• 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.

242 remove output shaft

4x4JeePmaNthINg

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Colorado
Np242j
Can anyone point me to a teardown of the 99 xj 242. I need to remove the rear output shaft, and have read bearings will fall out. Looking for better info

Thank you
 
Buy a proper SYE from Advance Adaptors. It will come with instructions. Advance Adaptors used to make the 242 SYE and Tom Woods was the exclusive seller but that exclusive agreement has ended so you can buy direct from AA now.

Or buy the factory service manual for your vehicle.

You do need a good pair of snap ring pliers. The $14-17.99 ones from Sears/Craftsman ones are OK, but the SRP2B from Snap On are better. 10 or 13 mm 12 point socket for the top bolt, and a tube of Permatex/Loctite Gray and some vasoline to hold the needles in place from Wal Mart are the only "special tools" you need.

Just be sure to keep the RTV as far away from the oil pump tabs as possible. If too much is used too close it gets under the tabs, cocks the pump and you will destroy the oil pump seal. Not just the rubber part of the seal, but the metal part will get ground out.
 
Last edited:
im trying to get this machined to save money and do this properly. The AA sye is half the cost of TW, but still quite expensive. I just dont care to break taps and drill bits in a working DD case, thus machining is a good option.

is the service manual really needed? it seems the 242 is very easy to work on minus the needle bearings. other than getting them back where they go is there some other special reassembly needed for the case? there's videos and chat on working on a 242 but nothing ive found that really shows removing then replacing the output shaft. even the TW instructions for their sye is vague.

reading that the gears and shafts pull out easily im not worried about performing this, but rather getting the bearings back to where they need to be properly.
 
In my opinion, the hack 'n tap is just that, a hack repair job. Why not just pay the $200 for the proper SYE shaft? If you buy the AA kit it comes with all the instructions you need. There is nothing really complicated about the 242 or its needle bearings. Just use some vasoline to hold them in place for reassembly. Since the 242 is lubricated with ATF and vasoline has a low melting temperature, vasoline is fine for assembly. Having a FSM is a good start to any repair job you're unfamiliar with. I bought the TW 242 SYE kit back when they were the exclusive distributor and the instructions were perfectly adequate.
 
Well I think he's trying to take it to machine shop rather than put it in reverse at idle and drill away. I had forgotten how much those cost. I successfully forgot what I paid for mine back when you had to buy them from TW. The 242 is not hard to work on. Following the instructions provided with the SYE kit I did not have any problems. I did it on the vehicle since removing the case seemed like more work. Some people like to remove them and do them on a bench. Just don't loose the needles & put some vasoline on the them to hold them in place for reassembly.
 
Do yourself a favor and get a good lock ring pliers like these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009OR974/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Snap ring pliers don't hold the ring very well and it's a lot harder to get the rings off the shaft.

Other than that, it's not stupid hard to get the case apart. Getting the seal out of the tail housing does require some finesse but you have to remove it to get at the first lock ring that is used as a bearing retainer in the tail housing. You can't get anything apart until that comes out. Once that's out, you can pull the tail housing off. Then the lock ring that is on the other side of the tail housing bearing. Then the rear case half comes off. Then you either pull the front yoke or remove the lock ring on the front output shaft (depending on which version is in your case). Then the chain comes off. Then you pull the tail shaft.

The tail shaft comes out with the differential still attached. Getting at the lock ring that holds the two together is especially difficult with snap ring pliers and the lock ring pliers makes it so much easier. When you pull the shaft, the 53(I think) roller bearings will fall everywhere so take it apart over something like a rubber tub that can catch them all. There's a gear with a thrust bearing in the mix. Be absolutely sure you pay attention to how it comes off so you can put it back on the same way.

Do what you need to with the shaft. Then put it all back together. Clean off the mating surfaces thoroughly and make sure any debris is cleaned out. Use petroleum jelly or axle grease to hold the roller bearings in place before you put the tail shaft into the differential. There will be basically no space between them once they're all in place so if you have a gap, you're either missing at least one roller or you've bunched them up a little on one side and you'll knock it out when you put the shaft back in. When putting the back case half back on, make sure the pickup tube is connected to the pump after it's back together or you'll destroy the case in short order.

It's probably a good idea to take pictures as you go so you can see what it is supposed to look like as you put it back together.
 
ThatGrimmJeeper;246495235 Then the lock ring that is on the other side of the tail housing bearing. Then the rear case half comes off. Then you either pull the front yoke or remove the lock ring on the front output shaft (depending on which version is in your case). Then the chain comes off. Then you pull the tail shaft. [/QUOTE said:
After pulling the rear output lock ring and removing the case half, shouldn't I be able to pull the front& rear output gear off the shaft, then obviously remove thge read shaft and planetary.(without removing the front shaft)
Or is that the only way it all comes out?
 
There are several lock rings that need to come off. It will probably make more sense once you get into it. Nothing needs to be measured, it all fits back together, a bit loser than you might be comfortable with, but you will probably learn to dislike lock rings within 5 minutes. There are tabs on the two sides of the case where you can fit a screwdriver to pry the case apart. Be careful with the prying because its aluminum. A big heavy dead blow will help break the RTV seal on the tail housing. Since you are not buying a replacement SYE you need to make sure you don't break the tail housing getting the seal out.
 
You can pull the tcase in an hour then take the whole case down to your machinist.
Faster and easier than tearing it apart under the jeep

machine the shaft in the case? haha that sounds like a win but im not sure how a machinist would respond, supporting the case, movement in the shaft while working on it????.. ill look into the option though i am not a machinist nor do i know what this would entail for one.
 
machine the shaft in the case? haha that sounds like a win but im not sure how a machinist would respond, supporting the case, movement in the shaft while working on it????.. ill look into the option though i am not a machinist nor do i know what this would entail for one.

This is pretty much all he is going to do.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pG-d13ikmcc

Honestly if you have the ability to pull a tcase or remove the shaft you can manage this on your own
 
After pulling the rear output lock ring and removing the case half, shouldn't I be able to pull the front& rear output gear off the shaft, then obviously remove thge read shaft and planetary.(without removing the front shaft)
Or is that the only way it all comes out?

You have to pull the chain (and the 2 gears the chain rides on) to get the rear output shaft out of the case.

Some of the cases come with a front output shaft that is splined and the separate gear is held on with a lock ring. Some cases have a single piece machined front gear/output shaft that requires pulling the front yoke off to get whole thing out and the chain off.

Just depends on what year you're working with.
 
Back
Top