hello have a couple questions regarding a transmission swap please. I have a 1987 Cherokee Laredo with a bad transmission. Ive been trying to locate a replacement tranny. Ive read "everything to know about AW4 transmissions" that is posted in several forums. I understand my tranny should have 21 splines if its the factory transmission. I recently found a used tranny out of a 1994 cherokee, which if i read correctly this year came with a 23 spline. The transfer case is also available with this transmission so i believe it would be easier to swap both rather than to change the input gear

below i copied and pasted, but wasnt sure what it means about the input gears changing in 94 or 95

What does this mean for swapping (4wd specific)?
If you have a 1987-1990 XJ:

• 1987-1990 AW4s are bolt-in.
• 1990.5-1996 are bolt-in as long as you swap input gears in your transfer case to a 23 spline, or swap the transfer case as well. Remember that NP231 input gear cuts changed in 94 or 95 and that the rear output of the transfer case changed from 95 to 96 when selecting a donor.

so, besides the tranny and transfercase is the whole swap direct bolt in? can i use my existing torque converter, TCM, wiring, throttle cable etc?

i also learned i may need to use my current bell housing, my main concern is the wiring. If i understand correctly my 87 should have REMIX and the donor probaly has OB1. Do these work with eachother or would i need to swap out the entire wiring and TCM? i dont believe the wiring is available for the donor tranny so if it needs to be swapped then i may be out of luck

The comment about the input gears is if you are swapping parts between transfer cases, that it's not just the spline count on the input that changed, but the cut on the gears changed limiting the years you can swap the input shafts. Not-issue if you're grabbing both the matching trans and the xfer

You're good, so long as you swap over both the 1994 transmission and transfer case to avoid the spline count issue. It's direct bolt-in and will work with your wiring and trans computer, either torque converter should work so probably use the new one. Wiring should plug-in to the trans, but I think you need to swap the NSS over from the old one (have to peek at the wiring diagrams, which I don't have access to at the moment). While the trans is out I would recommend removing and cleaning the NSS anyway (look for the Bleepin' Jeep video). Inspect the flex plate while you have everything apart. The flexplate is not the same between the 1989 and the 1994 and aftermarket quality is questionable.

Other tips would be ubolt the t/c and leave it in the trans when you pull it. Make sure the t/c is fully seated in the trans when you go to bolt things up so you don't damage the pump in the front of the trans. There are two sets of splines that need to engage as it drops in.

thank you so much for this info, that makes me feel much better going into this knowing the wiring etc will plug right in. Appreciate the tip about the nss as well. As far as the flex plate and torque converter go the donor trans doesn’t have either inside of the bell housing so I’m hoping I could reuse the ones in my current tranny. Thank you again for all the information, very much appreciated

You're quite welcome. Post back if you run into more questions or issues.

Oh and don't forget to remove the crank sensor before you try pulling trans. Don't want to damage that.

When replacing your trans with a used one, it is a very good idea to install a new front seal in behind the Torque convertor prior to fitting it all in place

I will leave you to guess how I know this