time consuming, thats about the hardest part except for getting your hands in there to undo the bolts that hold it onto the tranny

best thing i could say is- if you have never done anything like it before lay under your jeep for about 5-10 minutes to look and see how everything goes together, then when the time comes jack it up and put jack stands under BOTH axles (make sure they are very secure) undo front and rear drivelines, speedometer cable, use a good sized floor jack to support the transmission or something sturdy (being careful not to dent the pan)
the shape of the t-case makes it difficult to use a floor jack to support it while you are removing it so it is best to leave it bolted to the crossmember and place the jack underneath the crossmember then undo the bolts securing it to the tranny, and after its all loose you will have to remove the 4 bolts holding the crossmember on then drop the floor jack down very slowly, just enough the clear the bolts for the crossmember and then comes the tricky part, it is easier to have a pretty strong guy helping you cause he will have to balance the t-case on the jack while you slide it back away from the tranny about 3 inches and then it will be free enough to lower the rest of the way down

i think i covered everything, but who knows i slip sometimes, hope this helped a little

 

i knew id forget something

dont forget to undo the linkage before dropping it

 

I heard that there are spline count differences to the tranny or the axle??? or something like that.

Is it basically a drop out drop in solution with some sweat and blood or is there machining and what not???

 

i have heard too that there are spline count differences too but havent experianced any yet

i think the only differences in them would be if it were bolted to a standard tranny it would be a different count than if it were bolted to an automatic
if you have an automatic and you are getting a t-case from another auto then you shouldnt have a problem and it should be the same for standards too

 

I swapped a 242 where a 231 sat in my 95, almost out of necessity. I got the 242 really cheap. Just make sure to measure everything up on your case first. My 231 and 242 were almost identical in length and mounting locations. The linkage was the same and everything. Your electrical connector at the top of the case may not plug right in. Make sure you get one with the 242. The crossmember will fit right up, although I think you should get a new mount for the 242. I reused mine from the 231, but had a tough time getting the bolt holes to line up. The driveshaft from my 231 was fine. I've put about 18K miles on it already, and its still fine. After 91 or 92, spline counts are all the same, as long as you have a 4.0L. You can check this on car-part.com, a boneyard database. They have all of the particulars if you do a few searches and look at the information.

Good luck.
Mike

 

I beleive the spline count has to do with the trans!If you have the aw4 trans or RE what ever Trans!Try To buy the same year ,same trans if you can!
I put a 92/ 242 in place of a 93/ 249 in my ZJ it was direct bolt in for the most part!I also had a 231 in there No problem!

 

Thanks all...

doesn't sound like too hard of a swap as long as everything matches for the later years.

I cannot find a decent Cherokee around here w/ the 242, either they are trashed or way too much. Lots of 231 rigs around though in good shape...

 

I've got a NV242 for sale. Bought it about 1.5 years ago to put in my MJ when I was dreaming about making it this great road-trip rig.... I've taken plenty of road-trips and I still have the NV242 sitting in the back of my YJ

I'm selling the MJ so this X-case has to go too.

 

Aside of having "part-time" and "full-time" 4WD, what is the advantage in swapping it out? My instrument panel has the lights for the full time 4wd, but I only use it on the dirt anyway. What little I did use it on the street, it was snowing so badly here, that I'd probabbly used part time anyway. Is it a stronger transfer case overall? Does "full time" bind up less than the "part time"? Do I need to do a lever change?

 

Full-time doesn't bind up at all. There is in effect an open differential in the x-case in the full-time mode.

 

Where I live, we get piles of snow then dry pavement then back again.
My wife wants to just set it and forget it going to work and you cant do that with the 231(or if you do there will be binding and pushing on sharp corners.