• NAXJA is having its 18th annual March Membership Drive!!!
    Everyone who joins or renews during March will be entered into a drawing!
    More Information - Join/Renew
  • Welcome to the new NAXJA Forum! If your password does not work, please use "Forgot your password?" link on the log-in page. Please feel free to reach out to [email protected] if we can provide any assistance.

Anyone have experience with JBs 6 pinion planetary for the 231?

Boostwerks.com

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Colorado
I'm trying to figure out what exactly it does? My previous experience with planetaries, is that they simply reverse the rotation inline of an input shaft. Is that what this does in the 231?

Has anyone had issues with their factory 3 pinion planetary? I'm thinking about getting a new 231 case from JB conversions which includes their upgraded 6 pinion planetary. I've never heard of anyone having issues with the factory design, so I'm wondering how much of an upgrade it really would be.

I'd like to rebuild my 231 at the same time if I we're to get an SYE, but for the price it almost seems like just purchasing their brand new case (fully upgraded) for $975 is a much better deal.

Any help/reccomendations would be great.

Thanks guys,
Bryson.
 
The 6 pinion upgrade makes the planetary assembly stronger(more teeth engaged) but doesn't alter the strength of the rest of the components. The 6 pinion cage is actually a stock part out of a NP-241 transfer case. Same cage casting, the -231 is only machined for 3 gears, if you look at one, you can see where the other 3 would go.

I don't know how good the upgrade is. I've never heard of the 3 pinion unit failing.
 
I have one of the JB Conversions NP231HD tcases, I bought it (ohmygawd....) 7 years ago. I have had no problems with it.
 
...,I'd like to rebuild my 231 at the same time if I we're to get an SYE, but for the price it almost seems like just purchasing their brand new case (fully upgraded) for $975 is a much better deal.
Thanks guys,
Bryson.

Oh, also the -231HD has a wider chain and chain gears then the standard -231.
 
The 6 pinion upgrade makes the planetary assembly stronger(more teeth engaged) but doesn't alter the strength of the rest of the components. The 6 pinion cage is actually a stock part out of a NP-241 transfer case. Same cage casting, the -231 is only machined for 3 gears, if you look at one, you can see where the other 3 would go.

I don't know how good the upgrade is. I've never heard of the 3 pinion unit failing.

I realize what the added gears do and I also know what the JB case includes (no offense). I simply don't know what the 231 planetary's function is (to fully understand how the added 3 pinions will benefit)? I'm assuming it does the same thing as a spur gear or "intermediate" gear does in a typical gear'd TC?

I have one of the JB Conversions NP231HD tcases, I bought it (ohmygawd....) 7 years ago. I have had no problems with it.

Damn. I had no idea they we're making them for that long. Do you have the super short SYE or the standard?

Thanks guys.
 
When I bought mine, they didn't have the super short. On an XJ, a super short SYE isn't really necessary.
 
The planetaries provide the gear reduction for 4lo.

I don't think anybody has ever honeslty broken the 3-pinions. I see a lot of people upgrade them, but I have no idea why. Lots of other things break first (rear output, front output, chain, housing).
 
When I bought mine, they didn't have the super short. On an XJ, a super short SYE isn't really necessary.

Agreed. I was just curious.

The planetaries provide the gear reduction for 4lo.

I don't think anybody has ever honeslty broken the 3-pinions. I see a lot of people upgrade them, but I have no idea why. Lots of other things break first (rear output, front output, chain, housing).

Thanks! Since the 6 pinion kit is $250 alone, I'm thinking about asking them if I could get a complete case with the 3 pinion and save some $.
 
im fairly certain the S10 231 is a 6 gear planetary and will swap right into the jeep 231.

The electrically operated S10 231C I found had a 4 gear planetary and a wide chain. The chain and it's gears swapped over to a 231J fine but the planetary didn't fit. After searching around and looking at part numbers (including this site: http://www.southwestgear.com/product_pages/np231_gear.htm) it appears that the cut of the planetary gears changed around 1994 from "wide" to "narrow" and the two are not interchangeable to ring gears of the opposite type.

$975 is about what a Tera 4:1 conversion kit goes for (http://www.moab4x4outpost.com/servlet/Detail?no=17), is that included in the JB offer or just a 231 with the beefier parts? You'd probably get more bang for the buck doing a 4:1 upgrade and still adding a SYE on top of it than the JB package.
 
Last edited:
you can get the tera 4:1 for a hell of alot lower than $975. call around
 
The electrically operated S10 231C I found had a 4 gear planetary and a wide chain. The chain and it's gears swapped over to a 231J fine but the planetary didn't fit. After searching around and looking at part numbers (including this site: http://www.southwestgear.com/product_pages/np231_gear.htm) it appears that the cut of the planetary gears changed around 1994 from "wide" to "narrow" and the two are not interchangeable to ring gears of the opposite type.

oh well.
 
$975 is about what a Tera 4:1 conversion kit goes for (http://www.moab4x4outpost.com/servlet/Detail?no=17), is that included in the JB offer or just a 231 with the beefier parts? You'd probably get more bang for the buck doing a 4:1 upgrade and still adding a SYE on top of it than the JB package.

Does the tera kit include an SYE? EDIT: Not interested. The kit would still require the purchase of many new parts to do a full rebuild, which would put the price well over the JB case.

you can get the tera 4:1 for a hell of alot lower than $975. call around

What kind of pricing have you seen?
 
Last edited:
Back
Top