jeep grand cherokee 5.2 as donator for my dart gt -65, what gearbox should i use?

[e--andersson]

Hi! And thanks for a great forum!
I plan to take apart my jeep grand cherokee 5.2 automatic and take the engine, radiator, maybe the power steering box, and rear axel if it's stronger and for the LSD and mount it in my dart.
But what gearbox should I use? Can I use the original from my dart, or maybe the jeep gearbox fits in the tunnel and can it be used without the transfer case? Or suggestions for some other gearbox?

I know it's more electricity job with the jeep gearbox, but with more gears and that I know it is in good condition are big advantages. And that's is free of course, hehe. All suggestions are welcome!

Excuse me if the language is bad, I am from sweden, and writing from my phone right now and trust the correct spelling feature

 

[C130 Chief]

You can't easily use a 4-wheel drive transmission in a 2-wheel drive vehicle. You would have to change out the overdrive assembly for a 2-wheel drive overdrive. Then there would be a fair amount of chassis modification to get the overdrive to fit. Or, you could convert the Dart to 4-wheel drive, but that would require a substantial amount of chassis modification.

What engine was in your Dart previously? The 5.2 Magnum will adapt to a V8 Dart transmission with minimal hassle (you will need a torque converter register bushing to use a 67-prior converter with a 68-later crankshaft, or replace the front pump and input shaft in the transmission with 68-later parts). Also, the shifter in your Dart is only compatible with 1964-1965 transmissions. A later transmission generally requires a change to a later shifter or an expensive adapter cable.

The Jeep rear axle is most likely an 8 1/4" axle, which is stronger but too wide for the Dart.

 

[e--andersson]

No 4-wheel drive in my Dart, hehe.
Original, and for the moment, is a 273 v8 mounted. Where can I get this "torque converter register bushing" for the original gearbox? Or is it something that has to be manufactured?

I also have a ford 8.8 rear axel with LSD, and if I remember correctly, it's not as wide as the jeep axle. I'll have to measure and check. An additional advantage of such an axle replacement is that I get rear disc brakes, then I only need to buy a kit for the front brakes.

Edit: Have read about the 8.8 axle now, it's sounds like it's a good alternative.
And found some picture of the bushing for the converter, looks that it something that can be manufactured after some measurements. But still interested if it's possible to by somewhere.

 

[68coupe]

I just bought a 98 Jeep Grand Cherokee and it has a Dana 44A limited slip rear, not an 8 1/4. I do know that a lot of Chrysler 8 1/4 rears came in the 4.0 Cherokee. that's what I put in my 68 Barracuda. It has drum brakes, but the 98 Grand Cherokee discs will fit the 8 1/4. There's a lot of stuff that will have to be cut off of the rear diff and other stuff welded on to fit under the Dart.
I don't know how you would use the steering box. The steering orientation for the Jeep is in front of the axle.
Most of the 8.8's are too wide for the a-body. Been there, didn't do that!

 

[omahamoparguy]

i'd like to have a 5 speed manual behind a 318. Prbably a T-5.

 

[67Dart273]

Another slight "wrench in the works." What year is the Jeep, IE is it throttle body EFI or multiport EFI, or are you going back to carb or "something else?"

Reason: Later multiport EFI will require use of original converter flex plate which has the crank trigger stuff. You'll have to mod the bellhousing of an older trans to accomodate the pickup coil.

Earlier TBI does not use this.

Also, if you use the Mag flex plate, the converter bolt pattern is "off" at one bolt. Usual fix is to die grind etc the hole to fit.

 

[Infecteddog]

Another slight "wrench in the works." What year is the Jeep, IE is it throttle body EFI or multiport EFI, or are you going back to carb or "something else?"

Dodge went to MPI in '92/3. All Chrysler engine Jeeps are MPI.

I don't recall how wide the ZJ rears are off-hand, the WJ and JK's are out in left field but many of the other Jeeps have rears only a bit wider than an A's. (and the same perch distance- but ZJs have a link setup in the rear) I noticed you didn't specify the year- apparently OBD-I 318 Jeeps had Dana 35s, OBD-II 318 Jeeps had Dana 44s- only the niners were guaranteed to have LSDs in them.

GT was just a trim on Darts and a lot of other cars back then. It had basically no relation to performance like mid '90s Mustangs caused people to associate with the badging- it's just the gilled-up fancy Dart, many had 6 cylinders. Transmissions you could use would be Dodge truck overdrives (some work making it fit), small block 727s, or small block 904 variants- no 4wd transmissions for a 2wd though and since this won't go in a Jeep you can't use a Jeep trans, only Dodge car or truck with a small block.

If the Jeep's full-time, the case's basically scrap- front axle's worth a bit though, people like to put them in 2wds and Rangers. Ditto on the Jeep trans- send it down the road, it's not of use to this project.

 

[Z88Z]

Dodge went to MPI in '92/3. All Chrysler engine Jeeps are MPI.

... I noticed you didn't specify the year- apparently OBD-I 318 Jeeps had Dana 35s, OBD-II 318 Jeeps had Dana 44s- only the niners were guaranteed to have LSDs in them. ....

Jeep guy here.

What he said. They're all MPI, the important question is what system, OBD1 or OBD2?

They're not too common, depending on the area of the country (US) and they may not even exist in Sweden but there are OBD2 5.2 ZJ Jeeps that are 2WD. I believe OBD1 2WD ZJs were all 4.0 six cyls.

That would give you lockup and OD for some better MPGs. - assuming you're keeping it EFI with the Jeep PCM)
That would be the 904 based 44RE. Not as strong as the 727 based 46 series (46RH for OBD1, 46RE for the 1998 5.9 only) but unless you're building for some real serious power it should be good enough. Getting the 44RE "built" would be a lot safer bet though.

Having said that, in a "non-Jeep" body you're probably a lot better off getting a Dodge version of either of these transmissions as the Dodges have the more traditional left side starter. That's probably going to make your exhaust header/manifold options a lot better.

Being slightly bigger with the OD sections, I have no idea how well either of these fit the Dodge tunnels, but the OD tranny conversions into musclecars seem to be fairly common so I don't think the fit is too far off.

You could also hunt down the output/OD section from a 2WD version of your trans and have it converted, but you have to make sure what you're getting.
There were some year Dodges that had the VSS/speedo pickup on the rear axle, so there's no provision for it on the tail of the transmission