el3,

your 1987 has the " not so desirable " peugeot trans from factory !! You can purchase either NV3550 or NV3500 or Aisin AX-15 for trans and if you want to change the starter over to the Driver side to keep it away from heat you can use the 97 Dodge Dakota either 3.9 V6 or 5.2 V8 BELLHOUSING .... BOTH Bells will mount the starter to driver side and keep it away from the turbo'd exhaust manifold and they have all necessary provisions to mount the clutch ( just like stock JEEP ) and .....

ALL the transmissions above mentioned will DIRECTLY bolt into the bell housing ( they share trans bolt patterns ) !!!

Hope this " inside " information helps !!!! YOU ....

The ax-15 will be smooth and the other transmissions are truck applications so they are kinda balky and not so pricise .... but much more HEAVY DUTY !!

The NV 3500 and 3550 both have 0.73 overdrive and ax-15 has 0.78 .... so the NV may get better hi-way economy !! ??????

EDIT :::: NV 4500 has been removed from the list it is not the same and needs a special adapter !!

 

Thank's for the info and specially about the starter
I didn't taught about the heat generated by the turbo
I may need to get some heat shield around the turbo
I just located an NV3550 with 35Kmiles on it , I May jump on that..

 

You can use either trans el3,

You will need the bell and ALL associated clutch parts if you donor is post 1994 !! The post 1994 is actually an upgrade to hydraulic and supposed to be much better!!
If you want ( since you are possibly buying bell housing anyway ) ; you can find at car -part dot com the 97 dodge dakota bellhousing ( either 5.2 V8 or 3.9 V6 will work ) and put that bolt pattern into your adapter plate !! It is a direct BOLT in to either nv3550 or ax 15 transmissions and the WHOLE REASON I am suggesting is to move the starter over to the driver-side to keep it out from under the turbo and exhausts HEAT !! Extend the starters wires by 12 to 18 inches ( under the oil pan ) and YOU are good to go !!

In my OPINION !!

the ax 15 MAY not handle the power of the nv3550 ..... BUT .... the nv3550 is not as precise and CAN feel balky and noisy especially around 150,000 K !!

I have heard of the ax 15 ( behind the 4.0L ) lasting in excess of 350,000 K !!

 

el31415 you will need to get your bell housing up against engine and see where your starter is going to fit.i had to move starter from original position upwards toward exaust manifold to clear bulky mercedes oil pan,and had to make new cutout in bell housing to fit starter.if this is the case with your project(which most likely will be) it doesnt make sense to buy another bell housing as you will have to make cutouts anyways.also to consider if you are thinking to move starter from one side to the other you have to make sure you get correct turn starter as you dont want it to turn over backwards.also on left side of engine you have oil filter housing and if you are not thinking of removing that you wont even be able to fit starter there.sorry for long post just my opinion

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ok that seamed a hell of a lot longer in this little box down here

 

Does the Mercedes turn in opposite direction of Jeep 4.0L ???? If it does not turn opposite then changing sides from driver to pass does not matter ..... You are changing sides of engine which rotates starter housing but does not flip it !! It may eliminate the problems you encountered if we change to drivers side ????!!! My PRELIMINARY measurements have the Dakota Bell starter location 2 inches below the OIL FILTER housing !! This would be a good thing !!

So ; the most important thing to know is does the Merc Diesel rotate in opposite direction from Jeep !!??????

 

Okay Vlado, an 87 wrnagler should have the Peugot tranny, not an AX-15. The AX15 was introduced mid-way through 88. Either you have a Puegot, or you swapped the transmissions.....and if you swapped to an AX-15, what year is it out of? The input shafts I am told are different diameters, so it will change the bearing.

 

somebody else did the trans swap.it was like that when i bought it and also they had new clutch in it too,so i reused everything that was on jeep.the bearing doesnt matter at this point as you will have to have spacer for crank anyways.the bearing # i had in this tread is just spacer that i used.you use your stock pilot bearing and insert it into spacer that fits your crank(you can eather drill it or have machine shop machine it for you).i dont know for sure if input shafts are different diameters and even if they are, they are not different lenghts and that is all you care about, if you decide to go with stock trans and do a swap later on.good luck with project.

 

Thanks Vlado. Just looking to mock it up now, so that works for me.

 

no problem if you have more ? you can post it here so other people can see or you can PM me.post some pics if you have

 

Vlado !!

You missed post 95 ...... Does the Mercedez rotate in same or opposite direction of the Jeep 4.0..... ????

I put my stuff on hold waiting to find out rotation !!!


Hey Vlado !!

While you are at it ...... why don't you transfer me some of that $70000 in casino cash you have lying around !!!