tranny opinions wanted

here is the parts list I have
60's front and rear 5:13 gears arb lockers
42" tires
LQ9 6.0 chevy motor
stak 4 speed
all in a 97 tj mostly tubed

engine location is not important since I am not limited to where I can put it. I am trying to figure out a trans. I am not looking for an automatic. I am trying to decide what 5 or 4 speed to put in it. Of course I was originaly thinking a NV4500. It has been hard and expensive to lcate one, and I would then need the adapters to the stack (it is currently set up to go behind a ax15

This leads me to my question. What do you think of the AX 15. It seems to be a pretty tough tranny. and of course I already have one. I would only need the bell housing/ adapter to the engine. It is lighter and shorter I think.

I have read several not so good things about the nv4500 5th gear but not so much about the ax15.

any opinions are welcome and of course first hand experience would be great. Thanks in advance

The 5th gear problem in the NV4500 is just something that needs a well documented fix if you have the problem.  It's not all that hard and the fix is permanent.

The AX15 is a medium duty transmission.  While it will hold up to V8 power reasonably well, you don't want to thrash on it, especially with the torque you get from that 6.0.  If you're looking to save money, it's not a bad transmission to use since you have one.  Just don't lean on the skinny pedal all the time and you should be fine.

The only other alternatives I would suggest for another manual transmission would involve adapting the t-case to a Chevy transmission.  You could find an NV4500, fix the 5th gear issue and swap out the input shaft on the t-case.  The AX15 and NV4500 both use the 6 bolt new process t-case  pattern so the case should bolt right up.  The only real difference is the output shaft.  I'm sure Stak would  be able to sell you the right input shaft for not too terribly much and it's not very hard to do the swap.

If you don't mind losing overdrive, an SM465 with the granny low first gear is a great transmission that will bolt right up to the Chevy engine.  Very heavy duty and great for crawling.  And you can easily swap out input shafts on the t-case.  I think it uses the same dimension 32 spline output shaft that the NV4500 uses.

The only other alternatives I would consider are automatics but you said you don't want those.

Ive seen the LQ9s do some serious stuff down the drag strip. The AX15 would work, but it would be marginal. The NV4500 is a wonderful transmission, and is stout.

Or you could do like Roy said and put in the SM465, which would be my choice, since you're unlikely to miss 5th gear in a off road rig.

my SM465 came with a 10spline, but you can change the shaft out. 


if i were you, i would either go SM465 or NV4500.  i  have both transmissions and they are great.
just fix the 5th gear before you install it. but if its just an off road rig, i dont see you using 5th gear.

crawling is great on both of those trans.

I hope to see 5th gear. remember I like speed.

As said, the AX15 won’t take hardcore offroading behind a strong V8.

I have both an NV4500 and an SM465.

The OD is great for fuel mileage, but I can’t see any reason to run 5th off-road, except for desert racing. Unless you get lucky, the cost difference will be huge.  Much harder to find complete with all needed swap parts for a decent price and scavenging for swap parts can blow a budget quickly. But the cool factor is huge!
 
The SM465 is about as stout as you can get, running behind everything from a half ton truck to a dump truck. Granny gear is lower and with the 1:1 4th gear you will be running in a more optimal RPM range for hard acceleration off-road than with the 0.73 OD. The 465 is more common and much cheaper. Easy to pick up a complete truck with all parts needed.

If budget doesn’t matter and fuel mileage does - NV4500.

If budget matters and fuel mileage doesn’t - SM465.

kayden101


my SM465 came with a 10spline, but you can change the shaft out. 

The SM465 came with a variety of output shafts.  Earlier 4wd models came with the 10 spline.  Later models came with the 32 spline.

Slyder


I hope to see 5th gear. remember I like speed.

With 5.13 gears and 42" tires, the SM465 will put you at about 2700 RPM at 65.  The 6.0 can handle that just fine.

Step down the gears in the axles (or step up the tire size) and you can bring it under 2500 RPM on the freeway.


But really, if I were you, I'd go with the NV4500.  Fix the 5th gear nut issue while it's out.  Swap the shaft in the t-case and wheel without any worries.  You'll have pretty low range for crawling but you'll also be right about 2K RPMs on the freeway.

I dont think Kevin is planning on it being street legal. What he means by speed is stuff like king of the hill or just hallin ass down open trails. lol

I have found a nv4500 it has a cracked bell housing. Other than that i will make it work. man I am excited about this mod and all that is in store for this build. Come mega run you will not even recognize the jeep.

Slyder

Come mega run you will not even recognize the jeep.

We hardly recognized it last MR

KEVIN DIDNT BRING JEEP TO LAST MEGA RUN THATS WHY YOU DIDNT RECOGNIZE IT.

Yea, last Megarun his ride looked an awful lot like my wife's Cherokee!

rutz79


KEVIN DIDNT BRING JEEP TO LAST MEGA RUN THATS WHY YOU DIDNT RECOGNIZE IT.

Yes, that was my point.

JIMMY AND TERRY BE JACK STAND WHEELERS.

rutz79


JIMMY AND TERRY BE JACK STAND WHEELERS.

You left out the king of jack stand wheelers.

Me.

my rig does get off the stands every so often. I try not to let the stand get to much dust on them.
 
Oh yea, My stands are faster than yours!

Is the NV4500 complete? Not sure if you can view but there is a complete shifter on CK5 if you need it.

http://coloradok5.com/forums/showthread.php?t=273065