Transfer cases. 242 or 231?

[comanche87]

Question. Which is better. 242 or 231? Wanted to get opi ions before putting in the 231 but may be able to get a 242. Any thoughts or suggestions, or comments?

[Motion Offroad]

That question is directly related to what your going to be using your Jeep for.

 

If your going to be using it offroad, I'd pick the NP231 anyday. Much more aftermarket support (including a heavy duty SYE; whereas the 242 only has a hack-n-tap SYE available).

 

If your going to be driving it a lot and see snowy conditions quite often the NP242 may be a better option.

 

Personally I'm not a fan of the NP242; but others are. As I stated above it really depends on how you use your Jeep.

[Eagle]

The 231 is slightly stronger than the 242. The 242 is both larger and heavier than the 231.

 

The advantage to the 242 is the full-time option, which is used generally only on pavement. If you don't drive a lot in snow and ice conditions on the road, you probably would never have a use for the full-time option.

 

Take your pick. Several of the people in my NAXJA chapter had 242s and nobody broke one, not even rock crawling at Paragon.

[Sir Sam]

if you live in the south where the only time you need 4wd is in mud......or something akin to that. the 231 would probably be a slightly better choice.

 

If you think you will ever need 4wd around town in snow and ice the 242 is an excellent solution for that.

 

Personally I have no need for a SYE, and I have lots of inclement weather in colorado, so the NP242 is a great solution for me.

[comanche87]

It's new England weather up here. I'd use it justly driving and in winter. Once in a while i'd like to take it offroading. And no more getting myself stuck again. Did that too many times.

[ren]

From what you have stated as far as your driving goes, I would go with the 242, esp. New England tends to get hammered in the winter, then take forever to dry out. With you only lightly offroading, you should have no trouble. I run a 242 in my MJ, and I play on/in everything- mud, rocks, snow, ice, drag racing and drifting. Pretty much anything that I can get into. Of course, the final choice is yours, allthough, I do agree that the 231 has more/better aftermarket support, I have not had any trouble with my 242.

[mvusse]

:agree:

 

Going from your stated use of your truck I'd go with the 242.

[Sir Sam]

:agree:

 

Going from your stated use of your truck I'd go with the 242.

 

2nd.

[Eagle]

242 all the way.

 

A few years back I was in a relationship with a gal from New Jersey. About every other weekend I would leave work on Friday and head down to her place. We had a lot of snow storms that winter. Between the NY State Thruway and the Interstate in NJ, there were innumerable stretches where a half mile would be deep snow, another half mile would be plowed (or wind-scoured) to bare pavement, and then every few miles you'd hit a stretch of ice just to keep things interesting. My Cherokee had a 231, and I got a real workput on the right bicep rowing it into and out of 4WD as I went from dry pavement to slippery stuff. I would have been SOOOOOOOOOOO happy to have had a 242 and just shove it into full-time and leave it there.

[88 Beast]

After reading this, sounds tempting to swap to a 241. We get it all here in Co. A couple of questions thought. Do I need to swap to a non dicsco axle? Transfer case linkage different? How common are these cases, as I've just seen 231 Cherokees. Thanks.

[88 Beast]

Forgot to add if any driveline mods needed. Thanks

[comanche87]

hmm good question.

[Pete M]

I would permanently engage the CAD. :thumbsup:

[mvusse]

After reading this, sounds tempting to swap to a 241. We get it all here in Co. A couple of questions thought. Do I need to swap to a non dicsco axle? Transfer case linkage different? How common are these cases, as I've just seen 231 Cherokees. Thanks.

 

A 241 and 242 are not the same. A 241 is basically a bigger stronger version of the 231. 242 is the one with the full time option.

[ren]

The actual linkage on the T-case and the cross-over are the same. The difference comes from having a MAUNAl or Auto tranny to start/end with, as the body side pivot is in a differnet position, and you need the the bodyside bracket to match the tranny that you are going to use. The hole in the bracket is farther back for the manaul trans. I "think" that there is a small difference is D/S length also. You can find the 242 in the more loaded model XJs', as my Laredo as the 231, and everything BUT an Auto trans, but the 242 was an option. The Limited models are your best shot. What out for the mid 1990 model change over from the 21 spline input to the 23 spline that was used until the end of production.