transfer case help

alright well this past week my transfer case took a dump on me. couldnt drive it atall. ended up buying a rebuilt 231 from a shop for a great price, the problem is my tcase i had was a 242. so whats it gonna take to make the 231 work in 4wheel drive?...i know the difference is the vacuum, ive got it in and the front driveshaft off. everything works great and i even lost the vibes i had on the freeway. its a 89 with a 4.0 auto, anything helps!!!....

thanks
Sean

any takers?

i dont understand the problem, you had a 242 but now it is a 231 currently installed??

Well as far as i know it really depends on the year the 231 was taken from or rather originated from. If its a newer one the spline count may be different and therfore not go in. The second issue is if its newer its all electric including the speedo and the indicator wiring and you are gonna need the harnesses or make something. The last problem is gonna be your metal shifter bracket is fabricated for more modes and you might be able to get it to work by playin around wit the linkage but eventually you are gonna need te correct bracketry for the 231 and bezel. Other than the age issue they should swap..

pete

I´ve got a 231 in the garage as a spare, I also grabbed the front and rear driveshafts out of the donor, just in case the lenghts were different. I´m fairly certain the rear driveshaft is a different length, but haven´t measured, just an eyeball guess. I also grabbed the linkage for the 231. I haven´t had the occasion to install it yet, in place of my 242, my 242 is still holding together (barely). The vacuum lines are mostly for the 4X indicator lights and the shift motor for the D-30 that came with the 231 models. If you have a 242, you don´t have the shift motor model D-30. The indicator lights are a nice but not necessary accessory. I noticed the front driveshaft from the 231/D-30 model donor, didn´t have any balance wieghts on the driveshaft (which may be a problem). The D-30 with the shift motor (axle disengaugement) function, isn´t really necessary, as far as I know, to run the 231. I have an 88 and grabbed a 87 231 tranfer.
Let us know what you learn, I´ve got the same job to do soon.

8Mud is right on. The front driveshafts should be the same and the rear may be different depending on year/trans/axle.

With a 89 4.0L and AW4 you have a short 21 spline input so you should get a 231 from a 87-90 that had the 4.0L and AW4. You could use a 91-94 only by swapping the input gears. After 94/95 the input gear is not swappable with earlier years.

I would sell it and get the right one you had originally, unless you u r upgrading for more brute. Anyone redaing this-- i am having problems taking out my AX15 tranny. The exhaust flange is welded together withr rust. I know i have to dropp the exhaust to remove the tranny but the only place that looks ok to cut and repair later is right where the o2 sensor is. All of this to save myself 300 in labor, i guess its worth it though.

it was from a 89 4.0 auto just like mine, the case is in and works fine. my question is about the vacuum. i will eventualy swap out linkages once i find out how to get the 231 work with my d30 that was made for a 231 transfer case. all spline counts are the same from what im taking. i mean it did slide right in and the driveshaft works fine length wise.

What you're going to have is the same net result that you'd get if you had a 231 with D30/Disco, and locked the shift fork over to keep it permanently engaged - which is done often enough that there's probably no need to worry about it. Since the front axle won't be driven until the tcase is shifted into 4HI or 4LO, and the shift motor went over whenever the tcase was shifted, I foresee no trouble. I know that when the 231 is in 2HI, the front DS will "coast" nicely - I always have to lock my tcase when I check the DS bolts and unlock it to find the damn zerks.

Meanwhile, do you still have the old 242? Are you planning on getting rid of it? I'd be happy to take it off your hands... I could use one anyhow. I'd planned on rebuilding one when I got the thing anyhow. I can probably come up with a 231 shiftgate and bezel, if you'd like to swap those as well... Let me know.

5-90
San Jose, CA

come out here to livermore and get my 4wheel drive workin and u got it,lol..other wise im gonna sell/rebuild it, whatever happens first.but from what im understanding the vacuum lines with have to be drilled and tapped into my front axle????.....still kinda fuzzy on how the vacuum works.

thanks for the input everyone!
Sean

XJ4Roks said:

come out here to livermore and get my 4wheel drive workin and u got it,lol..other wise im gonna sell/rebuild it, whatever happens first.but from what im understanding the vacuum lines with have to be drilled and tapped into my front axle????.....still kinda fuzzy on how the vacuum works.

thanks for the input everyone!
Sean

Click to expand...

No you don't need to worry about the vacuum lines on the t-case. The disconnect axle was eliminated in 91/92. You might be able to pull out the vacuum switch and put in the electrical one from the 242.

If memory serves, the vacuum lines for the 242 do nothing but trip the indicator switches for the lights on the panel - there is no vacuum disconnect to deal with. Since the 231 was used later with solid axles, rather than disconnects, so there should be no trouble there. Also, since the front axle can be locked "ON" with the earlier 231's, I see no trouble there as well.

So, you should already have 4WD available to you, just no more 4FT (so don't shift unless you are on something slippery...)

Do you need the 231 bezel and shiftgate? I can dig them up and bring them with me when I come up for the transfer cast - I'll just have to pull them out of my 87 - should fit your 89 no problem.

I'd have to come up on a week-end (obviously,) so when would be good? Just bear in mind that I'm not morning people...

5-90

XJ4Roks said:

come out here to livermore and get my 4wheel drive workin and u got it,lol..other wise im gonna sell/rebuild it, whatever happens first.but from what im understanding the vacuum lines with have to be drilled and tapped into my front axle????.....still kinda fuzzy on how the vacuum works.

thanks for the input everyone!
Sean

Click to expand...

on pre 91 231 xj's, they used vacume to engage and disengade the front axle by desonnecting the left axleshaft. you orginal 241 was full time, so the axle didnt need to disconnect. and the later 231's didnt disconect. so your front driveshaft will spin all the time, but only be powered when you shift into 4x4. if your t/c is in, and your front driveshaft hooked up, you should be good to go. no need to worry about the vacume on the t/c, you have no where to hook it up. hope this is kinda clear enough.

5-90 said:

If memory serves, the vacuum lines for the 242 do nothing but trip the indicator switches for the lights on the panel - there is no vacuum disconnect to deal with.

5-90

Click to expand...

No vacuum switch just a electrical switch for the 4wd lights on a 242. The disconnect 231 models used a electrical switch on the axle for the 4wd light.

MJR said:

No vacuum switch just a electrical switch for the 4wd lights on a 242. The disconnect 231 models used a electrical switch on the axle for the 4wd light.

Click to expand...

Y'sure? My 231 with D30/Disco uses a vacuum actuator, and when the axle is fully locked there is another vacuum passage that opens up to send a vacuum signal to a switch on the firewall, which closes and trips the indicator light on the dash. My 89 with 242 does NOT have the disco, but DOES have the vacuum switch (actually, two) similar to the 231 system. The differences are 1) the axle is solid, and 2) there are two indicators, one for Full-Time and one for Part-Time. The switches used are - as far as I can tell - identical.

Meanwhile, this entire branch of the conversation is purely academic to XJ4Roks, since his principal concern is mechanical (and also nonexistant.)

If you check the overlay for the indicator lights on the left end of the panel, you should find the "Full Time" (green) and "Part Time" (amber) indicators. There is probably also a loose wire near the switch you already have, where the second switch would connect. I think the vacuum harness is also the same, it's just a matter of breaking the lines out and figuring out what goes where. Should I bring my 1989 FSM when I come up? We can stop at a Kinko's and you can copy whatever you need there.

5-90

5-90 said:

Y'sure? My 231 with D30/Disco uses a vacuum actuator, and when the axle is fully locked there is another vacuum passage that opens up to send a vacuum signal to a switch on the firewall, which closes and trips the indicator light on the dash. My 89 with 242 does NOT have the disco, but DOES have the vacuum switch (actually, two) similar to the 231 system. The differences are 1) the axle is solid, and 2) there are two indicators, one for Full-Time and one for Part-Time. The switches used are - as far as I can tell - identical.

5-90

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Yes here's a couple of photos for you to see. You are correct on the 4wd switch location for the disconnect axles (on the firewall).

231 t-case with only the vacuum switch.



242 with only a electrical switch for the dash lights.

Ok - I just went out and crawled under my 89 (damn, the ground is cold!) and I stand corrected. I still wonder what the two switches are for?

XJ4Roks, that switch doesn't govern shifting, so there is no mechanical trouble you are likely to get into. I'd have to look over my 1989 FSM to be certain, but it's out in the shop and I've had enough of cold ground under my feet for the day. I can look it up for you before I go to school to-morrow, but I don't see it being an issue - other than I'd want to plug that hole up.

You can probably get a switch at a salvage yard - I don't have one for you. I have a spare vacuum harness out in the shop I can bring up, and I'll look at the vacuum and see how to make it trip a Hobbs switch for the indicator, if you want to go to all that trouble. If you can trust yourself to watch the shifter, I'd just leave the vacuum switch in place and put caps on the ports. I'll bring up the hoses if you want - but we can probably dummy something up with a little vacuum hose. I can look into that as well.

5-90

5-90 said:

Ok - I just went out and crawled under my 89 (damn, the ground is cold!) and I stand corrected. I still wonder what the two switches are for?

5-90

Click to expand...

Got a picture? I'm curious what two you are refering to. It looks like he could get a later 231 electrical switch the replace the vacuum one if he wants the 4wd light to work but other than that mechanical everything will work fine.

yeh on my 242 it has a harness that plugs in where on the 231 there is a plug with 4 vacuum holes. so just plug em hook the shaft up eh? sounds easy enough. the guys at JW Jeep made it sound like im gonna need to swap axles or some crap. thanks for the help again everyone!!

email me 5-90 and well see if we can work something out still.
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