231 vs. 242 transfer cases...school me please
 

what are the pros & cons of each transfer case?

Well the major pro of the 242 is you can put it in full time and use in on any surface you want. I prefer my wife having the full time option because she doesn't have to worry about making a choice whether the road is snowy enough to put it in 4wd, or what if there is just patches of snow or something, she is covered.

Down and dirty the 231 is slightly stronger, has more aftermarket upgrades available and is probably more suited to the hard-core Jeeper types. The 242 has everything the 231 has PLUS Full-time, on the road, All Wheel Drive. This is great for the all around trail riding, hunting, fishing go to work 4-wheeler who doesn't have full on lockers.

both are good

for off road only you don't need the 242
but it has great options for all around performance


it really comes down to what are your needs

i toss all my 242s and keep all 231s

Good info I never knew the differences

next time your tossing a 242 toss it my way

Both great cases. I prefer the 242

yeah toss a few my was as well haha

i will take some 242 cases too.. all day.. and if im not mistaken the 242 is a stronger case from the factory over the 231, but the 231 has wayyy more options to make it stronger.. i might be mistaken though

you guys are crazy, it would cost more to ship them than they're worth.
i have given a few away to buddies that prefer the 242, but they drive their jeeps in the winter.

i have another jeep to part out soon, i think it has a 242, but i'm not sure yet. it will be a while before i get to it tho.

the 231 is the stronger case, with more options available. it's the case everyone uses in their box for rocks setup with a doubler, not the 242s. lol.

After driving my 90 XJ with the 231 and my 95 ZJ with the 242 in the snow, I really prefer the 242 in Full-time. But if I'm in the snow offroad, Part-time...

what exactly is the difference between this "part time" and "full time". when I select 4wd the dash lights up with "part time" what exactly is that telling me?

The difference is that the 242 has an extra differential component to it.
The 231 forces the front and rear tires must turn at the same speed. Bad for dry surfaces. PART TIME.

The 242 allows the front and rear tires to turn at different rates from each other because of the differential in the middle of the transfer case. FULL TIME

This has always been my understanding.

that makes good sense.. :) backwards in my mind since without the dif in the t-case it's true 4 wheel drive, as in the front can't get all the torque cause it getting less traction. :) but Jeep calls that "part time" even though all 4 wheels are getting torque all the time..