HELP! Transfer case problem..or something worse?
 

I picked up the '95 Sport (4wd, Auto, 178k miles, 4 Dr) today.

I "bought" it several months ago and as time allowed (work was hectic, so limited time and daylight), I fixed the minor things to get it home...new battery, alternator, belt, etc (all this in the guy's yard).

Finally got the title transferred today.

I'm driving home....and about 15 miles into the trip...I get a grinding noise coming from under the shifter area. Sounds exactly like someone shifting a manual trans and missing the shift/grinding the gears.

Seems to start up again (while the grinding was going on, no power seemed to be going to the wheels...it was coasting), then happened again. Stopped, put it in 4wd Part Time, and it worked for a few minutes.

Then it lost all power to the wheels (grinding noise again).

I stopped, put it in 4wd Low and it worked fine. Trans seemed to shift fine all throughout this.

Drove slowly towards home (I don't think I exceeded 30mph...stayed on the back roads as much as possible).

Then the Radiator hose blew at the radiator (cracked the plastic off the radiator). The XJ has been sitting for almost 2 years (started up fine when I got the new battery in it though)...which probably didn't help matters!!

Called it a day and called AAA (sounds like a bearing is bad in the H2O pump also or because of the loss of coolant).


Now, I can handle the water pump, thermostat, radiator, and probably hoses myself.

But, not sure what to look at for a transfer case (assuming that is the issue) problem...and if it's something I can rebuild myself or get a rebuilt unit (or look for some other problem or adjustment that can be done).

Thanks for any help..

Should mention that the vehicle selector lever has 2 Hi, 4 Hi (Part Time), 4 Full time), Neutral and 4wd. Low. When in 4 Hi (PT) AND in 4 Low, the indicator light reads "Part Time", when in 4 Hi (Full Time) it does read "Full Time"...not sure if that is an issue.

Thanks!!

Crawled up under there...
 

Tag says "New Process"
242 J.


If I need to replace...will one labeled as coming from a Grand Cherokee (242 J also) work?

Looking locally..
 

I found someone listing a: NV 242J

Would that work?

Would Grand Cherokee of the same year(s) work as a direct swap?

Thanks!

hope you got a good deal on it. there is alot of threads on transfer case issues. Try the search feature

$400 on it. Has brand new tires...so I got the whole thing for the price of some tires (generic branded...still had the nubs on them).

So, it's worth working on. Brother can weld (and is doing his late 70s CJ bumpers, etc.) so body rust (rockers and front floor pans) shouldn't be an issue. However, I do need to get it running again quickly to get back in my wife's good graces...she's pissed that it showed up "as a surprise"...and if it was running (and a good bit cleaner) she'd probably not be so pissed off.

I did the search and still had a few questions. I want a drop in unit (don't want to change to the older 231 for now). Figure I can play with it later on to change things around if I start to customize some. I've been doing searches for a replacement, but there's not a lot of info on which are direct swaps (I did see mention that Grand Cherokee 95's should work...but later years Cherokee/Grands have a different output (internal vs. external), and I don't want to swap drive shafts (yet)).

Thanks for the suggestion.

AFARR

it could be that possibility your selector is not engaging all the way try taking off the shifter from underneath and shift it manually and see was happens it's worth a try

Thanks. I'll give that a shot.

AFARR

First I should say I have a NP231 but I have had the same thing happen to me once before. It is the linkage on the transfercase it just needs to be adjusted so it can be sifted in to the gears completely so it wont slip out of gear.

Thanks!
 

Thanks....

I'll see if I can figure out how to adjust the linkage.

Right now, it's set into 4WD Lo (the only one that worked).

Then I'll play with it....

Definiately adjust that linkage. I don't know where you are at but I have an NP242 from a 91 that is sitting in the garage. So if yours ends up bad and you are close enough I'll make you a good deal and likely better then you find anywhere.

Thanks...I'm in the Allentown, PA area. Let's see what I can do with the adjustment first....

AFARR