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I guess im still confused as to why the SYE is so critical for this? from the looks of your briarwood jeep - its completely stock. Don't see the demand for an HD SYE tcase for something stock that often -and by often i mean never. Usually these conversations or upgrades come later down the road after bigger tires/gears lifts etc. If what your ultimately after is stronger 242 tcase then why not find yourself a 231/233c and rob the wider chain from that? You can also rob the 6pt planetary from a 231D tcase compared your 242's original 3pt planetary
The reason is because I plan on getting there one day but I am forced to deal with the tc now. I like the selec-trac and wish to stay with the 242 platform. I have this available locally and would like to upgrade so I might as well. Plus I like to do things differently, try different things out, and have research the done for anyone else wanting to do the mods I'm interested in later on. I don't think anyone of us would be where we are if someone didn't document their experiences in a forum at one point or another. But as far as demand for the SYE, it's because its available to me locally and it's cheap so why not. So I'm not saying you're wrong, I'm just saying I have my reasons. Just looking for help figuring it out, that's all 😁
What's your plan for rear driveshaft after you get it installed? i may be stating the obvious for you but if you didn't know that SYE will take a different driveshaft vs whats in the rear of your jeep now.
Engine: 4.3L with headers and full 3" exhaust system
Originally Posted by Travis Mudrich
That is 100% correct! At least for the 242J and the 242AMG, but since there was never a speedo provision on the HD, I'm not sure if thats the case. If I get clear info on if the WJ 242HD is cut for the worm gear, I'll buy the HD case with the SYE kit, and the AMG rear bearing housing housing today and go from there. If anyone doesn't really know if it is already cut, I'll have to do more research on it.
Also, it appears it has the Iron Rock Offroad SYE kit, but I'm not sure if it has the aftermarket shaft on it or not. The guy who owns it bought it as is, and didn't install it so he doesn't know.
Basically, I'm trying to predict what the probability is that I'll be able to do a straight swap, and if not what will have to be done in order to make it work, if it's even possible. The HD TC and the AMG housing will cost me roughly $550. Which isn't that bad considering that's the price of the SYE kit alone. But what I'm trying to avoid is buying it all and none of it working and I'm back to square one with less money and more useless parts. Thanks again for everyone commenting and helping me on this epic quest to "simply" fix my jeep 🤣🤣
If you are dead set on using the WJ case, and if you are getting an SYE, do some parts swapping from an earlier case. These cases all are very conservative on having anything totally unique. Stuff swaps over
If you are dead set on using the WJ case, and if you are getting an SYE, do some parts swapping from an earlier case. These cases all are very conservative on having anything totally unique. Stuff swaps over
I mean for the price point and the availability, I would be dumb not to go this route if it's compatible because half the work is already with the HD case I'm looking at already has the SYE. From my research, the AMG speedo housing will bolt up to the WJ case, the IRO SYE that's already on it will bolt up to that, and my speedo gear will bolt into the AMG housing, so that's good.
I just need to figure out for sure if the stock 242HD outputshaft is or is not machined to receive the speedo worm gear that I already have on my broken 242J. And if not, what existing cases and stock output shafts or what aftermarket output shafts are compatible with the 242HD internals, the IRO SYE, and will accept the speedo gear?
Once I have that information, if it is compatible, then it should be a relatively easy mod. Like always, thanks in advance!
What's your plan for rear driveshaft after you get it installed? i may be stating the obvious for you but if you didn't know that SYE will take a different driveshaft vs whats in the rear of your jeep now.
Sorry, I didn't see your comment earlier. As far as a driveshaft replacement, the smart thing to do would be to have one custom ordered. On the IRO SYE website, it says to use a "1310 double cardan CV driveshaft." I've talked about if whether or not I could use a front driveshaft in the rear in this thread: https://www.cherokeeforum.com/f67/dr...263423/index2/
When I was asking my questions here and gathering information, I did not have an SYE planned, nor did I actually want to do the swap, it was more of a theoretical question, so some of the content is slightly different than what we are talking about now. It would allow me to carry a third shaft in case I were to break one, or just straight up use my front shaft in the rear if I needed to.
But to fully answer your question, I would look into getting a custom driveshaft made, but I still have the idea in the back of my mind to use another front driveshaft in the rear for five reasons:
1. If it can handle the front payload, it should work fine in the rear since the front is always spinning.
2. I don't think I'll ever test it to the full limits where I would be seriously worried.
3. The stock u-joint size is the same as the SYE.
4. The shaft is adjustable so I don't have to worry about sizing it (yes it will fit)
5. I would be able to swap shafts in the case of an emergency.
Any further thoughts on this crazy idea? I'm sure a lot of questions have been asked in the other thread and a lot of them already answered (keep in mind, that thread was pre-SYE) and this is probably not the route I will go, it's just entertaining to talk about.
Last edited by Travis Mudrich; 03-20-2022 at 10:43 PM.
Reason: Spacing was jumbled up and unreadable
^^^ he did the swap with an AX15 to boot. That's on my to-do list down the road, as well.
Thanks for the link! theres definitely a lot of good info in that one! I'm not sure why, but I have been completely fixated on the "bolt on SYE" verses the press on dust cover style (not sure what to call it) I don't know if it looks more solid or more proper or what have you, but my guess is that's one of the reasons why I'm stuck in buying this HD case with the SYE already on it apart from price and availability. Please educate me more on the different styles of SYE if the bolt on kind offers any more or less benefits. Thanks!
So I talked to a representative from Tom woods over the phone. He confirmed that the HD output shaft was cut to receive the worm gear for the gear driven speedometer! He said all that should be modded to allow this to work, is just a groove needs to machined in for snap ring to retain that sleeve because the location of the speedo provision in the rear bearing housing is the same distance away from the rear half of the case in both the 242AMG and the 242J. He said he would charge me $30 for his time plus the cost of shipping to make that cut.
So for me anyways, it looking like $150 for the HD case with the IRO SYE kit, $300 for the AMG rear housing, and $30 for the machining process. That put me at roughly $500 (rounding up for taxes and shipping)
The HD case guy said he didn't use it because it had problems going into gear. I know the input shaft has to be trimmed down for it to work on the XJ so I'm not sure if he did that or not. Anyways, I may have to buy some internals, but bare minimum, if I had to buy the case and SYE separate, then I'd be looking at a pricepoint of roughly $700 so I'm still under budget.
Once I get everything together, I'll then figure out if I need to get a rebuild kit for the seals and bearings. But as far what info I got and the fact that theoretically this should work, I am super excited!
I have finally gotten the HD case! I put off ordering the AMG housing until after I had got it. Now that I have it, that is next on order. But until it arrives, I'm going to clean this up and get it all prepped.
Doing some slight comparison shows me me few things I did not notice before:
1. The transfer case mode switch is in the front half of the HD housing where the AMG and J is in the rear bearing housing. It also looks like the HD case has a 4 pin sensor where the J is only 2. I have a few options: try to use the front half of the J case and try to use the rear output housing sensor, if that does not work because the internals are slightly different then I can use the HD front half and plug the rear provision, if that does not work I can try to use the J sensor in the HD sensor hole, or I could just use the HD sensor and splice on a pigtail according to a wiring diagram. Does anyone know if the HD sensor offers anything more since it has more pins?
2. HD case with IRO SYE has a front output shaft length of around 13/16ths so it seems appropriate with the 0.82 length on the J. This is good because that's one less thing I have to do. I'm not sure if this is a hacked and tapped stock HD shaft or if it's aftermarket. Either way I'll know more when I open it up.
3. The 4 bolt nose cone pattern seems congruent with the AMG housing but I won't know for are until after I get the part. I may need to weld in the holes and drill and tap the AMG housing to match the SYE kit, or go another route. Like I said before, this specific case was a necessary replacement, that I might as well upgrade with, and it was local, so why not grab the SYE kit HD case. It may not work, but that's for me to find out and for you to learn from!
4. The HD fill and drain plugs are internal Allen head and the J case and external hex bolt plugs. Not sure if they are the same diameter and thread pitch yet but will confirm later.
5. The shifting linkage bracket mounted to the case is slightly different. I already bought the Azzy's design works aftermarket shift linkage which replaces that bracket so it isn't a problem, but figured I would make a note of it.
As far as for now, that's all that I can see. I will most definitely discover more later, and when I do I will keep y'all updated with detailed information. Feel free to leave comments!
Last edited by Travis Mudrich; 03-20-2022 at 10:37 PM.
Reason: Spacing did not load correctly. Entire post was jumbled together and unreadable.
I'd be hard pressed to think that tail cone wouldn't bolt right in. If that amg tcase has the same 32 spline output why not just install the hack n tap on the amg mainshaft and install the whole deal in your HD case? Both your HD case and the amg case are 1.25" chains so i'd imagine the make-up of the mainshaft is nearly the same as well - except for the amg mainshaft already being setup for a speed sensor. This could save you from shipping out your HD mainshaft to be cut for a speedo gear.
If you wanted to give it a shot, i have leftovers from my 241CHD build - basically everything you might need (mainshaft, rear tail housing, rear tail cone, speedo gear, snap rings) minus the speed sensor as i had to re-use mine. Just something to potentially throw a wrench in your frankencase
I'd be hard pressed to think that tail cone wouldn't bolt right in. If that amg tcase has the same 32 spline output why not just install the hack n tap on the amg mainshaft and install the whole deal in your HD case? Both your HD case and the amg case are 1.25" chains so i'd imagine the make-up of the mainshaft is nearly the same as well - except for the amg mainshaft already being setup for a speed sensor. This could save you from shipping out your HD mainshaft to be cut for a speedo gear.
If you wanted to give it a shot, i have leftovers from my 241CHD build - basically everything you might need (mainshaft, rear tail housing, rear tail cone, speedo gear, snap rings) minus the speed sensor as i had to re-use mine. Just something to potentially throw a wrench in your frankencase
Yes, that's the product that I now have. The reason I wont swap an AMG mainshaft is because I don't have a 242AMG at all. I'm sure ordering one would be just as pricey, if not more, than the rear housing. And besides, I was only quoted $30.00 for the snap ring cut so I'm not too hurt over that. Plus I would have to commit to the labor of hack and tapping another shaft. Unless if there's more problems then what I can tell, I'd rather just swap what I got.
As far as the Chevy 241HD, I may take you up on that offer. Once I get tear apart the 242HD case, and get the AMG housing in, I'll be better able to understand what else is needed. From the looks of it, everything between the two 242's should be damn near plug and play, but I also don't know how bad the internals are in the new case. Nevertheless, if I need anything, you'll be the first to know 😁 thank you for the offer!
So I tore down the HD case; it was pretty easy considering its exactly the the J case. Like with all 242's, the internal shifting linkages are hard to pop put without going through the side, which is even harder.
I inspected the internals and it all looks good. The planetary gear set, shift forks, sprocket teeth, and chain all look good so that's a plus. Even the magnet and filter didn't have much on them. When I was taking it apart I found out why the previous owner said it wouldn't shift. The indicator light sensor was in too far and prevented it from cycling through the ranges. I'm not sure if it was the wrong one or what but my plan is to plug that hole on the front half of the case and use my OEM one in the AMG rear housing.
I was able to source a NP242AMG rear housing from a gentleman from a HMMWV group on Facebook. He shot me a picture asking if it was what I was looking for. $100 and a week later, it has arrived!
There's a small chip in the speedo hole, but it's not a load bearing part of the housing, and its not too large. I'll probably use some kind of cement putty to temporarily repair it until I can get it welded. I don't want to spend unnecessary time and money on something that may not work, even though I'm confident it will. Let's see how the ergonomics of this housing interacts with the HD case and SYE kit.
03-15-2022, 08:40 PM
