96 grand cherokee transfer case info needed

[kirkandsylvia]

yeah...just went out and read that tag...looks like there is an "89 1" number on it....assuming the 89 is the year. Back to the drawing board. Looks like I am in need of a np 242 t.c. closer to the 96 yr of my ZJ.

[6spdYJ]

All np's should have the date on the round tag on the back.

[kirkandsylvia]

theres a twist...Im not sure of the year of my 242....this should get interesting

[FishPOET]

I seem to remember that there was a year cutoff that you had to pay attention to on the TCs. Something like pre 93 had different cut gears on the input shaft.

[kirkandsylvia]

Cool....thanks for the much needed info.

[FishPOET]

The trans in ZJs and XJs are not the same. It doesn't matter though because you can change input shafts.

[kirkandsylvia]

Does it matter what vehicle the 242 came out of? Im not sure if the 242 was out of a grand cherokee, or a regular cherokee. If the trans is the same model in both....is the swap straight forward?

[FishPOET]

The 242 was one of 3 TCs available in 1996 ZJs and it is a pretty straight forward swap for a 249. The other was a 231. If you want to retain part time and full time 4wd then 242 is the way to go. If you just want part time 4wd then 231 is the way to go.

http://www.nagca.com/forum/showthread.php?t=24189

[kirkandsylvia]

Ok, I picked up a 96 grand cherokee limited yesterday and it needs a new transfer case. Its slipping and making a popping sound under load. Its a np 249....which I believe is a quadra trac. I have a np242 in my garage that I know is in good shape. Can it be swapped in to the grand cherokee and what would need to be done to make that happen? I understand that the input shaft of the t.c would need to be changed to match the output of the trans....what about the speedo cable? It looks like on the np249, the speedo cable connection is different. Any ideas, and anything else I need to know? Is there a better t.c than the np242 that will work with out any changes needed?