80' CJ5 Engine Swap Questions

[Never Old]

Hole I'm looking for an engine to replace the 151 that went bad, I came acrossed a 304 and was wondering if it would mate up with the T176 that is with the 151? If so what problems might I encounter while doing this and if it will cause any problems later on.

 

[Never Old]

While*

 

[TLCJ5]

If your trans is stock I'd be surprised if it's a T176. I know anything is possible with AMC ,but most if not all CJ5s with the 151 came with a T4 trans. The T4 is a fine trans behind a 4cyl,but commomn belief is that a 304 will "eat it up". The T4 is noted for weak synchros.Advanced Adapters has a pretty good write up on common Jeep transmissions(identifying them & pros/cons) on their web site.
If your Jeep does indeed have a T176 it is a fine trans behind a 304!!

 

[TLCJ5]

Oops sorry...the T4 didn't come out til 1982....in 1980 it was the SR4(the T4s older brother) the SR4 is said to work best when used as a door stop.(never had one,just what i've heard)

 

[flatie46]

Yep the SR4 is one of the few tranmissions they don't make an adapter for to mate it to different engine combos. Reason being, it is just too weak and isn't worth the effort. The T-176 is a good choice, works well on and offroad. I do think the bellhousing from the Sr4 is a keeper, if I'm not mistaken You can use it if you decide to run a Chevy engine and trans combo. Someone correct me if I'm wrong on this.

 

[82cj7son]

if it is a t176 it should mate up. ours mated to a amc 360. not entirely sure if there was any work done to make that work; it was in the jeep when we bought it. check out Novak adapters for info regarding engine/trans combos.

 

[Smizar]

If your going with a 304 it might be worth it for you to find a T18

 

[69jeepcj]

Yes, the 4cyl trans is too weak for any v8 power. you can use the t176 4spd, t150 3spd, t18 4spd and maybe a couple others that I cant think of right now. the problem you will run into with going with any trany other than the t150 and t18 behind a AMC v8 is that your jeep has a dana 20 I believe, and the other tranies mentioned have the dana300 behind it and they do not share the same bolt pattern. So any other trans than the 150 or t18 will need a adapter for the tcase. depending on the length of the new transmission you may need longer or shorter driveshafts. The 151 bellhousing is a keeper, I believe it is a buick housing and will work in chevy swaps.