Swapping from an AX5 to a NV3550 manual transmission in a 97 TJ

My boss always tells me to not over complicate things so what do I do of course? Sorry guys for any confusion. The guy wanting my NV3550 has a 4.0l engine and not the 2.5L. He's apparently has the AX-15 (not the AX5) that no longer operates well and will be taking my NV3550 from my donor Jeep as a replacement. In my initial posts, I thought he had the AX5 so that's why I was asking if the NV3550 was a suitable replacement.
 
My boss always tells me to not over complicate things so what do I do of course? Sorry guys for any confusion. The guy wanting my NV3550 has a 4.0l engine and not the 2.5L. He's apparently has the AX-15 (not the AX5) that no longer operates well and will be taking my NV3550 from my donor Jeep as a replacement. In my initial posts, I thought he had the AX5 so that's why I was asking if the NV3550 was a suitable replacement.
As to the suitability of either. I have had folks convince me to do both. I have swapped NV3550's in place of AX-15's and I have swapped AX-15's in place of NV3550's. All were happy with their choices for whatever reason and logic they used to justify the swaps. Personally, I don't have an opinion, I would use either one should the need arise and I had one or the other laying here to swap.

To give you an idea of how goofy the rationale is at times, a later 06 got a NV3550 swapped into it due to the lack of a short throw shifter availability for the much easier NSG 370 swap. That's right, he had to have a short throw shifter and picked a trans to go with it. Mind you, he totaled his earlier rig due to missing a shift in the sand dunes and rolling it down a dune when he lost momentum (and he had a short throw in it).
 
My 2 cents regarding 3550 to ax15. Three things that make me happy I have a NV3550.
1, NV 3550 is significantly shorter than the AX 15
2, NV 3550 has a lower 1st gear
3, NV3550 has a taller overdrive.
This equals longer rear driveline, better crawling, and better highway mileage.
 
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My 2 cents regarding 3550 to ax15. Three things that make me happy I have a NV3550.
1, NV 3550 is significantly shorter than the AX 15
2, NV 3550 has a lower 1st gear
3, NV3550 has a taller overdrive.
This equals longer rear driveline, better crawling, and better highway mileage.

Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I'm needing to replace my NV3550 and Novak is telling me that their AX15 is .25" shorter than the NV3550. That .25" shorter won't be an issue at all, but if it's "significantly longer" then I'm likely going to have some issues making it work. Can anyone confirm one way or the other about the length difference?
 
Sorry to dig up an old thread, but I'm needing to replace my NV3550 and Novak is telling me that their AX15 is .25" shorter than the NV3550. That .25" shorter won't be an issue at all, but if it's "significantly longer" then I'm likely going to have some issues making it work. Can anyone confirm one way or the other about the length difference?
https://www.quadratec.com/jeep_knowledgebase/article-43.htmThis is where I got my info.
 
A guy on another forum did a direct comparison. The nv3550 is 1/4" shorter than the Ax15. Not enough to need different driveshafts unless already on the very edge.
 
A guy on another forum did a direct comparison. The nv3550 is 1/4" shorter than the Ax15. Not enough to need different driveshafts unless already on the very edge.

Novak's website shows the AX-15's case length at 16.5" and the NV3550's at 16.75", without the bellhousing. The confusing part is that, WITH the bellhousing, the AX-15 is listed at 24" and the NV3550 is listed at 23.1". But if I'm just bolting the AX-15 to the existing bellhousing, I think that I'll be .25" shorter overall when I'm done? Maybe? ...lol
 
Update.. The interested party has an AX15 (I was mistaken) and will be able to use my NV 3550. He's a friend of another Jeeper so we'll be taking it off my donor Jeep this weekend and trading wrench time for the transmission. I've been nibbling around the edges selling off the little stuff but time to tear into and and start moving the big stuff.
The 3550 is a fine transmission.
The AX-15 is too.

The 3550 in a jeep wasn't in service as long as the AX-15.
By default there aren't as many cores available nor good used ones in the bone yard.

I prefer the NVG over the Aisin
but it's only because the plow truck for my shop has one and the shit beat out of it mercilessly for year.
 
Novak's website shows the AX-15's case length at 16.5" and the NV3550's at 16.75", without the bellhousing. The confusing part is that, WITH the bellhousing, the AX-15 is listed at 24" and the NV3550 is listed at 23.1". But if I'm just bolting the AX-15 to the existing bellhousing, I think that I'll be .25" shorter overall when I'm done? Maybe? ...lol
Novak is a company in our hobby industry and wonderful....

Having said that their info on their site has been wrong and on more than one occasion.
FWIW
 
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