AX15 drop for TO bearing/ Slave Cyl replacement, this about right?

Picked up a pretty sweet tricked out/ lifted XJ for cheap because the slave cylinder was leaking.Now i know why i got it so cheap. INTERNAL Cylinder!!
It was still a really good deal either way so here goes.
As far as dropping the transmission here's my list of how i think it ought to happen.
- Disconnect exhaust from flange near the "collector"
- pull starter, and all the bolts to the engine including the two "YEAH FUN" torx bolts.
-Disconnect front driveshaft
-disconnect linkage for transfercase
-push the transmission back from the engine as far as itll go.
-slowly and carefully lower the tranny with transfercase still attached.

All of this with the transmission supported by a floor jack of course.
I also read to place another jack on the front side of the engine to keep it from tilting forward and putting a bind on things.

Sound about right? Will i still need to dissconnect the transmission from the transfercase in order to change the clutch and components?

The XJ has about 6 or so inches of lift on it so itll definitly be easier.

Just for reference it's an 89 with a 4.0 and i am pretty sure, an AX15. The Jeep was an auto to manual conversion so theres no telling what year the donor tranny came from.

Yeah, leave the transfer case on, so pick a good point to balance both on the jack. Get the e14 female torx bolts off the 11 and 1 o'clock positions first before any of the the other bolts. PB the hydraulic fittings needed to disco the slave.

Wallyman said:

Picked up a pretty sweet tricked out/ lifted XJ for cheap because the slave cylinder was leaking.Now i know why i got it so cheap. INTERNAL Cylinder!!
It was still a really good deal either way so here goes.
As far as dropping the transmission here's my list of how i think it ought to happen.
- Disconnect exhaust from flange near the "collector"
- pull starter, and all the bolts to the engine including the two "YEAH FUN" torx bolts.
-Disconnect front driveshaft
-disconnect linkage for transfercase
-push the transmission back from the engine as far as itll go.
-slowly and carefully lower the tranny with transfercase still attached.

All of this with the transmission supported by a floor jack of course.
I also read to place another jack on the front side of the engine to keep it from tilting forward and putting a bind on things.

Sound about right? Will i still need to dissconnect the transmission from the transfercase in order to change the clutch and components?

The XJ has about 6 or so inches of lift on it so itll definitly be easier.

Just for reference it's an 89 with a 4.0 and i am pretty sure, an AX15. The Jeep was an auto to manual conversion so theres no telling what year the donor tranny came from.

Click to expand...

If you have a proper transmission jack (one with a saddle and a chain or strap to tie the thing down,) you can leave the transfer case on. Else, I'd pull it down and get rid of a seventy-pound ballast working against you (I know it's difficult to reach the top stud nuts, but it's easier once you get the thing separated. 9/16", stubby wrench or just cut a box wrench short.) But, it's not strictly necessary.

The engine will tilt back once the transmission has been taken loose, so no need for a jack under the engine (I've never needed one, anyhow.)

Replace the E12 screws up top with 3/8-16 screws of the same underhead length, or add 3/4" or so and replace with studs (that's what I did - makes it easier to line them up.)

Don't loosen the clutch cover if you don't have to - and bear in mind that the plastic tools that come with clutch kits tend to flex with the weight of the plate on them - so be careful. (That's why I've got a cut-off input shaft in my toolbox - solid steel, damn thing won't bend!)

Can you convert it to a proper external slave? Sure - you'll need the bellhousing, clutch fork, front bearing retainer (important!) and hydraulics for the later transmission. If you don't change the front bearing retainer, the T/O bearing will have too much room to move to disengage the clutch.

You can use the bellhousing from the AX-15e or NV3550, as long as it was bolted to the 6-242 engine. The front bearing retainer can be sourced from a V6 Dakota as an option, if you're having a hard time. If you try to buy one new - you can - it won't be cheap. Last time I priced one I think it was about $160-180!

I've never liked the "concentric slave cylinder" (I think that's what AMC/Jeep called it,) but if you're going to buy one separately drop the coin on a good unit - like a Timken. Cheap ones end up costing you more - you'll have to buy a replacement in a few months, and do the whole job over again.

The price difference between a quality slave (alone) and a full clutch kit is actually fairly minimal - last time I priced it out, I think it was $90 for the slave only and $130 for the full clutch kit. (Yes, the AX-15i and AX-15e use the same clutch friction parts, it's the hydraulics that are different. The later input shaft uses a different pilot bushing, so which one you use depends on how you do the conversion.)

I always found it easier to remove the transfer case, it made it much easier going back in. It does not take long to reinstall.

Had to replace the rear main in kids 2.5 Xj got a transmission jack a harbor freight for like $110 pulled trans and transfer together. Worth every dime. Now it has an adapter on it to lift and balance diffs.

Thanks all! got her out in ~ an hour. Dont forget that CPS on the bellhousing..... and pull out a pry bar :> Luckily when the PO swapped the auto for a standard, they replaced the top TORX bolts with regular hex head bolts like a sane person would.I see there is a LUK clutch in there, might as well replace it anyway.

I would replace the rear main while its all apart, even if its not leaking.