I found some extra stuff in my 242...

So I pulled the drain plug today to see if my worries were true...and to see if I was in fact running on a dry 242. Turns out I had about a quart in there. Which is good considering it has been showing signs of a severe leak in the last few months.

All was good till I noticed some chunks of something sitting by the drain hole. A little poking around and I managed to get out this...



The silver-ish/bigger piece is magnetic and appears to be cast. The other darker ones appear to be a metal...but I'm unsure, non-magnetic though, so maybe aluminum or even ceramic? And there's a bigger piece of what feels like it may be the rest of the magnetic piece inside the t-case that I can't get out...it's maybe an inch long piece, fairly straight and jagged.

So does anyone have an idea of what this could be? I've been getting a grinding noise from the t-case under normal driving (constant hum type deal) and I noticed a month ago that if I spun the front driveshaft it would make a grinding noise near the t-case. 4 wheel drive in all aspects has been working great though, neutral works as well.

How hard is it to pull a 242 in the driveway and replace it? Will it (likely) be easier to just try and repair whatever broke with the 242 inside the car still?

And how can all those chunks of whatever end up at the bottom of the t-case and seemingly not effect anything? Bearing maybe?

Thanks!

Hmm it kind of looks like part of the internal pump (do 242's have those like 231's do?) That would be my only guess if nothing else has really been affected. The pump for the 231 is located at the back near the tailcone, so if its the same for the 242 that could be your grinding source

Honestly, it is much easier to just go get a new case and swap it out. Way too much stuff that fell out of your case to make me even want to put it back together, when the parts will cost more than a new junkyard case.

I went through the same thing, I had howling when ever I put it in 4, especially if I used full-time. This is what fell out of my case when I took it apart, I have yet to find where they go though. They are non-metallic.



While the pump is the same design on the 242 as the 231, those parts are not from the internal pump.

Well looks like I need to hunt down a good write-up to swap my t-case. I have a 242 out of my old rig I can put in...but I seem to recall removing it from the tranny was a pain when it was out of the rig. So I'm not so sure I'm looking forward to swapping one under the rig.

Removing it isn't that bad, it's only 6 nuts. The toughest one when doing it in the rig is the one at the top, gotta lower the drivetrain a bit on a jack... and the one behind the transfer case shift linkage bracket is never a fun time, I wish I could find the idiot who designed that thing.

Are both your drivetrains original? If they are the one from your old rig should swap right on, otherwise it might be a different spline count on the input gear, 23 spline vs 21 spline.

kastein said:

Removing it isn't that bad, it's only 6 nuts. The toughest one when doing it in the rig is the one at the top, gotta lower the drivetrain a bit on a jack... and the one behind the transfer case shift linkage bracket is never a fun time, I wish I could find the idiot who designed that thing.

Are both your drivetrains original? If they are the one from your old rig should swap right on, otherwise it might be a different spline count on the input gear, 23 spline vs 21 spline.

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Well my last rig was an '89 AW4/242. My current rig is an '88 AW4/242. Both are limiteds with all the options. As far as I know they should swap directly in, only bummer is I need to swap the outer shafts as well...because I have a hack n' tap SYE on my new rig.

How impossible are the top bolts? I mean, would it be realistic getting them off under a 20 year old Jeep with 180k on it from Alaska/Washington? (no salt really...but lots of water/mud)

I used a ratcheting wrench, i think 1/2 or 9/16, and lowered the trans down alittle bit. Its not to difficult but the space is alittle tight. Once loose, i just pull it off the trans onto my chest and roll it over onto a creeper or something to pull it out from under the jeep easier. If its junk you can just let it fall off the trans, be sure to have oil catch pans and the speedo disconnected

You really shouldn't see anything by the drain hole except for the pickup/screen that is pretty much right behind the drain plug.

Begster, that broken circular thing in your image looks like the magnetic.

Swapping the transfercase isn't too bad, I've done it a few times now.

Talyn said:

Begster, that broken circular thing in your image looks like the magnetic.

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Nope it wasn't the magnet. As I said above, it was non-metallic, most likely plastic. This is was my magnet, under the copious layer of metal shavings.

Most of the pieces in the picture from the OP look like they could be the black rubber plug from the side of the 242 TC. After this plug is bathed in hot ATF for a few years it gets hard and breaks easily.

Did you ever find the cause of your TC leak, or does it just apper as Dexron 3 all over the case and the chassis from there back? If you did not find the source of the leak, check to see if there is a rubber plug in the side of the TC, about 2" ahead of where the shift rod enters the case. If you have an FSM, consult the 242 exploded view. It is item # 55. The part number has changed a few times over the years. The current production Jeep part number is 00015105 and the list price is $1.50.

When driving to Moab in September, I started noticing specks of oil on the hatch. The crankcase, steering and AW4 were not leaking any fluid. I dropped the TC skid plate before Elephant Hill and had to add 12 ounces of Dexron 3. A missing plug will cause a slow leak with no obvious source.

I just wanted to add OverlandXJ put me on to this one; I am not smart enough to figure it out on my own :dunce:.
Thanks John :wave: I sure hope you are done with his 242 now.

MoFo said:

Most of the pieces in the picture from the OP look like they could be the black rubber plug from the side of the 242 TC. After this plug is bathed in hot ATF for a few years it gets hard and breaks easily.

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If its the same plug I am thinking of (close to the shift rail) its only about 3/8". Mine came out at one time too.

Yes, the plug covers access to the spirol pin for the shift fork. It is about 3/8" diamater and hollow. The ridge at the outside end is only about 1/32" wide and most of the plug is inside the TC. If it gets bumped from the outside, it will likely break and end up inside.

Alright so I checked for the rubber plug, and I couldn't feel anything. I took a screwdriver and was able to push it in the hole pretty far...so I'm not sure how big this plug is, but sounds like it might be missing? So that could explain the rubber?

I also managed to dig out the rest of the metal chunks...it is a pretty soft metal (now at least) whatever it was. The question is now, what is it?

IMAG0044.jpg by schmitz516, on Flickr

IMAG0043 by schmitz516, on Flickr
The metal seems to have 'layers' like it was folded over at least once, it's possible it may have been a tube at some point...but I doubt it.

I'm trying to avoid swapping my case at all cost unless necessary (winter is supposed to be harsh this year...so if this case might go, I need to replace it now). The case doesn't appear to have much if any play in it. I've never had trouble getting into 4wd once it was adjusted properly. And to top it all off...I now realize the noise I've been hearing could likely have been caused by my drivers side hub and axle blowing up and me driving on it for awhile. Although it's far less likely the hub/axle have been busted for as long as I've been hearing the noise.

Whatever it is that broke off, can it be repaired/replaced easily with the t-case in the rig? Is it a necessary part?

My big dilemma for avoiding a swap is my old t-case out of my last rig has 210k on it, this one has 175k. And my old one has a lot of slop when I spin the shafts...my current one does not. Also my current t-case has an SYE already. What should I do ?

The only tube in there is for the oil pickup. As I said before you shouldn't really be able to see much though the drain hole aside from the plastic screen, which is shown in begester's post. It sounds like its missing.

Btt. Is it safe to keep this case under the rig through the winter?

I wouldn't,if you have parts running around loose in there you could do some major damage.

Well I opened the case up with it still attached to the tranny...here's what I found.






I discovered the oil pick-up tube and filter are completely missing, minus the metal chunks that are left. It appears no real damage was done though, everything seems pretty smooth, the chain is in good shape and doesn't drag/pull from the gear too much. The only problem I noticed is the bearing pressed into the rear case is toast, it looks like some metal got inside and jammed it up, still spins as a whole but not the individual rollers. The only thing I'm really finding inside the case is bits and pieces of the oil filter and a bunch of black rubber pieces...which I imagine are either from that front drain plug on the top of the case, or something else that I haven't noticed yet.

So to me, it seems like I should be able to throw a new oil pick-up tube in there and new bearing and be OK, correct? Maybe drain the oil after running it for a bit and try and work out the extra crap?