249 -> 242 swap completed *pics* - Page 6

j.love · 11-08-2007, 11:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by li'l jeep

hmm, thats an interesting option. do you have any pics? is it easy to change over the internals?

as far as the leaking question, my new t/c will prolly have an external slipyoke. no leakage, but no pressure from the rear drive shaft is there a chance of it slipping out? wow bad thought in my head on that, o boy that'd suck. then i'll have a leak!!

Trouble Maker
"the only "mod" is to drill a 5/16 hole in the 249 front half for the rubber plug used to access the 242 low range fork lock pin. My "249/242" case has been in my ZJ for a year and a half and over 20K miles with zero problems."

This is the hole he is talking about.
You need to remove the pin to get the forks off and then installed back in, on the 242. The 249 doesn't have this hole.

from the outside...

inside...

The extractor you need to get it out.

To tear the 249 case down..

This link is for taking off the first part .. The vc removal.

http://www.masoncomputing.com/np249/

With that done you can follow disassembly on the first page of this thread, and on the other links..

**li'l jeep** · 11-08-2007, 11:50 AM

cool thanks alot. with all the different info, i'll have a whole compilation. was wondering though, why can't I use a shaft out of a ZJ with a 242? (i think the driveshaft is supposed to be shortened?)

**Trouble Maker** · 11-08-2007, 06:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by li'l jeep

is it easy to change over the internals?

Hardest part is swapping the 242 front output shaft and gear into the 249 front case half, if you have an impact wrench is is an easy job. You also have to swap the 242 shifter shaft into the 249 case.

As for the hole it is easy to see where to drill it when you have the cases side by side. I drilled mine to 5/16 and then tapped it with a 1/8 NPT tap so I could use a threaded plug instead of the rubber plug.

The shifter seems to be the biggest problem people run into with this swap. With 5 positions on the 242 shifter in the same place as 3 with the 249 the shifter is very vague and it is hard to engage 4 low and 2wd hi at either end of the shift pattern. It can be adjusted to work but it doesn't "feel" right and it is sometimes hard to tell what drive mode you are in. Got tired my shifter and bought the Novak shifter. Shifts way better and is easy to feel the detents between modes. I had to trim the corner of my console to make it fit and seal the hole with a shift boot from a Chevy Tracker but it was worth it. The Novak shifter does reverse the shift pattern though and takes a little getting used to.

**li'l jeep** · 11-08-2007, 07:21 PM

you got any pics of that novak shfter?

**Trouble Maker** · 11-08-2007, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by li'l jeep

you got any pics of that novak shfter?

I'll try tomorrow in the daylight if I remember. Here's a link to it for now.........

http://www.novak-adapt.com/catalog/kit_sk2x.htm

**li'l jeep** · 11-08-2007, 11:18 PM

oh okay thanks man...i was just wondering what it looked like. looks like a nice shifter! i might just use that...i still dunno, i have to see basically what my ultimate finished product will be.

i think i am gonna just do the swap with th T/C off the same year truck. it should made up to the input gear and then i can just cut or order a new year drive shaft...

ghcoe · 12-16-2007, 02:16 PM

I did a 242 conversion in my 1994 GC. I got a TC out of a 1997 GC. The gear cut was different so I had to mod the front TC housing on the 249. It is pretty straight forward as far as drilling the hole. As for getting the drift pin out of the shifter I had to get a long drill bit the same sized as the pin. I then knocked the pin in far enough so that the drill bit would fit just inside the drift pin hole. I then drilled it out. I could not get the pin out any other way. I tried the extractor, but was unable to get it to bite enough to pull the pin out. I just reused the pin that was in the 249. I did only set the pin in far enough to hold the shifter on reassembly just in case I needed to take the shifter out again. Good thing I did because I had to take it apart quite a few times until I figured out what I was doing. Also, you will need to change the front shaft yoke from the 242 to the 249 front case half. My conversion took me two days, I was working alone. I could do the same conversion knowing what I know now easily in a day, maybe in a half a day. The drive shaft on mine did need to be shortened about a 1 1/2 inches. I have a 2 inch BB installed. It cost me $80.00 to have it shortened.

blovingier · 12-27-2007, 08:15 PM

EMTimZJ, how much fluid came out when you pulled that seal off the back of the tranny and how fast did it flow out? I know it's been awhile since you did all that, but was just curious if you remembered or not. I need to replace mine, but didn't have the right seal when I changed out the bearing seal on the TCase today. Thanks.

cherokeeguy89 · 12-28-2007, 04:55 PM

Hello, This may be a stupid question, but I have a NP249, and how can I tell if my VC has gone bad? I hear of lots of people having their's go bad, and my jeep has 184,233K miles on it. I think mine is still in working order, but I am looking for a good excuse to swap to a NV242. When I am wheeling, I am pretty sure that when my tires spin, they are spinning both on the rear axle and the front axle. That leads me to assume that the VC in my NP249 is still working.

Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Kruzin · 12-28-2007, 05:38 PM

Drive the Jeep till it's at operationg temps.
Go to a parking lot, and drive some slow, tight figure 8s.
If the front tires bind or skip in the tight turns, your VC is bad or going bad.

cherokeeguy89 · 12-28-2007, 06:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kruzin

Drive the Jeep till it's at operationg temps.
Go to a parking lot, and drive some slow, tight figure 8s.
If the front tires bind or skip in the tight turns, your VC is bad or going bad.

Ok, I will give this a try tonight. If I do not have any results with this method, is there any other way of checking without taking it to a stealership?

Kruzin · 12-28-2007, 06:12 PM

If the front end isn't binding up in Full time AWD (it WILL bind up in 4-lo), and you are confident that the AWD/4WD is working, you don't have a problem.

cherokeeguy89 · 12-28-2007, 08:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kruzin

If the front end isn't binding up in Full time AWD (it WILL bind up in 4-lo), and you are confident that the AWD/4WD is working, you don't have a problem.

Alright, Yeah I am pretty sure everything is still in working order. I might just drop in a 242 anyway.

Ds4x4 · 12-28-2007, 08:20 PM

your wheels will hop/bind when you turn to lock either way. thats if your vc is showing signs of wear or bad

**EMTimZJ** · 12-28-2007, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by blovingier

EMTimZJ, how much fluid came out when you pulled that seal off the back of the tranny and how fast did it flow out? I know it's been awhile since you did all that, but was just curious if you remembered or not. I need to replace mine, but didn't have the right seal when I changed out the bearing seal on the TCase today. Thanks.

Not any fluid spilled out at all