Hi people
i wanted to know what sort of difficulties i might encounter if i change the automatic transmission in my 2001 xj to an manual one.
any help please?
thanks
king83

 

You will need all the drive train from flywheel (included) to ring and pinion of both axles with the correct ratio, that means: flywheel, gearbox, pedals and stick, transfer case, drive shafts, ring and pinions, crossmember mount and a ton of bolts.

 

you wouldnt have to change ring and pinion in axles???

 

The manuals usually ran lower gear ratios in the axles.
Dan

 

thnks
guys

 

anything is possible, but you have to ask if its worth it....

and i would say the cost is more then buying a manual

 

Your auto came with 3.55 gears..running a AX-15 with those gears would cause no issue........Forget about the axles....You need Trans,Slave Cylinder,Master cylinder,Pedal assy,Flywheel,Front and rear D/S and the ECM from the manual...also some interior pieces.

 

Running the manual with the 3.55 gearing would actually be better than the 3.07 gearing that it was originally saddled with - no need to change.

You'll need everything from the clutch pedal through to the transfer case input - the transfer case should be a 23-spline, and therefore work with the AX-15. You don't have the hydraulics, so you'll need those, the clutch pedal - and, oh yes, the brake (the A/T brake pedal has that nice wide pad, and you won't have room for that if you put a clutch in.) The firewall should already be punched & drilled to accept the clutch goodies, but the holes may still be closed with knockouts. Don't forget to grab the driveshafts from the donor - the ends are the same, but I believe the lengths of the automatic and the two possible manuals are different (and therefore the driveshafts are different as well.)

However, your 2001 is OBD-II, and elimination of the automatic transmission is highly likely to throw a code at you (the PCM will be looking for signals that aren't there anymore, and it won't be getting responses to A/T signals it sends out.) I don't know if those signals and suchlike can be simulated, and it's easier to swap the PCM out for a 2001/4.0L/MT anyhow. The engine management pinout should be the same between the two, it's just the presence or absence of the A/T signal lines that should be different.

NB: The 2000-2001XJ came with the NV3550 transmission - if you can find one of those, it's better than the AX-15. However, the AX-15 is still perfectly acceptable (and a damned sight better than the BA-10/5! Been through four of those stupid things...)

You'll either have to install a bypass jumper for the AW4 Neutral Safety Switch, or rewire it to connect to Clutch Safety Switch (mounts atop the clutch pedal.) Either option is workable - but if you do rewire to bypass the NSS, make sure you remember that fact when you start! You'll also have to rewire the AW4's reverse lamp circuit (off of the NSS) to be triggered by the reverse lamp switch on the manual transmission case. The other leads off of the NSS are to report what gear range the selector is in (reports to the PCM,) and therefore need not be rewired.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

 

that clutch switch and reverse light is right where im at with my swap but you said thats what you need to do first... this is basically my finishing touches... can you tell me more about putting the switch into the build im doing and how to set that reverse light up...also: as soon as i hook the battery up(with they key out) the rear lights come on, all of them... any help is appreciated....

 

honestly it would be way better to just sell your jeep and buy a manual one. you would pretty much need to buy a donor jeep anyway for all the parts you would need to get it done.

 

for sure... i wrecked my 98 manual...bought a 2000 with a blown 4.0 and auto...have hooked just about everything up...got engine, tranny, driveshaft, clutch and brake pedal, all that jazz...i have the parts installed.... so it has basically come down to the wiring with the clutch and some type of wiring to set up reverse lights...