help with tranny

My tranny died so now I am going to replace mine. First off ill start by saying i have a 89 xj laredo aw4 with a np242. My question is can i use any year aw4 as long as i change the transfer case. and can someone tell me what year they changed the spline count on the aw4.
thanks

You seem to be taking it well. A good tranny is hard to find. Lol

91 they changed the spline count

so can i use a 91 up as long as i change my transfer case all the connections will be the same/

I just did this exact same thing. I have an 87 and I put in a 93 tranny with a mid 90s 231 TC. Everything bolts up fine, but there are a few things you'll need to play with:

1. There will be a bunch of vacuum hoses on the old TC - just rip them off and cap the lines up in the engine bay - the new TC doesn't use them.
3. The old TC will have a mechanical spedo cable going into it, the new TC will have an electric one. You can unbolt the assembly off the old TC and bolt it into the new one. Its very easy.
4. You'll need to put your old CPS onto the new tranny - they have different wire connectors. This is a good time to go buy a new CPS.

Also, while you have it all out - change the front pump seal and the rear output seal on the tranny. You can also change the output seal on the TC if you want.

I also pulled the front pump out and replaced the o-ring that goes around it - I didn't want any leaks. Its a dealer part only and taking the pump out is a pain - you either need a slide hammer, or you need to take the bellhousing off and pound it out.

This is all very fresh in my mind, so shoot me a PM if you want any more info on doing the swap.

Oh, and don't forget to buy a new filter and gasket for the new tranny - its really easy to chage while you have the exhaust down-piece removed.

Did you check to make sure that the tps is good before you decided your trans was bad? Iv'e seen more than a couple of people replace an aw4 thinking it was bad only to end up with a second non functioning trans until I told them to check the tps.

yes just put the new motor in. changed everything from the computer , tps, cps. all new sensors. The tranny thats in it was soupose to be rebuilt (so the guy told me). But then latter found out that it had sat for about 6 years. It did fine for a while and about a month ago started slipping and now the put has gone out. I do plan on rebuilding the tranny that i have now but dont have the money to do so right yet. So im going to my local pap and hgoing to pull a newer model aw4. Just so that i can get her back on the road.
Thanks for all the info