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Swap '96 4WD Diffs and T-Case into 2001 2WD?

seanof30306@yahoo.

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Tulsa, Ok
OK, so I have a 96 XJ Up Country w/NP242.

Just had the front and rear differentials rebuilt; new hubs on the front, and the limited slip unit rebuilt in the rear. Got over 2 grand in them.

I love my Jeep, but the paint is crap, it got sideswiped, and the interior sucks. I'd also much prefer to have a 2-door.

I just found a great deal on a low-mile 2001 2WD XJ.

My thought is to swap the front and rear diffs between the two, making the '2001 a 4WD that I could keep, and the '96 a 2WD that I could sell.

I wanted to swap in the NP242 T-case from the '96 in the '01 as well, but I've been told it won't work with the 2001 2Wd transmission. Is that correct?

If that won't work, the other option I'm wondering about would be to get a reman NP242 for a 2001 XJ. Would that bolt up to a 2WD 2001 AW4?

My next question is, would the 2001 2WD TCU work. If not, would the '96 4WD TCU swap over, or would I need to get a TCU for a 2001 TCU?

How about the harness?

And would the 2001 2WD have the 4WD lights in the dash? Is it just a matter of hooking up the harness, I would I have to get and install them?

Thanks,
 
2WD transmission has a different tail assembly than 4WD transmission. All the stuff that's usually in the transfer case (speedo gear and rear output shaft) is in the 2WD transmission. You can't replace the tail assembly very easily either, basically a transmission swap

The rest of it will all swap though. Transfer case is basically the same for 96-01. Axles will swap too, they are different from what came in 00/01 but they will swap directly.
 
Everything will bolt up. Best bet for the trans is to find a 98-01 donor trans and then it would be plug and play. Everything else from the 96 would work fine though.
 
2wd ECU will not be compatible with a manual trans.
swap your axles into the new rig and dont waste your time making the old rig complete unless you really think someone will buy it. a side-swiped 2wd bastardized rig probably wont be high on the desirable vehicle list. save your effort and just strip the old rig and scrap it.
look for a donor 4wd 2001 that you can steal the trans/tcase from as well as the driveshafts, cross member and shift linkage from, to complete the 4wd swap.
put the effort into the new rig.
 
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