Kcking

Ok Guys... I found a pretty good 242 transfer case for 250.00. Place I'm getting it from says it's a 242J. Is this the transfer case I'm looking for and will it work with my 1994 jeep grand Cherokee. I want to purchase it but I want to make sure I get the right 242 to swap with.

Thanks for any feed back in advance guys.

Bustedback

The "J" in 242j stands for Jeep. It should be the one as long as the input shaft is the same as the one you're taking out.

stomper27

thought I could pass the info along everyone else here has given me. Good luck with your swap.

http://www.jeepforum.com/forum/f13/t...-np242-685644/

tiwvr1

Search this swap, u would really be better off with a transfer case from the same year. some 95's and everything up had a diffrent gear cut. Makes it difficult to swap imput shafts

ny_driver

What does this changed gearcut really refer to? What is changed?

EDIT/answer: Input/sun/annulus gears were changed. This screws up my plans I think.

Kcking

The 242 I'm looking at... what year/model should it be from? Should I have them check the build date on the 242? I want to purchase it. But don't want to make the mistake of buying wrong 242 and being stuck with it.

Kcking

I wouldn't mind keeping the 249 but I want to raise my jeep and get bigger tires. And do some light to moderate off roading. It is worth to rebuild or get a reman 249? But I'm very Intrested in this 242 I found for 250.00. Thoughts please... Appreciate it.

Kcking

And by the way I Have a 1994 jeep Grand Cherokee 5.2v8 249

ny_driver

93-95 V8 ZJ's: 46RH transmission, 1.55" 23 spline input shaft
93-95 I6 ZJ's: Used both the .750" and .840" 23 spline input with the 42RE and AX15.
93 I6 ZJ's with the AW4: .750" 23 spline input
All 96-98 ZJ's: .840" 23 spline input

I'm not an expert, I just stayed at a Holiday Inn last night. And I'm also preparing to buy a 242 to swap in for my 249. The Viscous coupling is what generally goes bad in the 249 @~80,000 miles and that part is ~$400.

You need to figure out what size input shaft your transfer case has and look to see the manufacture date. It is stamped on a circular steel tag on the back side of the t-case. You won't be able to just measure the input with it installed btw. Once you have those things figured out, you will know what you need to look for. In mid 1994 they changed some gears so I've been advised to go with a pre-mid 1994 242 case, but I found a 1995 T-case with same input shaft which I think I'm going to use...only thing is I need to change rear drive shaft because they use an external slip yoke on the newer ones and internal slip yoke on the older ones.

After looking at teh chart you will know that your T-case has either a .750" or a .840" input shaft with 23 spline being that it's a 94 ZJ. So to be safe you would want a 242J manufactured before mid 1994 that has either a .750" or a .840" input shaft. If yours has .750" and the new one has .840" or visa-versa you can swap the input shaft.

Hope that helps.

EDIT: I was told 84-01 Cherokees is the best place to look. You could get one from a same/similar year Grand also though.

Kcking

Thanks A bunch great information.... Let me how ur swap goes if you choose to.

ny_driver

Actually it looks like you are going to have the long 1.55" input shaft. My bad.....and again I am no expert so be sure to measure it for yourself.

customzj73

If you have the V8 then you have the long input shaft. Be sure to get a case before mid 94 because the v8 zj is the only one that has the long input shaft, which means you will definitly need to swap the input shaft

posjeepxj

just change the input shaft. its really not that hard and it teaches you how it all gets down in yout tcase. and you can visually inspect parts

customzj73

Ya its also nice to inspect the condition of things while your in there so you can fix things and not have to pull it back out again later down the road.

stomper27

sorry to hijack this thread, but my VC is out: I have a 94ZJ V8 with a bad 249. I bought a 231J over the weekend. The build date is August 93, so it looks like I'm in the clear as far as the gear change. The input shaft will need to be changed. The 231 I bought looks VERY clean...(has it already been rebuilt??) I'm going to take it apart and take some good photos of it. The only thing I've ever swapped in a vehicle is the oil. ha ha. I have NO idea what I'm looking at, and if I post some good pics maybe somebody might catch something I need to change.

Good luck all with the swaps.. seems like a lot of people doing this right now.