DieselTech16

I rarely post here, but hopefully this will be helpful to others contemplating the same swap.
I apologize for the lack of pictures, I'll try to get some up when I get a chance to take more. And if anyone has questions I'll gladly answer them to the best of my abilities.

After the AW4 in my 98 Classic blew a seal and locked up I decided to swap in a AX15.
All in all, it went fairly smoothly.

Parts I ordered:
1994 XJ AX15 came w/ bell housing, tcase - $300
New Ujoints for drive shaft + strap kit - $40
AX15 shifter assembly off of a TJ -$35
​​​​​​Bahnhof Clutch -$86
Sachs Flywheel - $55
Flywheel & pressure plate bolts -$25
Throwout fork spring -$10
Pedal assembly -$89
Master & Slave Cylinder Assembly -$108

Pulling the transmission was pretty straight forward. Best advice is to make sure you disconnect the kick down cable from the throttle assembly and triple check you have harness on the automatic fully disconnected, that was my biggest issue as mud and transmission fluid were everywhere.

​​Prior to installing the AX15 I replaced the throw out bearing, and the throw out fork spring (broke off when I was playing with the clutch fork) A cheap harbor freight jaw puller made quick work of this.
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Removing the old pedal assembly was also quite easy, 4 bolts on the firewall and two overhead. Im just small enough i could lay upside down on the driver seat and see, taller people would probably want to spend the extra time and remove the seat. Theres also a little clip, that somewhat resembles a tinnerman clip, a quick tweak with a small flathead screwdriver and it comes right off.

Upon trying to install the pedal assembly, which was a universal one for 84-01 XJ from JeepPartsGuy, I discovered that there is a cast stiffener plate underneath the dashboard that prevents the placement of the pedals. It sticks down about 3/4", and even with my attempts at carving on the pedal assembly to fit it, it would not fit. In the end I modified the OEM auto assembly with the pedals from the manual assembly. In doing this, I also had to fabricate a new bracket to press the brake switch. This was because the pin that the brake cylinder rod connects to, is on the opposite side of the pin on the automatic pedal. Essentially I just used a piece of paintlock, bent and welded to press the brake switch.

For the master cylinder, there are 3 little dimples on the firewall where the holes need to be drilled. I recommend getting a right angle drill, or a very compact cordless with a couple short bits, there is very little space and it makes life much easier. I used a right angle drill and normal length bits but it was a bit of a pain.
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​​​To be able to make it run, I just ran a jumper wire on the trans harness plug, so it thinks that the NSS is there and happy.

Flywheel and clutch are also very easy, make sure to use actual flywheel bolts and not normal grade 8, regular grade 8 do not have the shear resistance of flywheel bolts. Flywheel torques for my 98 were about 105 ft lbs and 38 ft lbs for the pressure plate. In order to install the pilot bearing, I used a socket that fit inside the bearing to center it on the flywheel, and one that sat on the outer edge of the bearing to get it started into the flywheel. Once it was started I removed the sockets and placed a small rubber mallet on the bearing while tapping it with a larger mallet to fully seat it.

My AX15 did not come with a shifter assembly, and not being able to find one for a Cherokee I ordered one for a TJ on eBay. These will not work, as the lower section of the shifter is longer on a wrangler than a Cherokee. Thankfully I have a 92 2 door I am restoring so I just robbed the shifter out of it. I have a lower assembly for a Cherokee on the way to convert the wrangler shifter to put it in my 92.

I did not replace the bottom plate from the automatic with a 5 speed plate. The shifter fits and functions fine through the hole from the AW4 shifter, and a little fabrication will make a new bracket for the console to secure to, so I didn't see it necessary to replace. For the secondary shift boot covering the transmission below the console, I am just going to use sheet neoprene rubber cut to fit in.
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I had read people moved their crossmembers for the AX15, I did not need to do this. It fit right into place and had all holes/bolts match up. Maybe it's different for other years?

​​​​​I only have about 30 miles on the swap so far, it's very torquey with the 3.55 gears. Second gear starts are pretty easy on level ground without risk of slipping the clutch. I do have check engine lights because it does not see the AW4 anymore, and also don't have reverse lights wired in yet. I will post updates on how I go about that when I do it.

*pics will be uploaded after I re-read the forum sticky on how to*

investinwaffles

Very cool - definitely post up pics when you can, never hurts to have as much info as possible.

For the inner shift boot, you can use one off a TJ Wrangler. Basically just use sheet metal screws and some RTV to get it sealed up nicely.
I still need to do this but have been too lazy (my inner boot is torn and leaks hot air into the cabin, fixed it with Gorilla Tape and its still holding)

https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f51/sh...rebuild-28766/

XJdryva

Good to know you were able to use your automatic crossmember and driveshafts. I have heard of people needing to change both. I have a 98 I'm doing this to. I just picked up the tranny and pedal box today. I also was able to get the floor pan though the lower boot was very destroyed. I'm probably gonna use tape or some other ghetto technique to fix this. This Cherokee was parted out when I got it, so it's lacking ECM and engine harness. I'm trying to find a 5 speed ECM so I don't get the check engine light. I did note that this parts Cherokee I got the pedal box out of had a plug off the main harness that hooked to the clutch pedal. It had a solid green and green with red stripe wires in it and it was right behind the firewall grommet for the main harness. My auto harness does not have this plug. I want to see if maybe the auto harness has these 2 wires in it somewhere. I have heard something about this, but I don't know if they were talking about the same year or generation jeep.
I'm buying the clutch and flywheel brand new as well as the master/slave/hydraulic line. Shouldn't have to change anything to keep the speedo accurate since in using the same T case.
Only question I have is what did you do about the T case linkage? I hear that's different from AW4 to AX-15

freegdr

Its not really the linkage its self more the bracket it connects to. As for pedal assembley 96 and up is differrent than early years.

investinwaffles

You could always just get the BoostWerks shift linkage, which is lightyears ahead of the stock one, only $40, and fully adjustable

XJdryva

Yeah I was thinking about doing that linkage anyways just because it makes way more sense.

My pedal assembly came out of the exact same year jeep so hopefully no modification is required.

freegdr

1996 would be only year that could go either way.

XJdryva

Mine is a 98 and I pulled everything from a 98. Even had the clutch fork and all that jazz. Throwout bearing is there too, but it's garbage. I think I have everything to actually put it in the jeep and make it move. I'm having one hell of a time finding an ECM and harness for it though. Might have to buy a reman for some $$$. I found a harness for it but it's missing something and I can't figure out what it is. Also, the motor is out of a WJ and has the accessories on it. I'm trying to get the alternator and A/C compressor to work the way it is now so the alternator is at the top of the engine. Just need to find another swept bladed fan to make up for the WJ accessories not having a place for a mechanical one.

robertj

Second gear starts are even easy with the 4.0 with my 3.07 ratio, but I have stock sized tires too.

s14unimog

Props on the swap, I'm happy to see another stick shift fan on here. I wouldn't have it any other way. One thing, are you sure it's an AX15? I thought that would have been an AX5 back in 94?

If you end up needing a stock shifter assembly for an AX15 (sounds like you got it handled), I've got one I pulled from my '97 when I installed a Hurst.