So i have a 91 Cherokee with a N.P. 242 T case. Last weekend since we have no snow we decide to go hit Fordyce and go play for the day.

Everything was fine until i dropped the T case into 4 Lo. For some reason the front drive line will in-gauge, and then you can hear it pop out. The T case stays in 4 Lo, but will not pull the front drive line.

So after some research, i figured maybe the plastic sleeves on the shift forks were wore out. So i ordered up a set from the dealership, and yesterday i dropped and split the case in half and changed out the plastic bushings on both sets of forks. I could not see any bent forks, or any damage too any of the gears, the inside of the T case actually looked pretty clean inside, a little metal shavings stuck to the magnet.

So we decide to got to the backside of Fordyce today thru Jackson Meadows, and same problem, the front drive line kept popping out. 4Hi Full Time and 4 Hi Part Time functions just fine, and pull's the front drive line, but once i dump it into 4 Lo, it pops out inside the T case and quits pulling the front end. We were in frozen snow for almost all day, so its not like there was a lot of stress on the T case like we were rock crawling all day. I do have a 76 Ford Dana H.P. 44 in the front, and i can unlock the hubs, and twist the front drive line bye hand, and you can feel the drive line in-gauge one way, but once you twist the drive line the other, you can feel it disengage.

I also adjusted the linkage for the T case. I adjusted it so far that 4 Lo was actually in the spot that neutral would be inside the cab just to make sure i was getting enough throw in side the T case, and same thing, front drive line pops out.

So basically i have no clue what the heck is going on with this T case, I'm wondering if there is some kind of problem with the Differential assembly inside the T case.

This 242 was supposedly re-built about 4 years ago before i purchased the Cherokee from the P.O.. And it also has a Mopar tag on the back of the T case instead of the Red and Aluminum tag that the stock cases came with.

Anybody have any ideas on whats going on with this thing, or experienced the same problem?

I don't mind dropping and splitting the case again, but i just want to make sure I am actually fixing the problem.

Thanks for any info!

 

what do you mean by the front driveshaft pops out? the driveline is bolted to the yoke of the tcase

 

l;inkage might need adjustment...

 

What i mean is, it quits pulling the front tires, it is disengaging in side of the T case, so the rear tires are still spinning in 4 LO but the front tires quit pulling. Once you hear the gear pop out inside of the case, you can grab the front drive line, and feel it is not in gauged inside the T case, or you can un lock the front hubs, and spin the drive line bye hand, and it just free wheels!!!

 

I adjusted the linkage so much, the shifter lever inside the cab was in the neutral position while in 4 Lo just too make sure I had enough throw to fully in gauge the gears inside the case, some problem, front drive line still dis engages.

 

edit: sorry re-read you first post. Sounds like a hub issue to me. pull the hubs. sounds like they are not totally engaging

 

lock out hub messing up

 

Hubs are fine, once you unlock them, then you can turn the front drive line bye hand while the T case is still in 4 Lo. Once you hear the T case disengage the front drive line and quit pulling the front end, i can stop, shift the T case back to Neutral, then back to 4 Lo, and the front end will pull for a minute then pop back out again inside of the T case. Plus 4 Hi part time & 4 Hi full time works fine, and spins the tires in the snow, so the hubs are pulling....it's inside of the T case..

I thought it might be a hub at first, but even if one hub quit engaging, i can hit the air locker and the other tire should pull even if one hub is bad, but the front end is dead in the water, i can get the Cherokee stuck in the snow, get out and watch the rear tires spinning, but no front tires or front drive line spinning......so it has to be in the T case

 

TTT

 

When you had it apart what did the gears look like? More importantly did the lo 1 gear have dogs on it?


Like the gear on the left?
The purpose of the dogs is to hold the gears engaged, the more pressure applied the tighter the grip. If the dogs are worn they can no longer hold and behave as you describe.

 

That a very good point...... but to be honest with ya, I never took the Differential Assembly apart, or removed the C clip and removed the gears from the main shaft , I'm assuming that's were the 2 gears you are holding in the pic are located? I did not see any major metal pieces in the T case when i split it in half, and every thing i visually inspected looked good. So all i did was replace the shift fork bushings. Sounds like i needed to remove all the gears from the Differential assembly and inspect the gears. All i have is a Haynes service manual, and it does not show the dogs on the gear you are holding on the explode view.

 

anybody have any other ideas? Sounds like Turbo X_J might be onto something!!!!

 

I also have this issue, except mine does it in part time too. I had to turn around on a back road and one of the back tires found a wet spot so I thought I was stuck. Low range did nothing for me, neither did part time, but full time got me out.