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Old June 4th, 2016, 02:08 PM
Chuck78 Chuck78 is offline
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Default Re: 5 speed/o.d. swap comparisons - WC/S10 T5 hybrid, NV4500, A833 MY6, Tremec 3550 Mustang

I know it has no torque rating like aftermarket trannies do, and wasn't put behind any big engines (the 5 cylinder h3 (?) Hummer is probably the biggest vehicle it came in), but I keep reading reports of how much abuse these take from modified Jeeps, highly modified 500-1000hp turbo Supra's, even early Dodge hemi's:

"My Jeep has one, with a conversion to a 355 SBC. Beat the snot out of it, on and off road."

"I had a buddy that ran one behind his 4.2 in a Jeep on 33X15.5's. Woefully undergeared, the trans held up beautifully. U joints, however, didn't."

"Through experience I know that they handle some abuse, that's for sure. I'm considering another one for a future project. People are missing out on a great transmission."
(From the Jalopy Journal / H.A.M.B, in reference to swapping these into older GM vehicles)

"The AX15 is pretty stout, and as was mentioned, very popular with the off-road crowd and rock-crawlers.
The AX15 is also refered to as an 'R' series, used by Toyota. The hot-rod Supra guys are putting nearly a 1,000 hp into modified R154 units."

"Talk to gary73RR, he uses them in hemi aplications and recomended one from a dodge dakota for my early hemi"

"These guys here:
http://www.novak-adapt.com/knowledge/ax15.htm
Offer a kit to put that tranny behind a corvette LS1... Wow!
That would mean this beast is capable of handling 400 ft/lbs at least."

"The AX15 in my 95 Jeep has 264,000 miles on it and still works great. I like it better then the T-5's I've had in 5.0 Mustangs. I would like to put a AX15 in my 1947 Ford pick-up, but no kits are made to bolt it up to a Flathead."

"My experience with these trannys is they are rugged but poor shifters... Synchros can be balky, especially when gear oil is cold....Redline gear oil helps a lot but I wouldn't call them slick shifting."




The input shaft lengths vary with application but some swapping can be accomplished.
Here is some 'family' info:
AX15 = 7.875"
Pre 1995 R150\R151 = 6.5"
1996 up Toyota R series = 7.5"
87-92 Turbo Supra R154 = 7.25"
Toyota W series = 6.5"
Toyota G series = 6.5"
AR5 = 8.2"
MA5 = 8.2"

The Jeep/Dodge AX15 5-speed, the Jeep NV3550 5-speed, the Jeep NV1500, the Toyota R150F, R151F & R155F, 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

I was leaning toward the A833 MY6 / NP440 or possibly an NV4500, and would probably still be wanting an NV4500, but the gear spreads on this trans are the most appealing with its deeper not quite granny 1st, & tighter ratios 2nd thru od 5th.

I haven't looked at specs in a Richmond Gear tranny for ages, but in the early 2000's I recall them costing around $1900, so I'm sure they cost nearly the same as the TKO nowadays.

Last edited by Chuck78; June 5th, 2016 at 02:05 PM.
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