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T150 to T5 swap

S

scrambler4315

Active member
City
Las Vegas
State
NV
The Scrambler I just got supposedly had a 4 speed manual in it, however when I received it, the location of R told me that it is not, and that it is only a 3 speed. Plus crawling under the Jeep and seeing the Dana 20 t-case told me what I needed to know, its a T150 3 speed. Not a huge deal, but I would like a little more driveability in the Jeep. I have a T5/Dana 300 combo along with the bellhousing that the T5 was mounted to. I am thinking of rebuilding the T5 and cleaning up the Dana 300. I just kinda want to have some idea of what can of worms I am opening up here. I tried a search here and, well, I honeslty suck at forum searches so if there is a current thread I couldn't find, I would appreciate a link for it.
 
Calling @spankrjs to a T-5 discussion...

As I mentione on your other post, I have no direct experience but would never consider a T-5 in a lifted Jeep (and wouldn't be thrilled with one is a stock one either).

here you go:
spankrjs

Thread '"Real World" T5 Experience/Opinions'

I am seriously considering swapping a T5 into my rebuilt/project red Scrambler. The main reason for the swap: I am thinking of going from 35" tires down to 33" tires. The 35" tires are making some very "friendly" contact with the back of the rear fender wells while off road. I could lower the bump stops a bunch, but that kind of defeats the purpose. Also, it still feels a little too "tall" when off camber. I currently have 4.10 gears and a T176. With the 35' tires, I am spinning close to 2800 RPM on the highway. If I go to 33" tires, overdrive will be absolutely necessary.

I am looking...
 
I should probably add a few, uh, plans. . . I am probably going to lose the 35" tires and go down to a 31" tire and am most likely going to a shorter lift. At 48, with a shite back, climbing up into this will get a little rough. However, it is going to be the DD. Reading the real world thread you linked for me (thank you very much for that) It does give me pause. I'll be honest, the main reason for the T5 swap thoughts, I already have one and can rebuild it if needed and put stronget guts in it. This 8 is, and I am going to have a hard time saying this, won't be a hard core off roader. Mild stuff at best. From what I read in the thread you linked, seems like I may be ok, but, yeah, more real world experience from those of you farther in the know than I would make a lot of difference.
Thank you for the help!
Matt
 
Nothing at all wrong not being more than a weekend warrior/DD!

I know the forum search is a little weak, if you go to google and put in:
www.cj-8.com: XXXX
where XXXX is your search term, it will only search our site and give you good results. I used that with "T-5" to find that thread I knew Raymond had started back in the day. (He's got a LOT more T-5 experience since then).
 
I’ve been using the magnifier above right and advance search. Not always narrowing it down.
 
scrambler4315 said:
I should probably add a few, uh, plans. . . I am probably going to lose the 35" tires and go down to a 31" tire and am most likely going to a shorter lift. At 48, with a shite back, climbing up into this will get a little rough. However, it is going to be the DD. Reading the real world thread you linked for me (thank you very much for that) It does give me pause. I'll be honest, the main reason for the T5 swap thoughts, I already have one and can rebuild it if needed and put stronget guts in it. This 8 is, and I am going to have a hard time saying this, won't be a hard core off roader. Mild stuff at best. From what I read in the thread you linked, seems like I may be ok, but, yeah, more real world experience from those of you farther in the know than I would make a lot of difference.
Thank you for the help!
Matt
Click to expand...
My '8 has its original T-5 with 281417 miles on it. Have owned it for 26 years. I have 31's and just got 4.10s from 4x4Land. Am pleased with the set up. This is my daily driver too. Eric has seen me put it thru some stuff and no issues.
 
If the case is OK, i.e. the countershaft bearings have to be removed/installed with a press, it might be OK. No real upgraded gears or shafts for these, most replacement parts are crap. The case is the weak link on these, very thin cast aluminum, sliver of metal between front countershaft bearing and input shaft bearing. No upgrades for this weakness.

If your case is good, all the gears and shafts good, rebuild it, drive it with some respect, might be OK. If you need to replace a bunch of parts, I would punt and swap in an AX15. The AX15 is a much better/beefier five speed, and still drives and shifts light and easy like a T5.

My red Scrambler with 33's, 4.10's, overweight, trail rig, that regularly is driven over 1k miles cross country has an AX15. I couldn't keep a T5 alive in this Jeep.

My green Scrambler with 31's, 258, 3.31 axle gears, light usage has the original T5. I rebuilt it around 120k miles. The case was good, all internal parts good except counter gear. Installed a used OEM counter gear and it is still working fine.

With respect and small tires and light usage a T5 might last. If you gonna drive the Jeep hard and use it, AX15. If you don't want to have to repeatedly remove and repair transmissions, AX15.
 
spankrjs said:
If the case is OK, i.e. the countershaft bearings have to be removed/installed with a press, it might be OK. No real upgraded gears or shafts for these, most replacement parts are crap. The case is the weak link on these, very thin cast aluminum, sliver of metal between front countershaft bearing and input shaft bearing. No upgrades for this weakness.

If your case is good, all the gears and shafts good, rebuild it, drive it with some respect, might be OK. If you need to replace a bunch of parts, I would punt and swap in an AX15. The AX15 is a much better/beefier five speed, and still drives and shifts light and easy like a T5.

My red Scrambler with 33's, 4.10's, overweight, trail rig, that regularly is driven over 1k miles cross country has an AX15. I couldn't keep a T5 alive in this Jeep.

My green Scrambler with 31's, 258, 3.31 axle gears, light usage has the original T5. I rebuilt it around 120k miles. The case was good, all internal parts good except counter gear. Installed a used OEM counter gear and it is still working fine.

With respect and small tires and light usage a T5 might last. If you gonna drive the Jeep hard and use it, AX15. If you don't want to have to repeatedly remove and repair transmissions, AX15.
Click to expand...
Stupid question, is the AX15 a easy swap? Just thinking if my T-5 does bite the dust, or sand... ;) , wondering how big a deal to swap to the AX15?
 
Thank you to everyone that has had some input here, I greatly appreciate it. I have been out of the Jeep community for a long time and am very happy that it is still the welcoming and helpful community I left many years ago. I am going to keep the T150 for now, as it is in there and it works. I do need to address the clutch issue, it seems to engage way high on the pedal travel.
As for the T5 and D300, they will get the look over and refreshed. I am only using the Jeep for around town driving, the occasional dirt road to a ghost town or something, and it is for sure going to lose the 35" tires and a little bit of lift. I am going to bring it down from what seems like 4" to a reasonable 2.5" with some boomerang shackles. Taking all of the info in and rolling it around, I won't do the driveline swap until I have the lift brought down and 31" tires on her.
 
If anyone wants a T5, I have a good one in mine that i'd be willing to separate with ;-)
 
I had a T-5 in my ‘82. I did not put a lot of miles on it, but I never babied it when I drove it.

If you want overdrive and have the transmission and associated pieces, I say put it in and run it. If it gives trouble, upgrade to an ax-15.

:twocents:
 
TexasAg77 said:
Stupid question, is the AX15 a easy swap? Just thinking if my T-5 does bite the dust, or sand... ;) , wondering how big a deal to swap to the AX15?
Click to expand...
I think so, depending on your choices.

I used my stock clutch and clutch linkage with a T176 bellhousing. The adapter plate from Novak bolted to the front of the AX15, using what looks like a stock CJ front bearing retainer bolted on the front. Used a clocking ring on the Dana 300 to get it to bolt right up. The AX15 shifter went through the stock T5 hole and shifter boot in the floor plate. Will need a different shifter boot. On the Dana 300 shifter, I heat and bent the stock one and it goes through the stock hole/boot. You will need new driveshafts, shorter in the rear and longer in the front. I used the OEM transmission mount(s) and plate, simply drilled two new holes though the OEM skid plate.

I would assume if you wanted a hydraulic clutch you could use a stock YJ/TJ bellhousing and associated clutch parts, not 100% sure on that.
 
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