Need Ax-15 swap help FAST, pilot bearing??

Ok so I am swapping the trannys in my MJ. I am going from a 2wd Ax-15 to a later 4wd AX-15. The truck is a 1991 2wd, internal slave (4.0 HO). The new tranny is an AX-15 4wd from a 1996 Cherokee XJ. I was under the impression that I would need to swap the pilot bearing in my engine to the later one...Well, we got the pilot bearing for a 96 and the OD is too small to fit tightly in the crank! The old bearing mic's to 1.050in and the new one is 1.000in on the OD. The ID's are right. What in the world do I do? I want to be able to keep the external slave if I can. I've got to figure this out by 2mw b/c its in my buddy's shop and need to go back together. thanks guys -Justin

Take the pilot bearing back to the parts store and get another brand, or go to a different parts store.

Take your mic with you.

IIRC, the 96 AX-15 has a larger input shaft diameter than the 91 correct? If so, try the pilot bushing from a 73-75 CJ5 with a 304. When I swapped in my NV3550, I used that pilot bushing and it fit perfect. Fit the hole in the crank and the ID was right. I believe the NV3550 has the same pilot ID as your 96' AX-15. The bushing was like $4 at Autozone.

I too tried a later model pilot bushing and it did not fit so some research turned up this one. Been fine for years.

yes the input is larger on the 96...Do you have a 91 engine too?

I have an 87. But I believe that early AX 15 used the same pilot bearing as the 87-90 Peugot that was in mine. I did a bunch of research when I swapped my tranny a few years back and seem to recall others using this same CJ pilot bearing when swapping in a later AX15 for an earlier one. Yeah, seems a bit odd I know. It fits in the small hole in crank.

I just did a quick check on Checkerauto.com and the 87 and 91 list the exact same pilot bearings so your crank should be identical to mine. The pilot bearing changed in 92 and later models so guessing that's why the later one doesn't fit (and didn't in mine either).

Swapping the later AX-15 behind the earlier 242 required an "off-label" pilot bushing - the one for the early 1970's CJ with the 304ci V8 and three-speed manual. You may be running into that little nuisance instead.

If your pilot on the transmission is ~7/8", that's probably what you're after. If it's ~5/8", you can probably use the Peugeot pilot.

http://shop.oreillyauto.com/product...CA&MfrPartNumber=FC69907&PartType=775&PTSet=A

Might be the right one for you. Pilot bearing/bushing in one unit.