1996 XJ Transmission Swap ???

[Fast79Chief]

I'm wondering if the Auto trans from a 96 XJ would be strong enough to handle the AMC 360 and the weight of a 79 Chief?
Any experienced opinions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Fast79Chief

[derf]

It's a medium duty transmission. Probably fine behind a stock 360 but not if it's modded.

It runs hot so you need a good aux cooler.

It's computerized and the transmission controller will be a pain to get working without the matching 4.0 fuel injection. No one makes aftermarket controllers for it but it doesn't need much in the way of inputs. If you're good with electronics you can probably rig something up.

The fact that it bolts up to the AMC directly is appealing but there are better options for overdrive behind a 360. The GM 700R4 is a good candidate because it's 100% hydraulic with no computer at all. And everyone makes parts and adapters for it. It's also built to handle a small block V8 so as long as you don't have early versions (or have upgraded them during a rebuild) it will run fine for a long time.

The 4.0 is a good swap candidate into the FSJ and the XJ is a good donor because the electronics are pretty well self contained as long as you keep the engine and transmission together. If it were my project, that's the only way I would run the AW4 transmission.

[80Limited]

It's not as hard as you think and not a pain to accomplish. The AW4 is a hearty transmission if you keep it cool. You can do the swap for the price of the 700r4 adapter, if you're handy with doing fab work yourself. Make sure you're getting everything you need from the XJ. TCM, TCM wiring harness, TPS, ECT. Anything associated with the transmission.
I bought a junk 93 XJ for $300 and took what I needed out of it and parted the rest out to offset the cost.
Here is my swap thread. I put mine in an 80 so the wiring I have posted should work for you.
Any questions just PM me.
http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=182007

I made my own TPS and TV cable brackets and the rest is just wiring SJ to XJ NSS and such. You'll need a 12v to 5v step down to run the TPS but they're cheap on amazon. The most down time I had with the swap was waiting for driveshafts to be finished. As long as your gearing is correct there should be no problem with the AW4.

[Cecil14]

The '96 should still be an AW4, it's plenty strong enough. Lots of people around here running them behind surprisingly high power motors. Keep in mind, the AW4 is essentially the same auto they put in the Supra, and tons of people run those at 600+ rwhp. It's a lot tougher little trans than people give them credit for.

There are a lot of threads about swapping them in. The only two sensors you need (that I can think of off hand) are the TPS and VSS. You can grab the speed output adapter from an OBDI XJ t-case (or pay Hesco 10x what it's worth) to run both your speedo cable and the electronic signal for the computer. There are a few people that have adapted a TPS to their carbs, too. Holley offers a TPS kit, but I believe it only fits on their carbs. Could likely be modified to fit a stock carb.


This thread goes into pretty good detail about the entire swap: http://www.ifsja.org/forums/vb/showthread.php?t=183979

The 700R4 is a fine transmission, but calling it a better swap is pretty subjective. It can almost certainly be built to be stronger, but I doubt very much it's significantly stronger in stock form, and stock is plenty for nearly everyone around here. Plus the 700R4 requires an adapter kit, and those are rarely cheap.


aa

[Fast79Chief]

I would be keeping the front and rear axles, and the AMC 360. Not opposed to changing the Tcase if I had to. I'm sure this info will bring more specific responses.
Looking forward to the info.
Thanks.

[derf]

If you are looking at an XJ (driver side drop t-case) transmission to go into a 79 Chief (passenger side drop front axle), the easiest solution is to find a Dana 300 transfer case out of an 80-86 CJ. It will bolt up to the AW4 with no modification or adapter and give you a passenger side drop case that you need. It's centered rear output which would be the same if you had a Dana 20 in there now. If you have the Quadratrac, you still need the offset rear axle for the drive shaft to clear the gas tank. And it's long enough that you don't have to worry about the angles. The Dana 300 is plenty strong to handle a 360 in a Chief. And you can do various upgrades to it. Bigger output shafts, a 4:1 low range, twin stick, etc.

For the transmission controller, you need the VSS signal. For the Chief, you'd want the pass-through VSS module. It bolts in place between the speedometer cable and the transfer case and lets you run the factory speedometer while giving the computer the signal it needs. They are easy to find and install. The only potential issue is the difference in low ranges between the various cases. Since the computer uses the VSS signal to know when to shift, it needs to know that you're in low range so it can adjust. But the stock computer assumes you're running an XJ case which has 2.72:1 low range. The 2.61:1 in the D300 is probably close enough to not be a problem. But if you switch to 4:1, you need to tell the computer about it. But I know people run "non standard" low ranges in XJs all the time so there has to be a straightforward way to get that sorted out.




If you go with a GM 700R4, an NP208 or NP241 that came behind the transmission in an 80's pickup/K5 Blazer/Suburban would bolt right up with no adapters and have the correct drop to match your front axle. The donor would need to have the passenger drop front solid axle. Just look for a solid axle donor. GM switched from passenger to driver drop when they went to IFS. Around 1988 for the pickup and 1992 for the K5 Blazer and Suburban. So look for one that was before the change over.

[Fast79Chief]

Sound like the AW4 is a very doable overdrive swap.
I did a 700r4 into a 72 K20 some 17 years ago, and it has been a Godsend. Bowtie Overdrives hooked me up with the proper tailshaft for my NP205 and I fitted some driveshafts to the mix. Brought my engine 3 inches forward too. Could finally get to work on the distributor easier.
I'll see about the controllers needed to make the AW4 work with my 360.
Thanks ... keep the good info coming!

[JeepManiac]

My race Jeep (XJ) uses a winters shifter + electronic control kit. Sounds more complicated than it is. It is wired to the trans and I have full manual control (no ability to put it in D either). It's flippin' fantastic and I love it. No TCM or anything. Makes swapping an AW4 easier if you're into having to manually shift it. I also have TC lockup wired to a switch so I have control over when the TC is locked.

The shifter provides a lot of advantages. It's no very expensive for what you get. It also allows you to downshift and engine brake if you like. I have the standard gate, not rock gate.

http://www.radesignsproducts.com/winter ... -kits.html

[BCRAWLER]

Sound like it works great. How does it effect towing capacity and life span?