249 to 242 swap...

[swamp boy]

Ok fellas... Here it goes... I did it .. It works..All is well..

First thing you need to do for this swap.. Is go to a bone yard.. And find a doner.. Either XJ or ZJ 242 ..
242's where available in 80's model XJ's and all models of ZJ(as an option)
SO look in them all.. All you have to do is look at the shifter..
2WD--4 Part time --4 Full time---N--4 Lo

There you have it...

Tools you will need....
Good set of snap rings pliers... I mean a really good set.. Spend some money damnit.. They are very important....
A socket set and screwdriver set. Hammer.. Wrences dont hurt..
(OK you need some basic tools and the snap ring pliers...GOOD ONES!!)
You will also need RTV and Tranny fluid..

You dont have to be a mechanic to do this job.. It is really not that hard..
I think it took me about 14 hours total.. (Over 2 days..) Half a day one day and the whole day the second.. But I did alot of reverse engeneering you will not need to do..


Lets get started....
Here is my doner.. It came out of a 89 XJ with 65000 miles on it..


I cleaned it up and made sure it went smoothly into all the gears...
NICE....

Then I pulled the 249 ... Not really that hard.. Drop your front shaft..


This is a very important part... Chock your wheels.. Chock your wheels ...Chock your wheels...
Are everyones wheels chocked ???? OK... Lets continue....

Drop your skid.. (If you have one...) 3 Bolts... Not hard..
Then remove the rear shaft..


Put a jack under the tranny.. (Right behind the pan... Give yourself room to remove the cross member..)
Now remove the cross member... 2 bolts on each side.. And 1 big one in the middle in the tranny mount..
Didnt take pictures of this because I thought you could figure it out....

Remove the T-Case.. Didnt get any pictures of this step because its a bitch to take pics while on your back under a truck...
But there are 6 bolts. .15mm If I remember correctly..
If you cant find them skip this step and drink a beer you cannot do this mod..

Then you drain the T-Case... I did this cool design on my driveway...


Here is the old 249 on the ground...

At this point I drank some beer.. Because that was it for my day...

Before you ask it did not take all day.. I didnt get started til.. almost 5 pm..and got the case out in about 1 1/2 hours.. ( Conservative.... It probobly wasnt that long ... But I had trouble with one of the bolts.. ON top...)
Clue... Use deep well socket.. the studs stick out to far for a shallow well socket and you could waste alot of time trying to use it..


Dont ask me how I know......

Ok so this is the part you need..


There is a cover over it.. YOu will see it. Then there are a few snap rings under that cover..
you will have to remove this plate..Its on the tail shaft.. you will see it...

Remove the speed-O sensor that is right next to this.. (Just pull it out and put it on the side..
Now back to your hole...
Inside there is a snap ring... Here is where the good pair of snap ring pliers come in...
Loosen all the screws on the cover and break it loose. (hammer and screwdriver.. Its RTV'd )
Grab the snap ring and slide it off as you slide the cover off...
Once that is out of the way.. Take out the bolts in the center of the case...
And break it open...
You will see this inside..

On the left side behind the shifter that you see slid down..
Is the sun gear you need...
You will need to tap the input slightly to get it out.. Here is what it looks like out of the case...

You dont have to remove it from the planetary gears .. You can use the whole set.. But I decided to pull mine out and look at them.. See me with the snap ring pliers.. (GOOD ONES..)
OK... So now that you have completly taken the 249 apart.. It will be a breeze to take the 242 down...
Make sure you do it on a clean surface...
When you get the 242 apart.. (pretty much the same..)
Make sure you pay close attention to how you are doing it..
You will notice the innards of the 242 are much different..
There is a huge shift mechanism with 2 shift forks...

to remove these shift forks start by moving the shift linkage to the top. (Not sure which way you have to turn it.. ) But you will see..
There is a pin on the shift fork that hooks to the swing linkage on the inside of the case... I used a pry bar and wedged it in between them.
Use just enough pressure to pop the shift fork pin out. and slide it up...
When this is done shift the T case again and the lower shift fork will pop out..
And the sun gear comes out the same..
(dont forget to take the front cover off and remove the snap ring first.)
Install the sun gear out of your 249 (it will take some tapping. I used the hammer handle..) Make sure its fully seated..
Ok.. I guess I left out a part on both of the break downs... The chain..
It removes by sliding one of the gears up the shaft and off it will come..
It goes on pretty easily..

Here is the 249 input in the 242..
On reassembly... use RTV... ( I go a little overboard...) But here it is .
Bolted back together... (I did cut the RTV off with a razor when it dried..)
In this picture you can see the short shift linkage from the 242 lying on the floor and the 249 linkage on the T-Case...


DONT DO THIS... IT WONT WORK ... I AM AN IDIOT..

So I put the 242 shifter linkage thingy back on...

Install your new T-case and put the selector in 2WD and switch the T case in to 2 wheel drive.. .. Adjust the slide nut on your linkage so that you can hook the linkage up.. That should work for the full throw.. I had a buddy shift back and forth until I had it adjusted correctly..
If the donor T-Case is 93 or newer you can just plug the shift indicator in if its not then you will need to buy the part from Jeep.. (as soon as I do I will post a part number and price..)
The speed-O sensor is another consern in a pre 93 T-Case..
Your sensor out of your 249 will work and obviously will plug in..

ON the inside of the truck remove the radio bezel.. (6 philips screws)
And pop it out .. There are 3 philips in the Vehicle Info center pull it out and you will see two sets of plugs .. a Red one and a black one..
I think the red ones where hooked up but not sure..
But the point is.. whichever ones are hooked up .. Un hook them and hook up the others..

That is it.. Make sure everything is tightened up and fill your T-case with fluid...
Then try it out...
Mine did this....


I know this is a long writeup but I have seen several on the net that sucked... Mine is as good as it could be.. there are points in time when your hands are covered in grease and you dont want to stop to take a picture..

As with all of my writeups .. If you have a question ask. I have a very good memory...

Carl
_________________
BONE STOCK
Unless you include the sawzall work..

[swamp boy]

Maine ZJ..... I lost our post on this topic when I tried to copy it to the projects forum... Sorry.. I am a newb..

Just wanted to let you know.. It didnt disappear .. I messed it up ...

But at least I didnt loose the writeup...
_________________
BONE STOCK
Unless you include the sawzall work..

[MaineZJ]

It's all good.
Do you know if there are any differences in 242's to keep an eye out for? Or are they all good for a 249 swap?
_________________
93 ZJ
5.2 - 46RH - 249- 4.5" RE coils

[PAJeeper]

Good write up Carl, I particularly like inclusion of the very necessary beer breaks. It gets the Mr seal of approval.

[swamp boy]

They are all good but 93 or newer will plug right up.. Since I got a 92 XJ case mine had a different sensor for the VIC.. SO I tried to swap mine in.. This didnt work either....(Kinda like the shift linkage.) As soon as I find out the price and part number from Jeep I will post it...

I will try to do this tommorow...

Keep in mind that 93 ZJ's did come with this as an option so keep looking in them if you see one in the yard..
But they are very common on XJ's I found around 20 XJ's and 6 of them had this case..
_________________
BONE STOCK
Unless you include the sawzall work..

[DozerDan]

Nice write up.

[swamp boy]

Thanks Dan... I do my best..

Trying to make mine a little easier to follow than the piece of crap I used...
_________________
BONE STOCK
Unless you include the sawzall work..

[DozerDan]

[MaineZJ]

5.2 all the way- no replacement for a v8
_________________
93 ZJ
5.2 - 46RH - 249- 4.5" RE coils

[WhatWasIThinkin]

Nice, Great write-up

Todd

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Real Jeeps dont wear Bra's

[xtianknight]

How often should the T-case fluid be changed? If you change the transmission fluid, thats different or the same?

TIA
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1993 Jeep GC-Laredo/4x4/V8/AWD

[Code3TJ]

I personally change them both at the same time since I have the skid down. I do mine once a year - don't remember what the mileage is supposed to be but I put less than 10k miles a year on the heap.
_________________
Nothing to see here.

[swanem]

I also just finished my swap using a 89 XL T/C. I think I/m still having shifter issues, but more than likely it is a trial and error thing. I used Carl's write up, but there may be things he hasn't explained that I can, so don't be afraid to give me a hollar too.

I also had a FSM, best 40 bucks I ever spent on Mean Green...
_________________
Erik

[tkknc]

How do I tell what year the 242 transfer case is, when it has already been pulled from the donor vehicle?

Thanks
_________________
Ken
94 ZJ (stock not for long)
Phoenix, AZ

[ThePhantum]