Topic: tranny questions

[jackhammer]

I have a 95YJ 4bang auto.  New to the jeep thing help me out here. Is there a VIN code for the trans that I have.  Trying to figure out what I have to work with here. Flipping through manual I found a receipt for new radiator and engine from only 2 years ago.  I was psyched about that since odometer says 143,000. But at least I know its drastically less then that... Well anyways I need to figure which auto I have .  I need to research shift kits and such since I am going to add a spring(prob. rubicon express),new shocks,greasable shackle little to no lft w/shackle all I want to fit is 31 or 31.5's.  I need to get my gearing right so I can push some snow in the winter so I can justify continued money pour into my YJ slow build up. Thanks any info is appreciated.

[Jeffy]

Welcome.

You might want to spend some time in the FAQ area.  It will cover many things like axles, transmissions and may things inbetween.

But your auto is a R32/TF904.

[jackhammer]

I flipped through the tranny section and did not see any swaps for those 2 trannies.  Sometimes manufactorers will have a designated letter or number  in VIN # so you can easily decipher which motror trans combo is in vehicle. I did not find that info in the tranny section either,  Since I live in the city the auto is way more convienent in stop and go traffic.  I love stick ,but after running a 90lb. jackhammer all day you just wanna turn the tunes up and chill.  Is the only way to icrease my gearing power by going manual or are there shift kits and such.  I saw a flow restricter somewhere but it seemed like it was for 4L only.

[Jeffy]

You won't see a swap presay because what will swap in place of the AX-5 will replace the TF904.  Slim pickings for auto's though.  You're stuck with the stock unless you want to fabricate stuff.  Then there is an option for a 700R4 4-speed from a V6 GM.  But again, you'd need to weld spacers onto the torque convertor to space it correctly.

[jackhammer]

I understand that jeeps more so than probebly any other vehicle have more sticks over auto's.  Stick wasnt my first choice, but the deal was such I could not walk away.  I find it hard to beleive that there isnt any after market stuff for the auto, especially where it seems that Jeep ran the same auto for quite a while of production.  Are the TJ's that same tranny.  I was at auto parts fair.com and they have type 904 listed as my trans.  Can anyone interperate.  I cant find rebuild kits,shift kits or even torque converters on this....whats the deal

[Jeffy]

Whoops, I got that wrong.  It is a TF904.  In which case, there are some MODS but it's still a bit limiting.  Honestly, there isn't much needed with the Auto.  It's probably stronger then the AX-5 but you pay for it in gearing.

[jackhammer]

My main concern is I traded my 93tbird (165000mi) daily driver, 80K-5(plow truck (plow was OK just to big for jeep) truck was junk)) and 1G cash for my YJ.  I think I got a steal considering it was a clean break with the old vehicles (wish my relationships could have such clean breaks) and the guy I got it from was getting rid of it for the owner.  He really didnt know what he had.
        1- Resale on Jeeps w/no or little rust in chicago is crazy -2- He just saw that it had 140,000 on it.  I was flipping through the manual and a reciept fell out and the motor was replaced only 40,000mi. ago.   Using the address on the reciept I contacted original owner and his wife got a rock in radiator on hiway didnt notice the temp rise and f'd up the motor.
         Well anyways I intend to put a blade on the YJ.   You wont make a million but the disposable income is nice.  It will help me afford to further upgrade my YJ .  You know, I have kids and all.  So my regular salary gets chewed up pretty good.
        Well jeep does not recomend pushing snow with the auto, however stick is OK.   I came to the conclusion that it is the gearing.   I already plan on using the best tranny cooler I can find( any ideas which is best?) and maybe an electric fan.   That should make a difference in helping with the longativity of said trans.
        I do plan to go with cragar black steel rims with 31's and add a spring(1 to 1.5"lift) with new shocks and greasable shackles(only 1/2"more lift).   I am going to drop transfer case w/one of those spacer kits.   Will that negativly affect the longation of the trans?  Thanks for your input so far,  sorry fo the marathon.

[Jeffy]

You can get lower gears by swapping out the axles for an manual 2.5L.  You will go from 3.73:1 to 4.10/4.11:1 which would help when you go to larger tires.  Swap the complete axles will cost less then having someone setup your existing set.  You can use the old ones as spares too.

The tranny should already have a cooler in the radiator.  You could run a secondary one though.  For an electric fan you should do a search on the Taurus fan.  It's relitively inexpensive.

For a lift, I'd consider a RE XD or a OME 2.5" lift.  Both kits have nice rides.  You won't find anything under 2.5" really unless it's an Add-a-leaf which will change the ride quality drastically.

[jackhammer]

I did not know axles were different between auto and manual(why does that not sound right to me).
     If that is the case should I look for the ford 8.8 in the boneyard.  YJ's are hard to find.
     ATI performance makes complete TF904 for specific applications.   they also have torque converters and high flow rebuild kits.
    I always new there was a trans cooler in radiator.  Been on my back in snow storm trying to repair blown lines on my old K-5 before.  ATI has an extra one that has the fan already on it.  The thermastat looks like a good idea to.

[Jeffy]

The axles are the same but the gearing is different.  If you can weld then swapping a complete axle will be pretty straight forward.  The 8.8" has 4.10's available stock but that would still mean you'd have to change out the gears for the front.  If you can change gears yourself then that would be an option and probably cheaper then swapping axles.

[jackhammer]

Ok How does this sound for a game plan. Year 1

1- POR15 small surface rust on inside tub.  LineX($400) entire inside of tub.
2- POR15 small surface rust on undercarriage.  Ziebart will apply new undercoating($125)
3- 4.0TB to replace my 2.5TB($25-50)
4- ATI or comparable brand transcooler w/fan($100-150) and temp gage($50) keep any trans damaged minamized and observable by temp guage.
5- Rubicon express add a spring w/shocks($250)needed for plow.  I will have to sacrifice ride for disposable income of plow at least for this year.
6- Greasable shackles($100-125)only .5"lift just to squeeze 31"s in(might have to wait till next year).
7-  Transfercase drop kit($30) I know I am not jumping up in lift a bunch but just to help keep things lined up.
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That puts me around $1200.  That leaves me $1200 for a used plow for the winter.  I am figuring this on how I plan to budget the siphoning of $150 a paycheck(will not affect beer$$) before next winter.   I also plan on diving into the sidejob market pretty heavy this year so that should be all bonus(concrete work sucks but side jobs pay good).   Next year hopefully I can look into spring lift and 31's, bumpers and sports racks and such.   How does this sound?   All opinions appreciated.

[jackhammer]

So only the rear axle is different manual to auto. Or I would have to do both.  Would I be buying them new or getting at bone yard. Inside axle or complete housing with diff and all

[Jeffy]

So only the rear axle is different manual to auto. Or I would have to do both.  Would I be buying them new or getting at bone yard. Inside axle or complete housing with diff and all

The gearing for the Manual is differnet then the Auto.  In the front there are 3.73:1 gears.  In the rear there are 3.73:1 gears for the Auto.

The Manual will have 4.10:1 gears in the front and 4.11:1 gears in the rear.

You cannot run 3.73:1 gears in the front and 4.11:1 gears in the rear.  Neither can you run 4.10:1 gears in the front and 3.73:1 gears in the rear.

I would look for salvage axles or from someone who is upgrading.  Buying complete axles new will be very expensive.

If you wanted to upgrade the rear axle to a 8.8" then you you can either keep the stock gearing of 3.73:1 or go up to 4.10:1.  The 8.8" will come in both ratios but you'll have to check the ID tag for the 4.10's.

[Jeffy]

Ok How does this sound for a game plan. Year 1

1- POR15 small surface rust on inside tub.  LineX($400) entire inside of tub.
2- POR15 small surface rust on undercarriage.  Ziebart will apply new undercoating($125)
3- 4.0TB to replace my 2.5TB($25-50)
4- ATI or comparable brand transcooler w/fan($100-150) and temp gage($50) keep any trans damaged minamized and observable by temp guage.
5- Rubicon express add a spring w/shocks($250)needed for plow.  I will have to sacrifice ride for disposable income of plow at least for this year.
6- Greasable shackles($100-125)only .5"lift just to squeeze 31"s in(might have to wait till next year).
7-  Transfercase drop kit($30) I know I am not jumping up in lift a bunch but just to help keep things lined up.
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That puts me around $1200.  That leaves me $1200 for a used plow for the winter.  I am figuring this on how I plan to budget the siphoning of $150 a paycheck(will not affect beer$$) before next winter.   I also plan on diving into the sidejob market pretty heavy this year so that should be all bonus(concrete work sucks but side jobs pay good).   Next year hopefully I can look into spring lift and 31's, bumpers and sports racks and such.   How does this sound?   All opinions appreciated.

Well, personally I don't like POR15.  It's like applying tar.  If the rust hasn't eaten through the metal then you should be able to sand or wire wheel then prime and paint.  If it's not that bad then you can sand then use something like Rustolium or Hammerite.  I'm not big on spray in liners since they can hide rust underneeth and you could have holes by the time you notice it.  Not to mention most of those liners are flameable.

For the undercarrage, I'd probably do the same.  The Jeep should have some reust protection under the body already.  The frame will probably need to be steam pressure washer then repainted.  A friend of mine painted his with Hammerite.

Honestly, you should be able to clear 31's with no lift.  Adding 1" should help a lot though.  You really don't need a transfer case drop for anything less then 2.5" and even at 2.5" you can sometimes get aways without it.

[jackhammer]

1)    I have been through some yards by my house I may be able to get the axles off a manual YJ however usually the rear diff has been cracked which leads me to believe the diff has pieces missing. The ford may be a more abundant option.  I have time to research this better. Thanks for setting me in the right direction.  
 2)     I really dig the black cragars(and the price) and 31's.  I have seen them w/out lift maybe just TJ flares. The whole reason I need to get that 1.5" w/ an add a spring is due to the dip the front takes when you pick up a 275-325lb plow blade.  I dont want to rub driving from spot to spot on every pothole I hit.  Counter ballast help but I still need to add stiffness.
 3)   My plan was to remove as much rust as possible using just about any method short of sand blast. POR then prime the whole tub inside probeblly 3 coats of a rustoleum primer. Then have it Line x which goes on at 130degrees. Carwash at jeepaholics showed me pictures of cheaper herculiner rusting inside out. that is why I am 90% sold on line x .  I really liked that durabak stuff to.  Chicago is brutal with the rust and I have really noticed the diff in Pick up beds lasting 200% longer since that rhino stuff came out.
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Am I making any sense at all.  I wont hurt anything if I put the transfercase spacer in on only a 1.5 lift will I.  $20 buck and some elbow grease seems better then breaking Ujoints when I am plowing snow for 75 an hour.