In 1987 Jeep introduced the Peugeot BA10 five speed transmission. The Peugeot transmission quickly garnered a poor reputation for its lack of strength and dependability. This coupled with expensive rebuild costs generates a flurry of interest in conversions away from this transmission. The poor reputation is somewhat deserved; however, for many street driven jeeps, this transmission actually served their owners well.
The French manufactured Peugeot BA/10 replaced the Borg Warner T5 in 1987. The Peugeot transmission was originally designed for use in passenger vehicles. The reasoning behind JEEP deciding on the Peugeot BA/10 is anyone’s guess. It was clearly a difficult time for AMC and being cash strapped as they were most likely lead to selecting the less expensive Peugeot transmission. It was only utilized from 1987 to March of 1989. This short time span of the Peugeot earns it the distinction of having the shortest production run of any Jeep transmission
The Peugeot was used in numerous jeep applications including the YJ Wrangler, XJ Cherokee and the MJ Comanche pick up. In the Wrangler, the Peugeot was only used behind the 258 inline 6 motor. The Cherokee however received the 4.0 two years prior than the Wrangler, hence the Peugeot was also used behind the 4.0 engine in the Cherokees. This clarifies the provision for a crank sensor on the Wrangler Peugeot bellhousing, even if it was not used.
Identification:
The Peugeot is a cast aluminum case with a rather strange and unique five bolt pattern. It also utilizes two dowel studs for proper alignment. The Peugeot BA10 measures an overall length of 16-7/8" long plus a 7.209” bellhousing. The transmission itself had 3 lateral sections which included of a main section at 9-1/4th”, shifter housing at 4-1/8th, and a tailhousing adapter of 3-½”. The main case design is somewhat unique in that the case itself splits in half longitudinally down the center of the case. It is essentially like a clam shell with half of the case splitting down the driver side and half on the passenger side. The transmission has numerous I.D. markings. On the front of the transmission there are markings of “94311xxxx”. Also located on the lower front face is a casting of “SIMI” with the casting of "3.283...” There are further markings on the transmission tailhousing that even indicate the type of vehicle it was destined for such as YJ or XJ. The Peugeot 5 speed has a 7.25” input shaft length from the front of the case. It has a 1-1/8th 10 spline input and has a .59” pilot tip. The rear output shaft is 21 spline and was connected to either the NP207 or the NP231. The BA10/5 was only available with an internal hydraulic throw out bearing which can be problematic for some.
Strength:
The Peugeot BA/10 transmission was used in several applications outside of the Jeep family. They were used in both passenger and 4x4 vehicles including the Peugeot 505 sedans and the military G wagons. The transmissions actually performed rather well in these applications. So why does the Peugeot have such a poor reputation? The Peugeot, like many other passenger car transmissions, perform differently outside of their original design scope. The success and failures seem to border on a few key factors. Large tires and hard 4 wheeling can push many transmissions to their limit. This is especially true for some “passenger car” type transmissions. If your plans are to run large oversized tires, upgraded axles and a high horse power V8 than the Peugeot transmission might not be best suited. Advance Adapters does offer a complete bellhousing to mate a 4.3 V6 or mild V8 to the Peugeot 5 speed. We highly recommend you explore all your avenues in determining the best build to suit your particular needs.