Recently, I've been having trouble with my 4hi engaging. When I pull the lever back and start going a terrible grinding noise comes from the t-case. The lever doesn't shift in hard and it is definitely all the way in the 4 hi position. 4lo seems to work fine. Any insight would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

might need to adjust the linkage on the t-case sounds like its not engaging all the way

 

if your sure its all the way in 4hi then sounds like maybe the TC is on its way out. try draining it to see iof any metal shavings are present.

 

That's not good news... Does it make a difference if I'm not moving when I engage it? I'm reading that its best to put it in 4 when you're rolling in gear and not on the gas.

 

i always like to be rolling at 5mph or so to engage it. if stopped neutral then 4x4 just my .02

 

Yeah the np231/242 iirc are shift on the fly. Just make sure your off the gas cause it won't change over until you do.

 

Had that trouble with my 94. Just try pullin it back slow and youll probably get it. Mine has to be just forward of 4hi to get. needs adjusted

 

Beepjeep in the jeep manual it actually tells you that you should be moving 5to10 mph to engage it but you are stuck or on ice put it in neutral make sure your tires are not spinning and engage it

 

Make sure your crossmember is not bent upwards. I had this issue with mine having a hard time shifting into 4X. Replaced the crossmember which was bent from low wheeling rocks, when I did my lift & have never had an issue since.

 

Just fixed the same problem on mine by adjusting the lever mechanism correctly. It's an unbelievably simple fix and hopefully that would sort yours out too. I have had a TC fail on me before in a Grand Cherokee and ended up with a box full of metal bits. Not pretty. I suspect you would know if your case was bust 'cos I don't think the noise would go away in any other drive mode.
In case you don't have a manual to see how to adjust it, you just need to take off the cover at the lever. Put a 1/8" shim at the back of the slot and move the lever fully back onto it. (4WD low ratio) - I used a piece of tie-wrap as it was easy to keep it in place. Then get underneath the car and you will see the lever and rod mechanism. You simply loosen the bolt at the end of the linkage. Check the play in the rod to make sure it is all moving freely and then tighten the bolt again.
Put the drive in nuetral, move the TC lever to the drive mode you want, put the car in drive and you should have a noise free change.
Hope you get it sorted out.

 

anybody have a picture of the what the linkage looks like? and which direction to move the nuts or bolts?

 

is this it?

 

recently i have had a sort of grinding noise when accelerating in 4. i have the 242 and it will make the same noise in full or part time when going like 5-10mph or faster. i thought that it was going to my mechanic yesterday but that wasnt the case... TC noise is new for me and i know checking my TC for foreign particles is first, but whats the process? how do i? im a total rookie on this stuff!

 

nope, that's your parking brake cable adjuster.

the one you want is a 1/8 inch rod that is connected to the side of the t-case. drivers side.
there is a pinch bolt you want to loosen, although it's probably gonna be stuck in place and hard to slide in the adjuster.

 

thanks for the pic, thats what i needed. I got it adjusted with a standard 1/2 wrench but it didnt seem to make any difference, and the noise is still present.. its like "Scrape.....scrape, scrape" and sounds like its coming from the front diff. Still plenty of fluid in the front diff. I just made a new post about it with pics.

i adjusted it this much, seemed to be as much as i could get, did i move it the correct direction?