tcase question

[bobby m]

I'm a newbie so please bare with me. I am going to turn an 1989 mj from 2wd into 4wd. ithink i have figured out what tcase i need, but don't know how to identify one from another. any help would be appreciated.

[jimoshel]

They all have a approximate, 2" tag on the left side rear of the case. It has the mdl no on it. However if your doing a swap then use the TC that came with the rest of the stuff, Hope you have the donor sitting beside the donee and swapping everything you need and not trying to run down individual components.

[Geonovast]

You do know you're going to need a 4wd transmission, correct? You cannot bolt a T-case to a 2wd transmission without heavy work to turn the 2wd one into a 4wd one.

[bobby m]

I do have a donor, but it has an auto trans in it. I was thinking of staying with the ax15. It's my understanding that you just have to swap the output shaft in order for it to work, or is that wrong?

[Geonovast]

To convert your 2wd AX-15 to a 4wd one? No, it's not quite that simple.

 

You'll need a 4wd output shaft, and a 4wd rear housing. Probably 80% of the working parts are on the output shaft, and unless you have a press, a good gear puller, and have a history of working on the innards of a manual transmission, you're probably not going to be able to do it. Considering you'll need parts from a 4wd transmission, you might as well just buy a working one and save yourself a ton of trouble.

 

Converting from a manual to an auto will also be a bit of work.

[BORDENCOMANCHE]

PAIN IN THE F***in @$$!!!!

 

Just did mine during the winter and spring, it worked out great but unless your ready to ditch your friends for some SERIOUS wrench time and some SERIOUS dollars in nuts and bolts then I wouldn't do it.

 

SLAP a huge winch on that thing and go play with the rest of them.

[BORDENCOMANCHE]

Or you can do like I did, 4x4 it with a cherokee of the same year and model AND slap a huge winch on it.

[Geonovast]

PAIN IN THE F***in @$$!!!!

 

Just did mine during the winter and spring, it worked out great but unless your ready to ditch your friends for some SERIOUS wrench time and some SERIOUS dollars in nuts and bolts then I wouldn't do it.

 

SLAP a huge winch on that thing and go play with the rest of them.

 

What's a PITA?

 

Converting to 4wd, or converting a 2wd trans into a 4wd trans?

 

With everything ready to go beforehand, a 4wd swap can easily be done in 2-3 days with a little help.

[bobby m]

Ok, thanks guys. Iwill start searching for another donor.

[64 Cheyenne]

PAIN IN THE F***in @$$!!!!

 

Just did mine during the winter and spring, it worked out great but unless your ready to ditch your friends for some SERIOUS wrench time and some SERIOUS dollars in nuts and bolts then I wouldn't do it.

 

SLAP a huge winch on that thing and go play with the rest of them.

 

What's a PITA?

 

Converting to 4wd, or converting a 2wd trans into a 4wd trans?

 

With everything ready to go beforehand, a 4wd swap can easily be done in 2-3 days with a little help.

 

Isn't a PITA a bread pocket or something?

Or an organization that helps aminals?

[jimoshel]

PITA=Pretty Italian T&A

[64 Cheyenne]

NICE!

[deziped]

You asked what Trf Case? 231 if you want only part time 4x4 or a 242 if you want full time & part time.

[Geonovast]

In case you don't get a T-case with your 4wd transmission, you will need to watch for trasfercase input spline counts.

 

AX-15 needs a 23 spline short shaft T-case.

[bobby m]

thanks for all the info, it will help a bunch.

[comanche09]

I went with the NP242 t-case for full time 4wd (on pavement) and to have something a little more different. The downside vs. NP231 is less ground clearance at the t-case and less aftermarket support.

 

FWIW, my '98 XJ 242 bolted right up to my '90 AX-15.

 

I just spend most of this past weekend installing it with a buddy. It was pretty tough combined with the 90+F Alabama heat and humidity. None of it is rocket science, just awkward to man-handle the whole assembly in using a floor jack. A transmission jack would have made it much better.

 

Some notes during install (there are a TON of write-ups on this here and at NAXJA):

 

I went with an external slave setup from a '95 AX-15 XJ, you'll need the bellhousing from it. I went with a new pre-bled OEM Clutch/slave assembly. The diameter of the eye for the new clutch pedal linkage is smaller than the stud on the original clutch pedal. I figured this out after I installed the master into the firewall and secured the brake booster... I had to contort under the dash to file out the plastic hole to get it to fit... That was a B*TCH, the driver floor was wet with my sweat. Didn't read anywhere about this problem. Other than that it wasn't too bad.

 

Recommend replacing the pilot bearing and clutch of course since you'll have access anyway. The pilot bearing came out pretty easily with a rented pilot bearing puller from Adv Auto. A couple of the clutch cover bolts gave me trouble so I ended up cutting the old cover to remove it. Clutch actually was pretty worn even with only 100k on my rig, PO could not shift apparently.

 

Good Luck! :cheers: