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Novak Cable Shifter - No good for V8

929 views 11 replies 4 participants last post by  Boone96ZJ 
#1 ·
I always fought my Z bar linkage for the 242 that was swapped into my 96 5.2 ZJ with a 44RE. I decided to spring on the Novak 242 shift cable for 93-98 Grand Cherokees. The cable, brackets and all hardware are top notch. The brackets installed no problem except the TC mount. I should have gotten suspicious when the bracket was basically pressed up against the transmission.

When I went to install the cable, I ran into several problems. The loop is too sharp for the cable plus the transmission cooling line, kickdown cable and gear select cable are all in the way of where the cable needs to loop. I then noticed that the holes in the brackets for the cable are not parallel. The cable would have been kinked/cock-eyed. I tried for 3 hours to figure out a way to make it work. There is just no way.

I took it all off and called Novak. They said it should work but I am betting that if you have a 4.0 with AW4 you will have no problems. The AW4 has less girth through the middle than a 44RE. It is also a lot longer. The tech on the phone told me I was doing something wrong, which I was not. I am a highly competent shade tree mechanic. I mean I did rebuild my 44a in my driveway lol. The Novak tech was condescending the entire time and said fine send it back.

I am not ranting about Novak at all, matter of fact I recommend them if you have an AW4 with a 242. If you have a 44re, don't bother. I forgot to take pictures because it was 330am when I gave up and took it all back off. In the red circle is everything that is in the way of the Novak Cable.
 

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#3 ·
Right now the shifter is so smooth because there is nothing connected to it. Just driving around in 2 HI. I ordered a boostwerks linkage and it will be here tomorrow. Guy at Boostwerks told me to get some 3/8 fine thread rod and cut it 5.5 inches long to make it work since he makes it for the 4.0 only. He said he has plans to build for v8 and this is the measurements he got.

Will update on that linkage when I get it.
 
#6 ·
I had to modify the shifter tab of the Novak kit, because the rectangular slot was not oriented correctly. I built a new tab using my original 242 tab.

I also had to slightly cut and reweld the cable bracket that mounts to the transmission/ TC studs. That was only because I have lifted my driviline up @ the transmission mount an extra inch, and there was not enough clerance between the bracket and TC shifter bucket.


Cable routing was a bit of a pain, but I got it to work perfectly. It sure makes a fairly steep bend, but it's not too sharp to cause any issues. I've had the kit for a couple years now. Been very happy with it :)
 
#9 ·
..damn the laptop in my garage is slow. Took forever to process one raw-image file into a .jpg :rolleyes:

Not the best picture in the world, but you can see the cable routed above the cooler port, behind the TV-cable and shifter cables. It has a tight bend which I was initially worried about, but it's been working great for the past two years I've had it.

 
#10 ·
1. you have AN fitting cooler lines that are not routed like the factory line which was the biggest obstacle. It went 90* up then 90* toward the passenger front wheel. Huge PITA.
2. not sure if they are that much different but you have a 46re.
3. That cable looks way longer than the one they sent me. Mine didn't reach the kickdown linkage. It tried to loop immediately out of the TC bracket up to the body bracket and it hit the factory cooler line.. like the one in this picture.. see how it bends up and back to passenger side.
 
#11 ·
I installed the cable shifter when I still had OEM cooler lines & fittings.
If anyhthing, 46RE is larger than 44RE. IIRC they are very close to same size though.

Edit: Novak may have sent you wrong parts, or they possibly redesigned something? Whatever the case, it's not good if the parts don't work. It is an expensive system so it should work well.
 
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