Topic: AX5 Rebuild questions...

[TahoeYJ]

So I'm due for a transmission rebuild... 5th gear's been out since November and after a short highway trip today, my tranny isn't sounding healthy at all.... What sucks is I haven't even had this one in a year...

I've still got my old tranny, so my dad and I (I think) are going to take on the task of rebuilding it ourselves. After talking with him this afternoon he decided to help me out with it, so I've got to go get the tranny and open it up and see what it needs.

What's throwing me off is HOW MANY PARTS THIS FREAKIN' THING HAS!!! I know I won't know what it needs until I open it up and look at it, but is there any rebuild kit that comes with more than just the cluster, bearings and seals? I haven't seen anything that comes with everything I might need. Am I just going to be stuck ordering parts individually? I'm just hoping I won't need a whole lot. 3rd gear is out on the tranny that we're going to be rebuilding. It goes into 3rd and will drive but makes a horrific sound, like heavy equipment/machinery with tracks, driving down a paved street... that's the best way I can describe it. 5th does the same thing in the transmission that's currently in my Jeep...

Anyone on here rebuilt the AX5 before? I've seen a couple rebuild threads on JF, but haven't found much info really...

[Bounty Hunter]

I've seen what's involved in the FSM, I won't tackle a rebuild myself.

[oldjeep]

is there any rebuild kit that comes with more than just the cluster, bearings and seals?

That's normal for a basic manual trans rebuild kit.  The master kits also include the syncros.

Here's a master kit
http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-132518-ax5-rebuild-kit.html

I havn't rebuilt an AX5, but have done about a dozen other manual and automatic transmissions.  As long as you have a good manual and the correct tools anyone can do it.  Just takes time and a very clean work space.

[TahoeYJ]

That's normal for a basic manual trans rebuild kit.  The master kits also include the syncros.

Here's a master kit
http://eastcoastgearsupply.com/i-132518-ax5-rebuild-kit.html

I havn't rebuilt an AX5, but have done about a dozen other manual and automatic transmissions.  As long as you have a good manual and the correct tools anyone can do it.  Just takes time and a very clean work space.

My dad has a good sized work bench in the garage and a bearing press, and hopefully everything else we'll need. I plan on taking plenty of pictures as we pull it apart in case we need a reference as to how to put things back together. My dad rebuilt a couple old 4 speeds wth my grandfather back in the day, but that was a long time ago. I think the both of us have enough mechanical ability to get the task done properly. And at least if it doesn't work out, it's only on us.

And thanks for the link to that rebuild kit, I don't think I've found one as complete as that one. I'm going to go get the transmission today and maybe pull the guts out of it later tonight. Hopefully the hard parts are fine and I can get away with a quick rebuild...

I'm just stoked that I'll have 5th gear again and no vibrations 

[TahoeYJ]

Well I went and picked up the tranny yesterday. Depending on how the clutch looks that's in my Jeep, I might use the one from this transmission. Might end up ordering a new one, we'll see... My dad is snagging a piece of 1 1/8" ply from work to make a bench w/ some sawhorses and that will be our workspace as the workbench in the garage is constantly cluttered. I'll be taking LOTS and LOTS of pics for this rebuild! I plan on doing a thorough write-up so others will feel comfortable taking on this same task on their own 

I'm just hoping hard parts are OK, so I don't get stuck spending a crapload of money to rebuild it...

[robswan]

I have rebuilt 2 of the AX-5 trannys, and taking the pics is a great idea.  I did that myself.  I haven't found anything but a master rebuild kit for the tranny, and gears or countergears you may need will have to be purchased individually.  But you said you had another tranny.  Take the parts you may need out of the donor tranny.  Just make sure that if you need a gear, take the mate to it out of the donor tranny also.  Don't mix the gears without the mate from the countershaft.  With a bearing press, you shouldn't have any trouble.  I would replace the clutch, pressure plate, input shaft bearing in the flywheel, and the throw out bearing or internal cylinder assy.
E-bay is a great place to find bargains on the clutch kit, and the master rebuild kit.  I was able to purchase both items for around $300, shipping included.

[TahoeYJ]

I have rebuilt 2 of the AX-5 trannys, and taking the pics is a great idea.  I did that myself.  I haven't found anything but a master rebuild kit for the tranny, and gears or countergears you may need will have to be purchased individually.  But you said you had another tranny.  Take the parts you may need out of the donor tranny.  Just make sure that if you need a gear, take the mate to it out of the donor tranny also.  Don't mix the gears without the mate from the countershaft.  With a bearing press, you shouldn't have any trouble.  I would replace the clutch, pressure plate, input shaft bearing in the flywheel, and the throw out bearing or internal cylinder assy.
E-bay is a great place to find bargains on the clutch kit, and the master rebuild kit.  I was able to purchase both items for around $300, shipping included.

Well there really isn't a donor tranny... We're rebuilding the one that I took out previously, because this one is going bad... And the plan in to just rebuild this one and swap it in place of the one that's in my rig now so I have little to no downtime with it. And with the way this tranny sounds, I think hard parts might be bad in it...

I might replace the clutch while I'm in there, I might not... I haven't had much work at all so I might end up just using the current clutch for now. I don't mind having to drop the tranny down the road to replace it since money is tight 

[TahoeYJ]

Started tearing into it today... got the rear half of the casing off, slave cylinder removed, front input shaft plate removed, and started removing the gears off the rear section so I could unbolt the plate for the main shaft and slip out the rest of the internals. I'm stuck on getting the shift fork off, I can't tell if the last gear on the cluster is pressed on or is part of the shaft. I've got a free day tomorrow so I'm hoping to at least get everything out so I can see what's bad... I've got a feeling 3rd gear is toasted, which means $$$ 

[Mr_Random]

Before you decide that 3rd is truly toasted, check the shift collar first... mine was broken and it would lock between gears, somehow it was still driveable though.

If you take the front half of the case off first, almost all of the internals should still be attached to the center plate, it should be better for documentation and procedure purposes. I haven't taken an ax-5 apart myself, but I saw mine disassembled at the tranny shop, and have read extensive rebuild materials through the FSM's, seems like a pretty basic transmission, but the biggest problem is the botched overdrive gears.

Has anyone researched on whether toyota transmissions have any swappable parts for ours? Being Aisin-warner and all, I can imagine that some of the cousin transmissions in tacoma's, t100's, and supra's are at least similar?

[countryboy514]

I've rebuilt an AX5 and it took me awhile. Taking pictures is a good idea....but make sure you note where the shifter forks go. The hardest part of the rebuild is getting the shifter shafts to line up the correct way. Along the outside of the intermediate plate, there are set screws holding a spring and a ball bearing. There are a few of these and they prevent the transmission from being in two gears at once. I have the factory service manual. let me know if you need more help

[TahoeYJ]

Before you decide that 3rd is truly toasted, check the shift collar first... mine was broken and it would lock between gears, somehow it was still driveable though.

If you take the front half of the case off first, almost all of the internals should still be attached to the center plate, it should be better for documentation and procedure purposes. I haven't taken an ax-5 apart myself, but I saw mine disassembled at the tranny shop, and have read extensive rebuild materials through the FSM's, seems like a pretty basic transmission, but the biggest problem is the botched overdrive gears.

Has anyone researched on whether toyota transmissions have any swappable parts for ours? Being Aisin-warner and all, I can imagine that some of the cousin transmissions in tacoma's, t100's, and supra's are at least similar?

How do I go about removing the front half of the case? I've got a Haynes manual but it's of course not very descriptive... Been looking online trying to find disassembly instructions, haven't had much luck there either. I just want to get it apart to see what's wrong. I'm not worried about tearing the whole thing down just yet, I've got pops to help me with that. And FWIWeverything I've taken off has gone into plastic baggies labeled with what it is and where it goes. Trying my best to stay organized...

What makes me think 3rd gear is bad is that when I shifted the tranny into third and spun the shaft, I could hear it make a knock once it made a full 360* rotation, always in the same spot. It would clunk while driving when it was still in my rig too. Driveable, but I'd just skip 3rd and go straight to 4th which SUCKED.

Again no work today, and although I really need it, I'm going to focus on trying to get this thing apart so I can order parts today hopefully. The transmission in my Jeep right now is getting louder and louder with every mile I drive it, I'll be surprised if it even lasts until I can get this other one finished and ready to swap.

Sometimes it sucks having only one vehicle 

[TahoeYJ]

Almost got the front half of the case off, it's hung up on something. But looking inside with a flashlight, I can totally tell that 3rd gear is bad. There's like 3 or more teeth missing! 

Looks like there might be some damage to another shaft, dunno which shaft it is, but it's hard to tell if the shaft is s'posed to have the indent it does or not... Gonna be an expensive rebuild... I guess the bright side is that I'll have a nice, almost new tranny 

[Mr_Random]

Almost got the front half of the case off, it's hung up on something. But looking inside with a flashlight, I can totally tell that 3rd gear is bad. There's like 3 or more teeth missing! 

Looks like there might be some damage to another shaft, dunno which shaft it is, but it's hard to tell if the shaft is s'posed to have the indent it does or not... Gonna be an expensive rebuild... I guess the bright side is that I'll have a nice, almost new tranny 

Buy an AX-15 and start on a conversion? Compare prices and see what your losses will be! Also consider that you may have to rebuild the ax-5 AGAIN, far before you have to rebuild an ax-15!

[TahoeYJ]

Buy an AX-15 and start on a conversion? Compare prices and see what your losses will be! Also consider that you may have to rebuild the ax-5 AGAIN, far before you have to rebuild an ax-15!

I realize that and as much as I'd like to do an AX15 swap, it's not gonna happen right now... By the time I swapped tcases or my current input shaft, have driveshaft work done (already rebuilt it a couple months ago too), etc etc I'm almost positive that I'd be in deeper than a rebuild. Also I'm not paying for the rebuild which is really the only reason it's happening, I'm fortunate in the fact that my dad is paying for parts since I've had NO luck finding work. If it wasn't for him, I'd be car-less right now. As my Jeep stands right now it's not even worth driving with how much noise the tranny that's in it right now is making...

God damn AX5 POS  They just have to go out 'eh

[TahoeYJ]

Well, this explains why 3rd gear didn't work too well... Sorry for the horrible camera phone pic

At least all the damage is on the same shaft... 3rd gear is obviously toasted so that alone means a new cluster. Hopefully we'll get everything ordered this next week. I also am getting a new clutch to slap in too... It's got 5K on it, but it's in perfect shape, so it works for me!