85, the peugeot trans you are thinking of is the ba10/5. that thing was a piece of trash. didn't hold up well to anything, but they usually paired it up with the dana 35 or the amc 20, so the rear end usually broke before the transmission did. the AX15 is a great trans, and a very solid piece. the AX5 however, was suited for duty behind the jeep 4 cyl. and it still took dumps behind those.
as far as the cherokees having weak transmissions, i'm wondering if you are confusing the early grand cherokees with the 42re. those were very failure prone, but mostly due to people filling them with the wrong kind of fluids.
most cherokees came equipped with a much more stout driveline most of the time. being equipped with the aw4 auto, or the ax15 5 speed. don't get me wrong, there were some that were not so great, like the ax4, t4, and t5, but those were ditched after high failure rates in the introductory '84 model year.
the 4 cyl auto cherokees did come with some cruddy chrysler trans that was apparently made with modeling clay, so that may be where you're gathering your info on the cherokee's trans.
the long and the short of it is that the I6 cherokees came with either the AX15, the AW4 or the NV3550 for the last of it's years. any of the three being great transmissions that handle a load of abuse.
would i put any of them in a car? maybe the NV3550, but certainly not out of a jeep and certainly not into a Gbody.
adumb: for the $200 that you're looking to spend, there are some much better options to be had, and all of them are 2WD platforms! i don't know that i would buy a parts store trans, just for the initial purchase cost alone, plus they will all be factory apps, with factory internals. i would check the classified forums here, at maliburacing, montecarloss, and turbobuick. or any other RWD gm enthusiast forums for that matter.
good luck
as far as the cherokees having weak transmissions, i'm wondering if you are confusing the early grand cherokees with the 42re. those were very failure prone, but mostly due to people filling them with the wrong kind of fluids.
most cherokees came equipped with a much more stout driveline most of the time. being equipped with the aw4 auto, or the ax15 5 speed. don't get me wrong, there were some that were not so great, like the ax4, t4, and t5, but those were ditched after high failure rates in the introductory '84 model year.
the 4 cyl auto cherokees did come with some cruddy chrysler trans that was apparently made with modeling clay, so that may be where you're gathering your info on the cherokee's trans.
the long and the short of it is that the I6 cherokees came with either the AX15, the AW4 or the NV3550 for the last of it's years. any of the three being great transmissions that handle a load of abuse.
would i put any of them in a car? maybe the NV3550, but certainly not out of a jeep and certainly not into a Gbody.
adumb: for the $200 that you're looking to spend, there are some much better options to be had, and all of them are 2WD platforms! i don't know that i would buy a parts store trans, just for the initial purchase cost alone, plus they will all be factory apps, with factory internals. i would check the classified forums here, at maliburacing, montecarloss, and turbobuick. or any other RWD gm enthusiast forums for that matter.
good luck
