I hate life...

I have the worst luck on this forum. Waited 3 years for a jeep that i thought was worth to sink money into a nice lift and i finally finish it and get it back....after the first snowstorm of the year...and now for the second descent storm I HAVE NO 4 WHEEL DRIVE!!!! I'm gonna go postal...how could this happen? I have had NOOO problems engaging into 4hi ever and now all of a sudden i put a lift on it and the 1st sign of snow i cant drive off road in it. Anyways, i pull up on the lever, (NP242 w/ the "full time option") and sometimes it engages fine and sometimes it doesnt engage at all, and i feel this slight knocking in the handle, then i got it in once and all of a sudden it pops out but the handle was still in 4fulltime and the "full time" light was still on. I'M PISSED!!!

it could be the sloppy linkage that xj's have. try taking the linkage off the t-case lever underneath the truck. then turn the t-case lever fully clockwise to the right, i believe that is low range. then drive it and see if it pops out. if it doesn't then your problem is in the linkage. if it still pops out, then you have internal t-case problems.

UGH...is there any in depth directions on how to do what you just said b/c i have never done any kind of work on a t-case before and i woulnt know where to start to find the linkage and rotate whatever. Thanks for the info

JeepXJ93 said:

I have had NOOO problems engaging into 4hi ever and now all of a sudden i put a lift on it and the 1st sign of snow i cant drive off road in it.

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Did you install a tcase drop when doing the lift? if so then your linkage definately needs adjustment. Also how does your transmission mount look? often when the mount starts going it causes your linkage to misbehave. Lastly how do your bushings in the linkage look? if they are well worn and have plenty play in them then replace them.

this is dirt simple. slide under the truck. you will see a few pencil sized rods going from a lever underneath the floorboard to a lever that goes directly into the side of the transfer case. this is your 4wd linkage. as you pull on the lever inside the truck to engage your different modes 2wd, 4wd, 4lo the linkage underneath the truck will turn the lever that goes into the side of the transfer case. now, take a scewdriver and pop out the rod that hooks up to the lever on the t-case. now, turn that lever completely to the right (you might have to put the truck on a lift or stands and move the wheels slightly)
this will engage the t-case to 4lo without using the lever in the truck. now, take the truck in the woods and see if it pops out of 4lo

Chill out man its not the end of the world. Im renound for bad luck my jeep club has already given me 3 nicknames , "tipsy" near roll on my first run , "hand talker" knocked over a pop all over the table at the first meeting because i was talking and waiving my hands around , and "hydrolocker installer" for sinking my jeep into a little lake that i had no idea how deep it was on a area cleanup day and almost hydrolocker my brand new engine in my 1990 jeep. I've also had "death wobble" and found out when i did my lift i needed to spend an extra $1100 (canadian $) on fixing my front end , all ball joints , tie rod ends , wheel bearing assembly ect ect so that really sucked cause i had just went broke spending the $4000 on lift and tires and i had to borrow more cash from my dad. The just of it is dont worry ive learnt to accept that nothing on my jeep will ever be perfect lol im running 33" baja claws on 6" long arm lift and running with 3:07 gears so of course im not to happy right now.

Ok so now onto what your problem is , well im not familiar with the np242 however ive encounterd 2 times when my 4wheel wouldnt engage

#1 the linkage for the handle has a small almost like pole sticking off the side of a plate and that pole slides into a hole and ive had the pole slip out , look directly under where the handle for your 4wheel engagement is and see if you can understand what im talking about , if you cant i will take a few pictures for you and show you them.

#2 the vacum disconnect lines that engage your front axle are to short because you have lifted the vehicle I just went threw this as i lifted my xj 6 inches. There are 3 lines on the passenger side going between you body and the axle once again its a little hard to explain if you cant figure it out ask me and ill take pictures.

What year cherokee is yours and what are the specs.
and once again dont worry (i hate hearing that when i have problems but im saying it anyway)

Thanks D.J

Ok, i will try that...i think i wont be able to get to it till tomorrow nite, is there any way to only put it into 4hi full time so i can drive it on the street, thats what it was popping out of i never actually put it into 4lo...funny thing about this too is that i was just off roading about 3 days ago, going back and forth from 4lo to 4 hi for diff. hills and what not and had nooo problems...now all of a sudden in one nite its gone...if i do determine that the linkage is the problem how do i adj./tighten it. And no i didnt do a t-case drop.

i guessed he had a 93 xj by his name. like you guys mentioned, all of that stuff will mess up 4wd engagment. there are like 80 million little plastic bushings that become brittle. replace with atlas II, hahaha

Sorry, i shoulda said this before, unfortunatly i sold my 93 LIKE A MORON b/c of a little rust and wear and tear that i didnt have time to fix. Thinking a 2000 would be better to wheel b/c i wouldnt have to rebuild everything...guess i was waayyy wrong...i have knocks and pings and vibes now that i have no clue how to find....soooo pissed. Anyways, its a 2000 classic w/ 88k on it, just installed an RE3.5" Superflex kit and a SYE and tom woods D/S. Stainless steel brakeline ext. front and rear, 31x10.50 tires on stock wheels. there's pics in the pic section in the thread "after removing rear swaybar" taken the 3 days ago i that i went wheeling and had to use 4lo once in a while for some hills.

JeepXJ93 said:

Ok, i will try that...i think i wont be able to get to it till tomorrow nite, is there any way to only put it into 4hi full time so i can drive it on the street, thats what it was popping out of i never actually put it into 4lo...funny thing about this too is that i was just off roading about 3 days ago, going back and forth from 4lo to 4 hi for diff. hills and what not and had nooo problems...now all of a sudden in one nite its gone...if i do determine that the linkage is the problem how do i adj./tighten it. And no i didnt do a t-case drop.

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just a tid-bit that i have learned -
keep the rig in 4lo once you leave the pavement... it is much better on the tranny and engine.

did you come to a complete stop when shifting from 4lo to N?

Uh ohh...i thought it said engage going 2-3mph and same for disengaging...?

P.S...the trials i wheel are local to my house and dont need 4lo too often, just an occasional hill here and there 4lo would be overkill and make the entire trip take waaayyy too long.

i thought the 97 and later models are nice. i own a 96 and my friend bought a 97. his looked so much newer with the nicer dash. then the bolts for his motor mount snapped off in the block. i told my friend this that works at the jeep dealership. he said that is pretty common for 97 and on xj's. so much for improvement over the years

Thanks for the positive feedback on the junk i just sank everything i have into..lol

when i first started fourwheeling, i had the image that you buy some parts, put them in, and go have fun. well, 5 years later, i spend more time repairing my truck to fourwheel because some companies make less than steller products. get your 4wd working and go out and enjoy it. because sooner or later, you will need a set of front u-joints and it is 10 degrees outside with a foot of snow and you have to drive home in 2wd because you dont want to break one on the highway, not that this is my current situation.

Mine will do that sometimes if you dont FULLY make sure its engaged.

First time it happened I almost left a load in the seat, thought I broke something. :laugh:

I agree. Check your linkage. I had the same problem last spring. It ended up being the little plastic bushing that holds the linkage in its pivit and a bent linkage rod. The plastic bushing gets very brittle with heat and time and will break. If you didn't drop the t-case while doing the lift, it has to be something with the linkage.

P.S. Did you do the SYE when you did the lift and how much of a lift did you put on?

Laters...........Mikey

i remember climbing a dirt pile at a construction site and the t-case popped out of 4low and it sounded like it caught on the teeth of the gears inside the t-case. basically like trying to put a tranny in gear without your foot on the clutch pedal. a tear rolled down my cheek for the 231

The reality is you are gonna have to constantly tinker with your rig...but thats part of the fun...TC adjustments are a minor upturn in the learning curve..could be a lot worse...wheel a S-10 for a while and you will appreciate how easy the XJ is to work on...the really fun stuff involves a 36 mm socket, a couple of hammers and enough mud to make yer own personal pit...carnage happens...but if you can get back on yer own...you win. Yah gotta love it.

Did you get the SYE done at the same time as you did the lift? If so was it a hack-n-tap or the kind that replaces the rear cone and shaft. That may be your problem. If its the kind that replaces the shaft then they had to split the t-case to do the install. Maybe something got screwed up inside.

no its not a hack and tap...its the AA SYE and i had a performance jeep shop do it for me b/c i know nothing about t-cases...yea i had it done at the same time as doing a 4" lift, w/ no t-case drop. I will go check out the linkage after work tonight. Any thoughts on how to adj. the linkage if i find out this is the problem? And how exactly will i know thats the problem if it is? Thanks for all the responses