transfer case fluid

how do i change my transfer case fluid?

ive tried a search but havent come up w/ anything?

any good tutorials with pictures out there?

Park it level, crawl under, the transfer case is shiny aluminum and it connects to the front drive shaft and you will see either two hex plugs or two big bolts facing the rear end. Get appropriate hex or socket, put drain pan under lower bolt/hex, remove bolt, allow to drain, remove upper bolt, once drained reinstall lower bolt, add ATF to upper bolt hole and fill till it runs out the top, reinstall top bolt/plug, done.

ATF = automatic transmission fluid?
if so, what kind should i use for a 97 xj?

Dexron II/III should be fine. It's a lubricant in there, so clutches aren't anything to worry about (yes, automatic transmissions have clutches. They're inside, and there are a lot of them...)

5-90

should i use dexron for the transmission too?

how do i drain/change the transmission fluid?

You'll want to confirm what to use in the transmission with someone here who owns a late-model (I'm reasonably sure it's DexIII,) but you can use the same fluid in both your transmission and engine, once you figure out what it is.

As far as changing the transmission fluid, there should be a drain plug in the pan - pull it, and you should get right about four quarts. I like to put a big magnet in the drain stream and watch for metal particles - as long as the fluid comes our red (vice brown or black) and the magnet doesn't get "fuzzy," I'm happy just refilling it and getting back to work. There is a filter, but it's little more than a sump strainer and will keep the pump from sucking up gear teeth and thinge like that (and if you pump is trying to suck up gear teeth, you have bigger problems.)

Refill with four quarts of DexII/III or ATF+3 (check here - we've got a lot of late-model XJ's floating about) through the dipstick tube. You should find two when you look under the hood - the forward one is for engine oil, and the rearward one (with a larger tube) is for the transmission. I usually end up painting the transmission handle red and the engine one yellow to make sure anyone can tell them apart. Find a funnel that will fit in the tube mouth, and pour slowly.

5-90

DexronIII. Don't let the stealership give you the new Dexron 4 crap or whatever the hell it is it is for chryslers newer trannies and the AW-4s don't like it to much. Tranny and T-case use the same fluid. Remember this is only for autos. Manuals use gear oil just like the diffs. You don't even have to pull the pan on the AW-4s they ahve a niffty drain plug. Don't see tomany of those on autos.

There's the AW-4 from a '96 - clearly calling for Dex-II. Dex-III is alright in there, but as noted by my fellow Jarhead Jeeper, don't use Dex-IV. Dealerships tend to try to use ATF+ because that's what the Chrysler trannies use...but the AW-4 isn't one.

The transfer case uses Dex-III as well. When you lay under it looking forward and up you'll notice there are two large hex-heads (or possibly two small 3/8" recessed heads) on the left side. The upper one is fill, the lower one is drain. If you have the large bolts, they use a 1 3/16" wrench. I would recommend making sure you can open the fill hole before attempting the drain one...

If you look in the manual it calls for Dex-III but for some reason the plug has that DEX-II Stamped on it. The AW-4 man. on the computer says that it need Dex-II or mopar mercon and the FSM says that dex-II will cause clutch chatter and is not recomended.