Tranny swap advice: T350 for a ???

Well after driving around the 2a with the t350 for a few days, i have come to the conclusion that it just does not feel right, it needs a standard. besides the t350 causes a few problems, like rear driveshaft length, front drive shaft interference. Now, its in there and it all works with limitations, but i think a standard would be better. This rig will be a around town cruiser and light wheeler

I am running a 4.3 Chevy V6, and a D20. I have a D300 to use as well.

What do you guys think? i know about Novak site, just looking for some real world experience here.

Some of my thoughts were,
sm465, great tranny, but big and heavy
t18, still big, but needs some $$ adapters
t90, good fit, but don't know if it can handle the 4.3
T15, seems a good fit, but hard to find i think

 

Decision might have gotten easier. what do you think of this?

I have a line on a freshly rebuilt sm465 with belhousing off a chevy 350, also includes a dana300 with twin sticks $500

I think this should bolt to the 4.3, i just need a different flywheel and clutch, it should also be a few inches shorter than the t350 d20...right?

 

The Dana 300 has a centered rear output. As good as it is, it will not work with an offset rear axle.

 

Hmmph - teach me to stay out of the flattie section - sorry!

 

They will. Dimensionally the same as a 20.

 

thats what i thought.

My only concern now is how much lower the 465 hangs down vs the t350? got to find some specs, i know its 17" top to bottom, but how much from center to bottom???

 

Probably a moot point compared to how low a D18 hangs in its Non-clockable position as compared to a D300 that is clockable and may negate the taller transmision depending on placement in vehicle. That is a screaming deal on that combo, and I have both D18 and D300s for both my early Jeep projects, and they are the same size, within 1/2 OD, and 1/4 input to front output centerline. Id do a D300 ANY day over a D20.......

 

the sm465 and 300 might not be available, the whole vehicle they are in might be sold.

So back to square one.

 

Since you don't like the automatic, what characteristics do you want from a manual transmission? Easy shifting, or super-deep first gear? The truck 4-speeds will have the compound low, but will shift like a truck, and they are big (tall) and heavy. The Borg-Warner 3-speeds are easier to shift, or how about a Jeep T-176 with the D300? The T-176 is a top-shifter, shifts easy like a car, and is fairly sturdy. Should stand up fine to a 4.3L V6.

You should be able to find a T-15 pretty easily. You'd need a plate adapter (ala Novak or Advance) to bolt it to a Chevy, but it would be an easy and compact installation.

 

I don't hate the auto, and would not hesitate to keep it if it were not for the following issues. The converter, the front DS and d20 clocking.

The converter stall is really low, i have it idling in gear at 600, you have to pay attention when its in gear, the front DS kisses the pan, and the 20 is clocked down to try to clear the tranny pan, but it is just too low to do any wheeling with.

To keep the auto i would probably change the converter, swap in a D300 that i can clock up into the prefect spot, and then if DS clearance is still an issue to only option will be a 2pc front DS, so for the expense of all that i a thought i could fix most of the issues with a manual swap.

I have had granny truck manuals in the past, the latest was a NV4500 in my YJ, and i love the granny low, but i can live without, but the deal on the sm465 and 300 was a good one, so i was going to try to make it work.

The only thing i was worried about it was how high the sm465 was going to come up into the body.

All that said, i was also thinking about a t176 and a 300, i can get one pretty easily, so that was my latest thought.

 

M20, 21, or 22 4sp. Should bolt up to the engine and it's FUN in town and even the sand dunes but not such a good trail trans.
Throw and overdrive on top of it, 8 forward in town gears to choose from and enough gear shifters to confuse your friend for a week.

I know it's the wrong xfer case and you have a line on a couple other, but thought I would throw this one out there.

 

I KNOW this will be unpopular here but.......being that I like to rockcrawl, I DEF prefer the auto, WAY easier on driveline/axle parts, way less but clinch (till you go down something steep, then I dont even need a seatbelt:rotflmao), but IF I was to go to a stick, I dont even think I would hesitate to ante up to a OD version, especially with a centered rear axle. Id be on the hunt for a used AX15 (the butteriest shifting 5 speed EVER put in Jeep, and way stronger than its rep, even if its rep isnt weak, replacement parts are just kinda steep, or were), or NV3500. Both should bolt to the 4.3 with no aft adapters (the 3500 def will), and both will mate to a D300 with no adapters, just a clocking ring for one bolt relocation (which you want to clock it anyways!), and they are an inch shorter than a 700r4, inch longer than th350, so its close, on top of no adapter at all. On top of it, they are fairly light, and way easy to fit in that space. That said, the cheapest way is that T176........same advantages, no OD, shorter too..........
Id still keep the auto, and go D300 clocked..........
FYI, I have a 700r4/novak adapt/d300 in a 90" wheelbase Willys, tcase is clocked up a bit to clear the tcase pan, which doesnt have the convienient pan cutout on the pass side rear the TH350 does, so I KNOW a clocked D300 will work. Novak has a trick 1.1 inch adapter for this.

 

i am going to look at keeping the auto for now. To work out the front DS issue i am going to remove the d20 mounting bolts and rotate the 20 up just to see if the ds will clear when it is moved up, because as i move it up, it should increase the distance between the DS and the pan. i know i can't drive it like this, i just want to see if i am close to clearing it

If it looks like it will clear, i have a d300 i will put in with a JB adapter, and run if for while like that.

If that ms465 300 combo does become available, i will grab it just incase

 

If you haven’t already you should jump all over that SM465 Dana 300 combo.
And of course you want to double check your crank to make sure it has a pilot bushing for a standard transmission. If your engine has always been attached to an automatic transmission it won’t have one.
I know, minor detail but I didn’t see it mentioned.