Eagle Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 This relates to my wife's 2000 XJ, but it's a 242 so I hope nobody objects to posting this in Tech. I'll move it y'all want. The problem: As most of you know, the 242 has a full-time 4WD position. Our driveway goes up from the house to the street, and it's basically a sheet of ice at the moment so we need 4WD to get out. Last night, I drove when we went to dinner. I shifted into 2WD as soon as we were on pavement (which was dry) but I thought I heard a whirring from the transfer case the whole way to Friendly's. Didn't hear it on the way home ... parked head-in, and had to back up to un-park at the restaurant. Today we went to Mickey D's for lunch, and the same thing happened. Had a sharp turn into the driveway when we got there, and the front end was lurching badly -- it was stuck in 4WD full-time, even though the lever was in 2WD and the dash lights were off. I put it in reverse and backed up "smartly" for several car lengths, then braked hard. After that, we were in 2WD. Has anybody experienced having a 242 transfer case not shift out of full-time when shifting on the fly? Any suggestions for a fix, other than change the juice and keep my fingers crossed? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 This relates to my wife's 2000 XJ, but it's a 242 so I hope nobody objects to posting this in Tech. I'll move it y'all want. The problem: As most of you know, the 242 has a full-time 4WD position. Our driveway goes up from the house to the street, and it's basically a sheet of ice at the moment so we need 4WD to get out. Last night, I drove when we went to dinner. I shifted into 2WD as soon as we were on pavement (which was dry) but I thought I heard a whirring from the transfer case the whole way to Friendly's. Didn't hear it on the way home ... parked head-in, and had to back up to un-park at the restaurant. Today we went to Mickey D's for lunch, and the same thing happened. Had a sharp turn into the driveway when we got there, and the front end was lurching badly -- it was stuck in 4WD full-time, even though the lever was in 2WD and the dash lights were off. I put it in reverse and backed up "smartly" for several car lengths, then braked hard. After that, we were in 2WD. Has anybody experienced having a 242 transfer case not shift out of full-time when shifting on the fly? Any suggestions for a fix, other than change the juice and keep my fingers crossed? the only real thing I can suggest is to drain it, inspect the plug and fluid for metal shavings. How many miles are on it? I'd say the best bet is that the nylon bushings on the shift fork inside are gone. if they're gone, there's 1/4" of play in the shift collar, which can screw with what position/gear it is in...while not affecting how the shift position sensor reads what position the handle is in. -Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acfortier Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 I believe this happened to my parent's 2000 XJ, but I am not sure what the deal was. My father did the same thing as you described, put it in reverse and braked hard, and it was gone. Not sure if they ever investigated it further, but I can certainly them if you'd like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reece146 Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 How many miles on the Jeep? There's the obvious stuff that I have to say: - Make sure your tire pressures are matched front to back and side to side. - The tire/wheel combination among all four wheels needs to be identical to reduce the amount of difference between front to rear revolutions at speed. It's important to run the same tires front to back and they should be rotated often. ChryCo doesn't tell you that but then they are ChryCo... Kwality with a capital K. - Ensure that there is no binding in the front prop shaft u-joints. If they haven't been maintained properly and are sloppy and/or have more than normal drag on them with revolution this can add a form of preload to the front prop shaft which the mechanism has to fight to release into 2wd. If you are further along with that I'd take a look at the shifter to make sure it is aligned properly and travels properly through the interior bezel. Failing that, it might be time to pull the case and inspect the internals. It could be something as simple as the teflon pads for the shift collar forks being worn or even missing (Bt/dt). HTH Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 With my 231, if the drive train is in a bind (due to traction plus turn for example) I can shift the lever into 2wd, but 4wd stays engaged unless the bind frees up. On ice that's not a problem. Straight on pavement it can be a while. May not be your problem, but happened more than once. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eagle Posted February 13, 2011 Author Share Posted February 13, 2011 How many miles on the Jeep? 90,000 (approximately). 4WD has hardly been used at all. There's the obvious stuff that I have to say: - The tire/wheel combination among all four wheels needs to be identical to reduce the amount of difference between front to rear revolutions at speed. Nope. We're using the full-time position, which uses a mechanical differential in the transfer case. Minor (and even more major) differences between front and rear don't matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jeepcoma Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Could just be the linkage out of adjustment or a bushing worn, or even just ice and crud causing a blockage. I've had mine jam up, even though the lever would go to 2wd there was so much flex and slop in all the parts that the actual lever on the transfer case wasn't actually in 2wd until I bopped it with a hammer. Since then, I clean off the linkage and give it a shot of lube every time I'm under there to change the oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reece146 Posted February 13, 2011 Share Posted February 13, 2011 Nope. We're using the full-time position, which uses a mechanical differential in the transfer case. Minor (and even more major) differences between front and rear don't matter. The differences do matter to the lock/un-lock mechanism. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeepcoMJ Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 Nope. We're using the full-time position, which uses a mechanical differential in the transfer case. Minor (and even more major) differences between front and rear don't matter. The differences do matter to the lock/un-lock mechanism. not particularly. the differential inside prevents internal binding. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deziped Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 My shift handle would hit the end of the track when it was moved into 2wd. That stopped the trf case linkage from making a complete shift out of 4x4 mode. I had to get under it and adjust the linkage a minute amount to correct it so that it was disengaging 4x4 and going into 2wd. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xjrev10 Posted February 14, 2011 Share Posted February 14, 2011 My 2000 with the 242 has been doing the exact same thing for the 3 years I had it. I just back up usually it pops into 2wd. I never been too concerned about it I guess... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now