Hey guys, I have an 84 wagon with the 258 and auto trans and I'd like to swap in an ax-15 5spd. Got a few questions.

I will be using the 94+ external slave cylinder ax-15.

Which flywheel and clutch do I need to run? The Eagle one or the one from the donor vehicle?

How about the starter? Eagle starter or Jeep starter?

Eagle clutch master cylinder or jeep master? As well as the clutch hydraulic line.

Any other useful info from folks who have done this swap?

Any issues with transmission mounts?

Many thanks!

[eaglefreek]

I haven't done it myself, but you always want to match the flywheel with the transmission if possible. I would use the Jeep flywheel, clutch and starter. I would prefer the external slave myself for ease of service. I suppose you could use the Eagle master, but since you don't have one now anyways, you might as well use the Jeep one. There will have to be some custom fab work for the transmission mount since the AX15 is slightly longer than the 998. Not sure how easy it will be to connect the stock transfer case, it might be easier to go with a 242.

[txjeeptx]

All good questions to ask, and the answers do exist here somewhere.

The AX-15 is longer than the automatic, and the floor hump under the driver side will need some modification with a big hammer at least. I may revisit my postponed swap soon, and I will be addressing making more clearance by pulling the interior to modify the floor hump to allow the 242 I have swapped in to tuck further up under the car.

I fabricated a new transmission crossmember to handle using an XJ transmission mount. I do not care for how low the mount I made hangs beneath the car, and plan to redo it completely.

I used the Girling/Eagle/Jaguar remote reservoir master cylinder. Clearance around the vacuum brake booster on the Eagle firewall does not leave enough room to use a Jeep master cylinder. The factory Eagle master cylinder, made by the British company Girling, was shared with some Jaguar cars of the late 70s, and I think I was able to buy a new master cylinder reservoir from Pegasus Auto Racing, and it came with AN fitting provisions. Really, any reservoir, including those from motorcycles, can be made to work as a proper reservoir to the only master cylinder that fits the Eagle firewall - the factory cylinder.

The Jeep external slave cylinder is plastic, and has a strange pinned & o-ring connection to the plastic hysraulic line. Advance Adapters sells a brass fitting that converts this strange connection to an AN fitting, size 3, if I recall. They also sell threaded AN adapters for the master cyl end, and braided stainless hydraulic hose long enough to make the trip between the master and slave. If you hate the idea of a plastic slave cylinder, like I do, Advance Auto carries the Perfection brand line, and part number 360047 is made from aluminum. I disassembled the aluminum slave I bought and drilled the bleed screw hole for a standard bleed screw and tapped an existing small weep port on the side of the bleed port to plug it, giving the slave an true bleed port. Seems complicated, but the Jeep clutch hydraulic system was never intended to be serviceable as anything more than a complete, pre-bled system.

I have chosen to use a Jeep starter to match the Jeep flywheel, clutch assembly, and throwout bearing. The AMC flywheel is thicker, and will result in a clutch that does not engage, like permanent neutral. The jeep starter has an integrated solenoid, so there is some wire rearranging to be done if you choose to eliminate the Ford solenoid used in the Eagle factory wiring.

Also, there are different grades of clutch kits out there, and some contain a plastic throwout bearing carrier. I bought a LUK clutch kit, but I recall buying a separate throwout bearing with a cast iron carrier. I have a strong dislike for plastic parts in hard to reach places.

Finally, there is a very important retainer clip for the throwout fork, keeping it on its pivot ball. Do not leave out this $2 clip, the throwout fork will fall off of the pivot and bad things happen inside the bellhousing after that. I have not had it happen to me, but I have seen the results of leaving the clip off on another person's Jeep.

[Zoro]

Wow, thanks for the info guys! Didn't realize there was so much involved with this swap. Glad I asked questions before I just went for it...LOL!

What about the stock T-5(?) that some Eagles had, were they alright or complete junk? Hard to find?

Transfer case wise I'm probably going to go with the NP229. Kind of an oddball combo but I'm quite happy with my NP129 and would like some low range.

[eaglefreek]

I'm not sure, but there might be clearance issues using a 129,128 or 229 since the AX15 is longer. Plus there is an issue with different output shaft lengths of the AX15 compared to the 998. A T5 is fine for an Eagle, just hard to find.  A member put an AX15 sometime ago, but used a 249.  http://forums.amceaglesden.com/index.php?topic=21335.15

[Zoro]

Thanks Rick.

One thing I just thought of, if i were to go the AX-15 route how much longer is the 15 over the 998? Wondering if I'd need to redo my drive shafts, make one longer and the other shorter.

[eaglefreek]

Thanks Rick.

One thing I just thought of, if i were to go the AX-15 route how much longer is the 15 over the 998? Wondering if I'd need to redo my drive shafts, make one longer and the other shorter.

That depends on what transfer case you go with, but my guess would be yes.

[eaglefreek]

Here's a couple T5's somewhat close to me.
http://nashville.craigslist.org/pts/5251300236.html
http://nashville.craigslist.org/pts/5255745570.html

[carnuck]

Important note! I don't know if anyone compared XJ/MJ or other Jeep pedals to see if they work. If not, you need the clutch/brake pedal from an Eagle to make it work.


Use the Jeep 4.0L (not 2.5 which is smaller diameter) AX-15 flywheel, clutch, starter and slave that matches the bell on your 4.2L. The starter is a simple wire in too. The teeth of the ring gear are 3/8" (or 10 mm) closer to the motor on the 4.0L than 4.2L which is why it's different. If you decide to go Jeep EFI later on, the crank sensor will bolt right on as well.

What tcase will you run? If you use the Eagle one, it's input is the same 23 spline as AX-15, BUT you need a 1" clocking ring/spacer and the trans is already 3.5" longer than the 9XX or 727 automatics. The Jeep tcase I would run is NV242 because it's shorter than the NP229, and combined with the AX-15, it's nearly the same length combo as the original. Rear driveshaft will need changing (different style)

For an offroader, I would go with a NP208 AM tcase (full sized Jeeps used them with std trans '80 and newer) because it's correct drop, spline count and it's 4.5" shorter so the Eagle rear shaft will work and you would need a longer front shaft. AX-15 mount is in a different place on the trans too. I had one, but forgot to check that compared to the AW4 (3.5" longer than 9xx/727 auto, plus the 1" spacer and trans crossbar is 4.5" further back than stock)

The T5 in these and Cjs or '80-83 Full size with 6 cyl is weak tea for strength.

[carnuck]

All good questions to ask, and the answers do exist here somewhere.

The AX-15 is longer than the automatic, and the floor hump under the driver side will need some modification with a big hammer at least. I may revisit my postponed swap soon, and I will be addressing making more clearance by pulling the interior to modify the floor hump to allow the 242 I have swapped in to tuck further up under the car.

The 2wd AMCs need floor "massaging" but I don't recall the Eagle needing that?

I fabricated a new transmission crossmember to handle using an XJ transmission mount. I do not care for how low the mount I made hangs beneath the car, and plan to redo it completely.

I used the Girling/Eagle/Jaguar remote reservoir master cylinder. Clearance around the vacuum brake booster on the Eagle firewall does not leave enough room to use a Jeep master cylinder. The factory Eagle master cylinder, made by the British company Girling, was shared with some Jaguar cars of the late 70s, and I think I was able to buy a new master cylinder reservoir from Pegasus Auto Racing, and it came with AN fitting provisions. Really, any reservoir, including those from motorcycles, can be made to work as a proper reservoir to the only master cylinder that fits the Eagle firewall - the factory cylinder.

The Jeep external slave cylinder is plastic, and has a strange pinned & o-ring connection to the plastic hysraulic line. Advance Adapters sells a brass fitting that converts this strange connection to an AN fitting, size 3, if I recall. They also sell threaded AN adapters for the master cyl end, and braided stainless hydraulic hose long enough to make the trip between the master and slave. If you hate the idea of a plastic slave cylinder, like I do, Advance Auto carries the Perfection brand line, and part number 360047 is made from aluminum. I disassembled the aluminum slave I bought and drilled the bleed screw hole for a standard bleed screw and tapped an existing small weep port on the side of the bleed port to plug it, giving the slave an true bleed port. Seems complicated, but the Jeep clutch hydraulic system was never intended to be serviceable as anything more than a complete, pre-bled system.

I have chosen to use a Jeep starter to match the Jeep flywheel, clutch assembly, and throwout bearing. The AMC flywheel is thicker, and will result in a clutch that does not engage, like permanent neutral. The jeep starter has an integrated solenoid, so there is some wire rearranging to be done if you choose to eliminate the Ford solenoid used in the Eagle factory wiring.

Also, there are different grades of clutch kits out there, and some contain a plastic throwout bearing carrier. I bought a LUK clutch kit, but I recall buying a separate throwout bearing with a cast iron carrier. I have a strong dislike for plastic parts in hard to reach places.

Finally, there is a very important retainer clip for the throwout fork, keeping it on its pivot ball. Do not leave out this $2 clip, the throwout fork will fall off of the pivot and bad things happen inside the bellhousing after that. I have not had it happen to me, but I have seen the results of leaving the clip off on another person's Jeep.

The starter gets wired like this: Use the original Eagle cable from starter to solenoid, but move it to the same post as the cable from the battery and to the main terminal on the starter. Then run a smaller wire (10 or 12 gauge I recall) from the post on the original solenoid the starter cable used to go to, down to the small terminal on the new starter.

I would also only use Castrol GTLMA brake fluid if you use a Girling master or slave. They use real rubber seals that swell with "modern" fluids.