BlueFlu

If this helps we have a '96 Country with 252k on it and still going strong. 4.0, AW4 3.73 gears. Mostly road miles but some off road miles in there too.

Awesome. I come from a family of muscle cars mostly. Though my granddad talked about using Jeeps in WW2 some.

My youngest is a 5 yo girl who has claimed our '12 JKU in Gecko Pearl. Got to love it.

I did a fluid change yesterday and used the Valvoline MTF. The tranny shifts smoother now but the grind is still there. From what I have read on Novak's site the 2.8 housing works with minor mods tranny dependent ie SM420 easier than the SM465 due to the mods needing to be done. No big deal though. Just a rib taken off and few a studs etc. I agree it would have been so much easier if Jeep had used a one size fit's all for the YJ in the frames and bell housings. One of the things I always liked about the CJ's. I "think" the '77 had a cat but can't swear to it as we bought it as a basket/box case. Was going to be a father son's project until my oldest son decided he likes the '96 XJ Country we have more. LOL So the PW is being parted out to fund upgrades on it and pick up another XJ for the other son because he likes the XJs too.. The YJ does have a high flow cat on it already with a 2.5" exhaust. Having sons who love Jeeps is a great problem to have.

Thanks for the welcome Moses. I think I used GL5 last time I changed the tranny fluid, I've read since of others having issues after using GL5. Lesson learned I guess. The 2.8 GM v6 bell housing will work behind the 2.5 with a few minor mods. I've seen a few 2.8 bell housings in pull a part type yards in S10s and even a few Cameros but have yet to pull one mainly due to not hearing much from the Jeep world on this one. I do use my YJ on the street but mostly back roads and around home. With a few 300 mile days a year tossed in for fun drives. If we go to a trail ride any distance away I trailer it. I've always loved the small block Mopar mills, hard to beat them IMHO. The 360 is '77 out of a Power Wagon but I plan to upgrade to fuel injection, like Holley or Eldebrock, and maybe add an air pump to help with emissions if I go the 360 route. The '94 being OB1 they only do a sniff test here in TN. They don't even ask about engine size or mods. I just can't bring myself to do a GM swap.

Been reading a bit and lurking decided to join. Anyway I have a '94 YJ w/2.5 ax5 with ~105k. I've done the 8.8 swap and many other upgrades to it. The ax5 is starting to grind 1st to 2nd and then downshifting to 2nd and 1st. I will do a fluid swap and see if that calms it down. However I'm thinking that it may be time for a tranny swap/upgrade. The SM420/SM465 swaps seems to be the way to go for off road use but have yet to talk to anyone who has done it. Are they happy with the swap etc. My other option is a Mopar 360 swap. I have the engine and a NP435 sitting but can't find a t case adapter to keep the driver side drop. I thought at one time there was a flip kit for the D300 but couldn't even find that today. Any help?