Is this the right NP242 to buy?

[91Pioneer]

I have a 91 4.0 AW4 2WD MJ but I want to convert it to 4WD (full time) and AX15 manual. Will this transfer case work? It's a 242 with 23 splines. I dunno if it's a long, short, or medium shaft.

 

I do not yet have the transmission, I'm parts shopping now though.

 

The sellers description: "I have a Jeep-XJ , NP 242 j Transfer case ,tag has build date of -8 -30- 95 , assy.no -5209-8384 and has 2 wire select position sensor ,23 spline input and exposed style output shaft , is good upgrade from NP231 or NP249"

 

 

[91Pioneer]

I also found a NP242 out of a 99 XJ for sale. Will a 99 work as well?

 

 

[Rockfrog]

Get the matching driveshaft slip yoke.
That t case will mount just fine to an AW4 or an AX15. The only input issue (length) you really need to concern yourself about is whether is came from a ZJ or not. The ZJ used a rather long input.

I currently run a 99 242 behind my 93 AX15.

I did have to swap the rear output shafts with an earlier one due to already having my driveshaft and not wanting to make a new one. So I converted my 99 case to internal slip yoke style.

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[91Pioneer]

Both supposedly came from XJs so as-is you think either will be fine?

 

I need to change my driveshaft anyway going from 2WD so I can find the right yoke.

[Rockfrog]

Should work just fine, 242's only came stock behind an AW4, and mine's now living behind an AX15. The "medium length" input is rare, the short is the most common. Both the AW4 and the AX15 have plenty of room for either, and the short will work with either. The Long is a ZJ (Grand Cherokee) thing.

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[gogmorgo]

As its labelled as from an XJ I'd say you're fine, but going off it simply being called a "Cherokee" you might want to double check it's not a ZJ or WJ, if that makes for a significant difference. Too many people out there too lazy to say or type "grand" who then only laugh at you when you try to confirm call them on it not actually being a Cherokee.

For whatever it's worth, one of the projects on my backburner is putting the '92 ax15 in place of my '93 aw4, and all my research indicated it shouldn't be a problem to put the '93 242 in place of the '92's 231. Although I've been pretty tempted to stick the 242 into the ZJ instead of its 231. The 242 is just such an improvement over the 231 on snowy roads. 

'97+ XJs have a sealed output transfer case that doesn't rely on the driveshaft slip yoke to seal, hence the need to grab the '97+ slip yoke if you go that route. 

[carnuck]

Make sure that if you do go AW4 that it’s ‘91 up for 23 spline output to match the 242. I was surprised that the tcase tag doesn’t say New Venture Gear, as that’s what the company became after ‘92.