AX-5 install on 2.5L (Almost)

Flyer58

YJ Enthusiast
Joined
Apr 12, 2020
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Magnolia, Texas
I spent the better part of two hours trying to get the bell housing to set the last 1/4 inch against the engine block with no luck.

Before you ask, I did the following. :)

Installed new clutch facing the right way against the flywheel
Center the clutch plate with the alignment tool
Greased the bearing
Used alignment bolts (not tight) to help align the case and block
Using a transmission jack
Internal slave -ugh- still has the plastic retaining straps.

The transmission and transfer case are mounted together and it's one heavy sob

The splined input shaft did easily go in through the clutch

Anything else to try? ripping it out and putting in a 4BT is not an option at this time lol.
Cheers.
 
Assuming the clutch and everything are installed correctly, I have had this issue before in the past, where you can get the transmission on, but getting it situated just right is a pain in the ass. The transmission jack is ultimately what helped me, but it still took me at least an hour and a lot of cursing.

I think the real question is, is something keeping it from going on, or is it just being tough to get on? In my case, it felt like something was holding it back, but it was actually just being tough to go on.
 
I ran into the same problem. What helped the most was separating the transfer case from the transmission. With the both together it was just too much mass for me to handle on my own. After I split them I was able to wrestle it in that last quarter inch. It also makes aligning the splines on your input shaft easier as you can give it a little turn from the output shaft.
 
Thanks all. I finally got it in. I backed the transmission away to recheck the clutch with the centering tool and it was ok but I noticed the dang internal slave was not centered around the input shaft. It's held in place by a concentric cone and somehow got bumped slightly off center. Not sure how but I did reseat it.

Putting it back together I found it was much easier to align the bell housing and block by comparing the flywheel ring gear with the house edge and making small adjustments to get them parallel. Once lined up I just kept muscling that thing around until it slowly seated. No final clunk or nothing.

Again, their not shown but I did use two long bolts threaded through the block holes that extended into the bell housing holes for alignment and they definitely helped.

Pics Not aligned / aligned :

TI1.jpg
TI2.jpg
 
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Thanks all. I finally got it in. I backed the transmission away to recheck the clutch with the centering tool and it was ok but I noticed the dang internal slave was not centered around the input shaft. It's held in place by a concentric cone and somehow got bumped slightly off center. Not sure how but I did reseat it.

Putting it back together I found it was much easier to align the bell housing and block by comparing the flywheel ring gear with the house edge and making small adjustments to get them parallel. Once lined up I just kept muscling that thing around until it slowly seated. No final clunk or nothing.

Again, their not shown but I did use two long bolts threaded through the block holes that extended into the bell housing holes for alignment and they definitely helped.

Pics Not aligned / aligned :

View attachment 115553View attachment 115554
Man, that's clean under there! (y)
 
One trick I learned for spline alignment is to put the transmission in a high gear, transfer case in 2Hi, and spin the transfer case yoke as the splines are trying to mate. It just won't get in and suddenly it will pop and slide right in.
 
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