XJ's and Transfer Cases

[Big Willy]

I am looking at getting another XJ (an '89) but the transfer case in it isn't as good as my 92. How hard is it to swap them out and is there anything that I should look for during the swap? Do I need the gage pannel with the indicator lights or are they all pretty much the same. That is if the dashes are the same?
TIA

[tchase]

Not really sure what you mean by the t-case in your '92 being "better". Which case do they have? Assuming both are 231's I guess the '92 would technically be a bit better (23 spline versus 21 in the '89), but would require swapping out the tranny output shaft to mate up. Or are we talking about one having a 231 and one a 242? If so I'd go with the 242 regrdless of spline count, but that's just my preference. As far as the dash indicators go, they all have the same display panel from what I've seen (heck my '88 MJ has a place for a "check anti-lock" light). Just need to add a bulb and hook up the appropriate wiring. The dash panels do not interchange between those years though (mechanical versus electronic speedo drive), but it doesn't matter.

[Big Willy]

Not sure what the number is on it but my 92 has 4H Full Time, 4H Part time & 4L Part time. Oh and neutral of course. The 89 just has the 4H & 4L Part time. Sorry not too up on the number designators. Have been driving Jeeps for sometime now but haven't really gotten into the modification sceen since the last car show at the Exibition Park when the club had a exibit and my son and I saw Lance's big ass Waggy up on the ramp. Since then I have become an addict and since I am at sea right now I am starting to get the shakes from the DT's. LOL.

[tchase]

Okay, can't blame ya for wanting to keep that t-case then. Your '92 does indeed have a 242, it's easy to remember for XJ's of that era, 2"4"2 has 4 potential driving positions (2h, 4ft, 4pt, 4l) while the 2"3"1 only has three. Regardless, your issue lies in the change in the transmission output shaft spline count from 21 to 23 for the '91 model year. Are both rigs automatics? If don't think the 242 was ever mated to a 5-spd so if your '89 is a manual you may be SOL. As far as I know you should be able to change either the tranny output or the t-case input so they'll mate up (asumming both are autos). Personally I think I'd just swap the whole trans/t-case combo and not have to worry about it. I'm told the newer trans should still wire up the same. I don't know much about how the dash lights are activated but I've got to figure it out as I'm going to be swapping a '93 242 into my truck, maybe we can help each other figure that out. Another thing you'll need to deal with for that swap is the front axle. An '89 with the 231 would have came with a disconnect front axle, while 242 equipped XJ's did not have a disco. Therefore the 242 setup would not be provisioned to activate the axle shift motor, also the 231's used with disconnect axles had a syncronizer to allow "shift on the fly" I suspect the 242 does not have one so would require the axle be engaged to be able to shift while in motion. Hope that helps and good luck.
Tony
Oh one more thing, as I mentioned before the '91 uses an electronic speedo drive versus the '89's mechanical one however I suspect that you would be able to use the mechanical drive out of the 231 in the 242.

[Creepy]

242 will still shift on the fly, no matter disconnect or not.

WAYYYY easier to swap tcase inputs than trannie outputs. pretty sure the 231 input is the same as the 242 - for the years you list - you can swap them around between cases to get the input spline you need.

you may need to modify the shifter gate.

the lights in the dash on the older one work on a vacuum signal. the plug will not swap into the 242.

do you really need the lights to work?

you didn't say what you are trying to do - you only said what 2 rigs you have - what t-case is going in what jeep?

the older disconnect axle will need to be locked closed if you swap in the 242. or make a manual vacuum switch to lock the front axle in the cab.

[tchase]

Wasn't sure about the input shaft interchange, good to know. And the disconnect thing is a non-issue as far as I'm concerned, lock it and leave it for sure. I do however disagree on the issue of the dash indicators. I know the dash indicator on the '89 would be vacuum actuated, I also know the components to mate it to a 242 do exist. There's a stock '89 242 in my driveway, lights work great ;D You may need to obtain the vacuum switches/harness from an early 242 rig, but I can't imagine that it can't be made to work. Chopshop, do the later 242's activate the indicator electrically? I assume that's what you're saying. I haven't looked closely at my donor yet, if so I'll probably try to rework the wiring to feed the appropriate signal to the lights without adding the vacuum setup to the truck. Who knows, the lights are a long way down the wish list at the moment.

[Creepy]

i meant the 231 vac. switch wouldn't swap into the 242.

if you have an older 242 with a vac. switch, well ya, go for it.

the later switches are just an electrical plug. i don't know the exact year....

one other thing - the speedo's all pretty much interchange. keep the set-up the jeep has, and plug it into the round hole on the t-case. it's that simple.

you may have to frig with the indexing, but there are only 4 positions.

there are also different stick-out lengths for the t-case inputs. 2 in the xj line, and one in the middle if your donor is a 93ish ZJ. check that since you are going between manual/auto donors. there is about a 1/4"-1/2" difference that may not seal to trans if incorrect.

[tchase]

Yeah I figured you meant he just wouldn't have the needed parts to hook the lights up. I'll be using a complete tranny/t-case combo from a '93 XJ so I know I'm not gonna have any spline issues.

[Big Willy]

The 242 from the 92 will be going into the 89. As the 92's tranny is pretty much going and the rear of the frame is gone. Craig says he can fix it but for 7G's and that's way too much for it. Cheaper to get this 89 and swap everything over. Both rigs are autos as well. By the way that you guys are explaining this it might just as well be easier to have the guys at APJs do it for me. Probably wouldn't cost me too much I would think. Anyone know what the approx price on this would be?

[littlemulticoloredwagoneer]

I can almost Gaurantee that you will need to switch the shaft as 91 was the first year for the 23 spline in the AW4...