i busted my transfer case on my 92 xj so i got another np242 out of a 96 grand cherokee but i can not get it in 4 low it will grind when i try to shift it in i can not even get it in when i crawl under and shift it all the way back by hand but it was not running when i did i have moved the linkage trying to get it to work but all i can ever get is 2,4p,4f,n any help would be nice are the 242s the same in grands and xj's

 

Different length input gears i believe.

If it were me, i'd pull the new one out and measure the difference to the old one. You might have to swap the input gear and sun gear from the old case into the new one. Which involes a complete teardown.

You might be better off getting another XJ 23 spline 242 and selling the ZJ one.. there is a market for the ZJ case.

What broke on your old 242?

 

the cone on the back where the speedo is broke and the back half of the case broke also

 

the 242 i put back in was a 1 1/4 longer than the one i took out and it had the external tail shaft with the boot

 

the transfer case drop due to my lift let the linkage hit a bolt which would not let it go into low so lucky its a easy fix