• 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.

NP207 to NP424AMC Swap in progress

Scatterbrained

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Skagit County
Well today is the day for a swap to an NP242. I figgured that I would write up the swap as I go to let you see what it takes to do it. I got the 242 from Keaton to do the swap. The case came from what I assume is an 88/89 Cherokee.
IMG_0638.jpg
IMG_0639.jpg


I also picked up a few new greasable Universal Joints for the front and rear drive shafts.
The length of the case, although it should be about the same, should allow me to remove the homebrew transfer case drop that I installed when I lifted my jeep.

My XJ is 1984 and came with the weak NP207, which means that although it is not a NP231, the NP242 is a significant upgrade to the stock case. This gets rid of the weak cv style front drive line and gives me a Double Cardin that is less prone to breakage. Anyone who has owned an 84 or 85 with this set up knows what I mean. Trail failure is a regular and the upgrade replacement from my local parts store is a bit too much money to make it worth keeping.

Dont get me wrong, My NP207 has served me well. It is not broken, has no leaks or cracks, and shifts fine. Its just that my new case gives me a lower 4WL gear ratio and an easy swap to a new front drive shaft.

I will be back to document the progress throughout the day.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sounds like a good swap. I considered swapping in a 231 but decided that my 207 was doing just fine. Just to let you know you can swap in a regular double cardan front driveshaft really easy onto a 207, you just have to swap the front transfer case output yoke. I did this myself and am really happy with the results. The output yoke on a 231 (not sure about a 242) should slide right onto the 207. If you are looking for a SYE for the 242 or the 207, Tom Woods has SYE's for them both. One of the plus's of a 207 though is that it is one of the easiest transfer cases to take apart and rebuild.
 
So, I have gotten the NP242 in place. The output shaft seems to be a problem. It fits the transmission for splines. Linkage seems to be an issue also. I have fulltime 4hi right now. I think it seems to be backwards. I will be looking for shift linkage from a 242 equipped xj to see the differences. Anyhow, we got about 2 feet of snow on the ground now. I have to put the swap away for a bit.
 
Back
Top