Info Needed on '85 Cherokee Trans. Swap

[Brendo613]

Over the past few months, I've done a lot of research in the area of converting an existing gas vehicle to electric, and have decided it is completely possible with given funds and time ( www.driveev.com ). I have two unregistered vehicles on my property at the moment: a '92 Saab 9000s 5 spd. and an '85 Cherokee Pioneer with the carbureted I4 and what I believe to be the 3-speed auto with Selec-Trac. For electric cars, it's much more beneficial to use only second and third gear, and perhaps occasionally use fourth. This means that I should be running a manual, so I can leave it in second and occasionally go up to third. A lot of people convert their cars, motor to transmission direct: no clutch at all, and just crash box between gears. This might not be good on the B/A 10, which seems a bit weaker ... my question is which transmission would be best for my electric motor torque application, and which ones will line up with the current transfer case I have? I'm hoping that I will only have to replace the transmission, not the T.C. as a well. The Selec-Trac and Low / Hi function still works well, and I'd rather just use a manual with the current setup.

One other option would be (if this is possible) to use the electric motor directly coupled to the transfer case, no transmission included. I don't think it's possible to shift from low to high on the fly though, correct? This would mean I need a manual, which I think I can pull from a pre-'90 Cherokee. It doesn't have to be 5-spd, either, since I would practically never make it into 5th gear without drawing too many amps for the batteries.

Any input and help is greatly appreciated, even if it it's someone telling me to just go with the Saab

=Brendan:chef:

 

[vetteboy]

Pretty sure the jeep buildup on that site will answer everything you want to know...

http://www.driveev.com/jeepev/home.php

 

[Brendo613]

It answered almost everything for me, yeah. I am wondering, though, about which transmission will line up with the transfer case I have. I was hoping to use a four-speed, like the T4 or AX4, but I'm not sure if those line up with the current transfer case. Which models won't match, something to do with the 21 and 23 spline systems?

=Brendan

 

[Brendo613]

I was thinking of something like this: AX 4 to use in converting over. This one was intended for 2x4s though, so maybe it doesn't work with the transfer case I have? All I need is for the output of the transmission to match the transfer case, so will something completely different work such as this?

What about these transmissions (same spline count, ax4, ax5, etc.), are they used only in Jeeps, or do some other manufacturers use them also? What it comes down to is that I just need a four or five speed (5th is ratio-wise unusable) manual transmission that lines up with the transfer case I have. A mechanical clutch is preferred, since I think it will be easier than dealing with all of the hydraulics, especially since I won't be shifting that often. Remember, I still have to set up a clutch pedal or lever to use on the rare occasions I will be shifting.

=Brendan

 

[Ghost]

If you get an ax-4 or ax-5 (a lot easer to find) it will bolt up to the 4 popper tcase. The 23 splines did not come into play until after the 4.0L hit the xj. All of the 4 popper xj's and even the early ones that had the v-6 to my knowledge had the 21 spline tcase. If it were me I'd find a ax-5 simply bc they are more readily available.

 

[Brendo613]

Thanks for the input, but it looks like the AX4 link I put up is only for 2x4 ... will it work anyway with my transfer case?

What about clutches, is it better to have mechanical or hydraulic? I haven't been able to find which trannys have hydraulic clutches and which have mechanical clutches.

=Brendan

 

[CRASH]

In XJ's, they are all hydraulic.

 

[vetteboy]

Thanks for the input, but it looks like the AX4 link I put up is only for 2x4 ... will it work anyway with my transfer case?

What about clutches, is it better to have mechanical or hydraulic? I haven't been able to find which trannys have hydraulic clutches and which have mechanical clutches.

=Brendan

You can mess around with mixing and matching parts...it depends on how much patience you have. I recently converted a 2wd NV4500 transmission to mate up with a NP231 case for my buildup, and it required a new tailhousing and mainshaft, which essentially means rebuilding the whole transmission. I'd expect nothing less if you were to start with an AX4.

Since you would need a new mainshaft anyway, it shouldn't be a big deal to find one to mate up with a 21-spline t-case input. For stuff like that I highly recommend dealing with Rockland Standard Gear (http://www.rsgear.com/) and ask for Karen Hunt. That's where I always go for transmission and t-case parts, and they've been extremely helpful in the past, even when just asking for information.

Like CRASH said, the clutch is hydraulic. Your BA10/5 will have an internal slave setup, which I know interchanges with the one on earlier AX15's and probably the AX4/5s as well.

 

[Brendo613]

Glad to know they're all hydraulic, thanks for that. As far as mating up an AX 4, sounds like a lot more work than I had anticipated. I was hoping on simply finding a manual transmission which I could directly replace instead of the automatic I have. The rest of the project will be riddled with obstacles building battery boxes, mounting the motor, etc., so I was hoping that a transmission swap wouldn't be that big of a deal. This basically limits me to the AX 5 and the BA 10/5, but the latter has weak synchros so ... looks like I'm keeping my eye open for a direct drop-in AX 5, since an AX 4 needs mods. Correct?

I still have the clutch pedal to mount, also ...

=Brendan

 

[MudDawg]

Sorry, but the transfer cases used with A-904 autos are 23 spline. The ones behind manual trannies are 21 spline.

 

[vetteboy]

Well, consider this. You're going to end up making an adapter plate to connect your electric motor to the transmission bellhousing, right? So a 'drop in' transmission would pretty much be anything you can find that would fit, regardless of whether it ever came behind the Jeep motor or not.

I misread your original post and thought you had a BA10/5 already. Guess not.

The AX4/AX5 are the same housing except 4-spd vs. 5-spd. If you find a 4x4 version either would bolt right up; otherwise you'll need to start swapping parts as I mentioned previously.

Take a look through the knowledge base at www.novak-adapt.com, they've got all kinds of information on all the Jeep transmissions and t-cases, including spline counts and such.

 

[Ghost]

Sorry, but the transfer cases used with A-904 autos are 23 spline. The ones behind manual trannies are 21 spline.

Nope, I have a 207 here and it is 21 spline and was behind the 904.

 

[MudDawg]

How strange...the setup in the Heep (85 mod 2.5 w/ 904-207) is 23 spline, both spare trannies are 23 spline and my spare 207 tc is 23 spline.