4-cylinder Dakotas and other RWD bellhousing ooptions

Taken from MoparChat

Posted for informational purposes only.

The Jeep/Dodge AX15 5-speed, the Jeep NV3550 5-speed and the 87-92 Toyota Supra Turbo R154 5-speed all share the same case to bellhousing bolt pattern. As such there are a number of possibilities that can be had when a 5-speed is desired:

94-95 Dakota 2.5L bellhousing: Connects R154 to any K car based 2.2L-2.5L L4 in a RWD application.

94-99 Dakota 3.9L V6 Bellhousing: Connects R154 to any 3.9L V6 and any 273/318/340/360 V8.

96-99 Dakota 2.5L bellhousing: Connects R154 to any Jeep 2.5L L4. Because of it's GM inherited bolt pattern, also works with any Buick FWD V6 and supercharged V6, any Chevrolet 2.8/3.1/3.4 V6, any Cadillac 4.1/4.5/4.9 V8 and with a minor modification, any Olds Aurora DOHC V8 and Cadillac DOHC Northstar V8.

88-99 Jeep 4.0L L6 bellhousing: Connects R154 to any AMC 290/304/343/360/390/401 V8 and any 72 and later 232 L6 and 258 L6.

01-03 Jeep Liberty 3.7L V6 bellhousing: Connects R154 to any 3.7L V6, 4.7L V8 and 5.7L Hemi V8.

R154 Ratio’s 1st 3.30:1 2nd 1.95:1 3rd 1.34:1 4th 1.00:1 5th 0.75:1 Rev 3.20:1

The R154 is a particularly robust transmission. It shares it's design with the AX15 but is built to a different spec. Not in the Tremec class, but better than a T5. It would work well in certain applications. The deciding factor to use something like this would probably be cost. Good used R154's can be had for about $300 and bellhousing for about $50. Converting to a hydraulic clutch would add a bit more expense but still, nowhere near the price of a Tremec. So, if you've got a 318 2 barrel in your daily driver, this might be for you. It should be pointed out that Australians LOVE these gearboxes for V8 conversions.

So, this is what CAN be done with stock, boneyard parts. Enjoy.

Greg Williams

More information from TurboDodge

There's your Rear Wheel Drive kit.

87-92 Supra Turbo 5-speed and yoke

94-95 Dakota 2.5L bellhousing, throwout bearing, slave cylinder and fork

94-99 AX-15 Front bearing cover

You'll need a 21 spline clutch disk. Might be able to match up one from a Toyota V6 truck.

Greg

Taken from Jeep-Offroad:

Part I

The Jeep/Dodge AX15 5-speed, the Jeep NV3550 5-speed, the Jeep NV1500, the Toyota R150F & R151F, the 87-92 Toyota Supra Turbo R154, the Isuzu AR5 and the Pontiac Solstice\Saturn Sky\Chevy Colorado\ GMC Canyon MA5 5-speeds all share the same case to bellhousing bolt pattern (Large Pattern). As such there are a number of possibilities that can be had when a 5-speed is desired:

Pic 1. Novak Enterprises: Adapter plate for AX15 to GM 4-speed bellhousing. Connects all except NV3550 and NV1500 to same.

1. 94-95 Dakota 2.5L bellhousing: Connects all to any K car based 2.2L-2.5L L4 in a RWD application.

2. 96-00 Dakota 2.5L bellhousing: Connects all to any Jeep 2.5L L4. Because of it's GM 60 degree V6 inherited bolt pattern, also works with any Buick FWD V6 and supercharged V6, any Chevrolet 2.8/3.1/3.4 V6, any Cadillac 4.1/4.5/4.9 V8 and with a minor modification, any Olds Aurora DOHC V8 and Cadillac DOHC Northstar V8. Also bolts to any Isuzu 3.2\3.5 DOHC V6, Holden (Australia) 3800 V6 and the LS4 5.3L V8 from the Impala SS.

3. 88-99 Jeep 4.0L L6 bellhousing: Connects all to any AMC 290/304/343/360/390/401 V8 and any 72 and later 232 L6 and 258 L6.

4. 94-99 Dakota 3.9L V6 Bellhousing: Connects all to any 3.9L V6 and any 273/318/340/360 V8, Magnum 5.2\5.9 V8, 3.7L V6, 4.7L V8, 5.7L Hemi V8, and Jeep 2.8L CRD Turbo Diesel. (Requires use of an 11" flywheel.)

5. 96-04 Toyota Tacoma 3.4L V6. Also works with Toyota 3.0L V6

6. 86.5-92 Toyota Supra Turbo 7M-GTE. Also works with Toyota 5M-GE.

Not shown:

01-04 Jeep Liberty 3.7L V6 bellhousing: Connects all to any 3.7L V6, 4.7L V8 and any 273/318/340/360 V8, Magnum 5.2\5.9 V8, 5.7L Hemi V8, and Jeep 2.8L CRD Turbo Diesel. (Requires use of an 10.5" flywheel.)

03-04 Jeep Liberty\TJ 2.4L bellhousing: Connects NV1500 to 2.4L SOHC\DOHC Neon\SRT-4\PT Cruiser L4 (See info at 11)

Isuzu Trooper 3.5 V6 AR5 bellhousing: Connects all to any Isuzu 3.2\3.5 V6

04-05 Chevy Colorado\ GMC Canyon MA5 bellhousing: Connects all to any Vortec 2800 L4, 3500 L5 and 4200 L6

06 Pontiac Solstice\ Saturn Sky MA5 bellhousing: Connects all to any Ecotec 2.4L

88-95 Toyota Landcruiser: 1L, 2L and 2L-T Turbo Diesel truck bellhousing connects to R series transmissions. (See Pic 2 Note below)

Aftermarket:

Advance Adapters: Bellhousing for AX15 to Chevrolet-Buick-Olds-Pontiac V8 and Buick V6. Connects all except NV3550, NV1500 and Pre 1996 R150 and R151 to same. www.advanceadapters.com

Advance Adapters: Bellhousing for Pre 1996 R150 and R151 to Chevrolet-Buick-Olds-Pontiac V8 and Buick V6. www.advanceadapters.com

Advance Adapters: Bellhousing for NV3550 to Chevrolet-Buick-Olds-Pontiac V8 and Buick V6.

Advance Adapters: Adapter plate for AX15 to Ford bellhousing. Connects all except NV3550 and NV1500 to same.

Advance Adapters: Adapter plate for NV3550 to Ford bellhousing.

Marlin Crawlers: Bellhousing to connect all to 2RZ / 3RZ Toyota 4 cylinder engines http://www.marlincrawler.com/

Japanese Auto Repair: Bellhousing to bolt all transmissions to a Mitsubishi DOHC 4G63. www.japaneseauto.com

Swift Machine: Adapter plate for NV3550 to GM 4-speed bellhousing. www.swiftmachine.com

Suzuki Only Supply: Adapter plate to bolt R series to Suzuki 1.3\1.6. www.rock4xfabrication.com/ringr.htm

Thor Racing in the UK: Adapter plate to bolt an R154 to a Toyota (Lexus) V8 automatic bellhousing. http://www.thor-racing.co.uk/R154_to...FE_Adaptor.asp

Part II

Jeep AX5, Toyota G52, G58, W55, W56, W57 and W58 5-speeds all share a common face pattern on the case (Small pattern). As such, any 88-99 Jeep 2.5L bellhousing (NOT Dakota) will bolt a Toyota W series transmission to a 60 degree GM bolt pattern.

Factory: 1981-86 1L, 2L and 2L-T Turbo Diesel truck bellhousing connects to W and G series transmissions. (See Pic 2 Note below)

1982-92 Lotus Excel - W series bellhousing to bolt Toyota transmission to Lotus 2.2L DOHC 4.

Aftermarket:

Advance Adapters: Bellhousing to bolt a W and G series Toyota trans to a Chevy-Buick-Olds-Pontiac block.

Northwest Off Road: Bellhousing to bolt W and G series to Ford 5.0. www.northwestoffroad.com

Suzuki Only Supply: Adapter plate to bolt W and G series to Suzuki 1.3\1.6. www.rock4xfabrication.com/ringr.htm

Acme Adapters: Adapter plate and flywheel to bolt VW 1.6, 1.9 Diesel to W and G series transmisson. www.acmeadapters.com

Japanese Auto Repair: Bellhousing to bolt Toyota W and G series transmissions to a Mitsubishi DOHC 4G63 bellhousing. www.japaneseauto.com

Red's Headers: Bellhousing to bolt Toyota W and G series transmissions to a 32-48 Ford Flathead V8 http://www.flatattackracing.com

OTT Industries: Adapter plate to bolt an SM420 5-speed to any Toyota W and G series bellhousing. Can also be used for a GM pattern T5 and Tremec TKO. http://www.ottindustries.com/

Advance Adapters: Adapter plate to bolt a large pattern AX15 to a small pattern AX5 bellhousing. Can be used with the other Long Shaft transmissions except the NV1500 and NV3550.

Part III

NOTE: Input shafts lengths vary.

Pre 1995 R150\R151 = 6.5" 1996 up Toyota R series = 7.5" AX15 = 7.875" 87-92 Turbo Supra R154 = 7.25" AR5 = 8.2" MA5 = 8.2" NV3550 = 7.875" NV1500 = 8.6" AX5 = 7.5" Toyota W series = 6.5" Toyota G series = 6.5"

Pic 2 Advance Adapters makes an extra long pilot bearing when using a slightly shorter input shaft tranny with a bellhousing that had a longer one. Obviously you can't put the longer input shaft trans into a Toyota bell that had a shorter one. (Unless a spacer is used or the input shaft is swapped. See below.)

The transmissons and bellhousings can be split up into two categories. SHORT SHAFT\SHORT BELL and LONG SHAFT\LONG BELL. They cannot be easily mixed without modifications.

All AX15's, AR5's, MA5's, NV3550's, R154's and Toyota R150's (built after 1996) are LONG SHAFT\LONG BELL. To use one of these in a SHORT SHAFT\SHORT BELL application requires a 1" spacer available from Japanese Auto in Toledo, OH ( http://www.japaneseauto.com/ ), Dellow Automotive or Castlemaine Rod Shop in Australia. Of course, any bellhousing combo one can think of is also available from them...

http://www.dellowauto.com.au/catalog...Automotive.pdf

http://www.rodshop.com.au/

ALL Toyota R150's and R151's built before 1996 are SHORT SHAFT\SHORT BELL. These CANNOT be used in a LONG SHAFT\LONG BELL application or with LONG SHAFT\LONG BELL adapter plates.

Pic 3: Example of a LONG SHAFT transmission hooked up to a SHORT BELL with a Dellow Automotive spacer

The Jeep AX5's 7.5" input shaft does not allow it to be used with the Toyota G and W series bellhousings unless a spacer is fabricated OR the input shaft is swapped between them. (Apparently the short 6.5" G series Toyota input shaft can be made to work in an AX5 case and vice versa). The one exception is shown below.

The Jeep NV1500 has the longest input shaft of the group at 8.6".

Pic 4: All of the large pattern transmissions. Pic 5: All of the small pattern transmissions.

Trans First Second Third Fourth Fifth

AX15 - 3.83 2.33 1.44 1.00 0.79 AR5 - 3.753 2.26 1.37 1.00 0.729 MA5 - 3.753 2.26 1.37 1.00 0.729 (Colorado/Canyon/Hummer H3) MA5 - 3.75 2.26 1.51 1.00 0.729 (Solstice/Sky) R150 - 3.83 2.062 1.436 1.00 0.838 R151 - 4.31 3.32 1.52 1.00 0.83 R154 - 3.25 1.95 1.30 1.00 0.75 NV1500- 3.85 2.25 1.48 1.00 0.80 NV3550 - 4.01 2.32 1.40 1.00 0.78 Aftermarket gearset by OS Giken for Toyota R, GM/Isuzu AR5 and Jeep AX15: 2.701 1.614 1.215

Pic 6: Front bearing covers are interchangeable between the Toyota R series, AX15, MA5, and AR5. NV3550, AX5 and W series are not interchangeable. The 92 and earlier Jeep AX15 front cover is aluminum and takes a hydraulic throwout bearing. The 93 and later AX15 uses an external slave and clutch arm. It's cast iron. The Toyota front cover has a shorter nose of a smaller diameter and is also cast iron.

So... there's no shortage of parts for these gearboxes. Any good shop can rebuild them and they are still not that expensive.

Greg

"Junkyard Veteran for TRUTH!"

Enjoy! Stefan

So does this mean I could somehow fab a 5 speed into my 318 equipped full-sized dodge van? Of course if I could figure out how to make the pedals fit in the cramped footwell. I am guessing a 5-speed isn't great for towing a 5000lb trailer though. It was fine in my Cummins truck,but I am sure they use a much heavier duty clutch,and such.Thanks for the info.

You could, but yeah the R-154 probably would do it but for how long? The R-15x transmissions were used in many Toyota trucks over the years so you may find one that would have better gearing for towing use. I'm also pretty sure they made manual equipped vans, they are just really rare and probably would have been column shifted

So, this is how I can get a manual shift Magnum wagon someday?

Joey

Possibly, though you'd have to sort out the clutch pedal and shifter shtuff.

I had this idea, and wrote it down at ls1tech.com but they found it bizzare, so I changed my mind and am planning to go for the TH400, but manuals are my passion I really dislike Autos... so what do you guys think? do I have a chance going back to my previous thought... this is my application:

240sx with an LS1 swap, 4l60e (went dead) and am planning to go with one of the following... th400 or R154, I have an R154 already... so which bell housing best suits my application?!

I don't think the r154 will survive for long behind an LSx. You'd be better off using the matching 6-speed from the donor camaro, etc.

All of those options and still nothing to fit the cheap Lexus V8s.

http://uza70.com/

Possible. . .

I'll probably never use this knowledge, but it was a fantastic read.

Mazdax605 wrote: So does this mean I could somehow fab a 5 speed into my 318 equipped full-sized dodge van? Of course if I could figure out how to make the pedals fit in the cramped footwell. I am guessing a 5-speed isn't great for towing a 5000lb trailer though. It was fine in my Cummins truck,but I am sure they use a much heavier duty clutch,and such.Thanks for the info.

In the 70s those vans could be had with three on the tree so the clutch pedal has to be out there some where since Dodge didn't really change anything but the lights on those vans for about 40 years

wajouba wrote: I had this idea, and wrote it down at ls1tech.com but they found it bizzare, so I changed my mind and am planning to go for the TH400, but manuals are my passion I really dislike Autos... so what do you guys think? do I have a chance going back to my previous thought... this is my application: 240sx with an LS1 swap, 4l60e (went dead) and am planning to go with one of the following... th400 or R154, I have an R154 already... so which bell housing best suits my application?!

Yes, it can be done, but if you're going to do more than a few smokey burnouts, then I don't think it's a good idea. But, if driven sanely, it will last. Now, if you WANT to do it, you'll need either of these options:

Option 1. Using an adapter from Novak, bolt that to a stock Chevy four speed bellhousing (not the angled one).

Option 2. Use a Chevy V6-V8 to Jeep AX15 bellhousing from Advance Adapters.

Both require a pilot bearing available from Advance Adapters and a 10.5" Toyota splined clutch disk (also from Advance Adapters).

http://www.jeeps-offroad.com/f41/engine-swap-bellhousings-4740/

As to which one is best for you, what is your application?

Greg

Wally wrote:

Mazdax605 wrote: So does this mean I could somehow fab a 5 speed into my 318 equipped full-sized dodge van? Of course if I could figure out how to make the pedals fit in the cramped footwell. I am guessing a 5-speed isn't great for towing a 5000lb trailer though. It was fine in my Cummins truck,but I am sure they use a much heavier duty clutch,and such.Thanks for the info.

In the 70s those vans could be had with three on the tree so the clutch pedal has to be out there some where since Dodge didn't really change anything but the lights on those vans for about 40 years

Actually, you could even get the vans with a floor-shifted overdrive 4-speed.

I think a supra with an Aurora/Northstar/Hemi would be cool

This could be useful if we ever do the V8 swap into my friends '88 Dakota.

considering you can get supercharged buick regal V6's for crazy cheap prices, this should make for some interesting locosts..

Glad this came back up

fiat22turbo said:

I don't think the r154 will survive for long behind an LSx. You'd be better off using the matching 6-speed from the donor camaro, etc.

A R154? Maybe, maybe not...but a MA5 will. Solstice swaps with LS swaps retain the MA5 after all. Its a beefed up version of the R154(though admittedly the gear ratios are not ideal for a v8)

Lots of great info here.

Thanks!