pontiacfieroguy

I'll do that. Can you teach me why a bad trans mount would cause it to leak oil, the grinding and clunking sounds that sounded internal, and the slipping?

cruiser54

I'm not there. I do know that a trans and transfer case resting on a crossmember makes horrible noises.

Transmission has ATF in it along with the transfer case. Not oil. How or why do you think the oil leak is related? How can you tell the noises are internal?

The fact that you were convinced the mount was good and then backpedaled has me concerned about your thoroughness when it comes to vehicles.

Perhaps a local shop could diagnose this for you.

pontiacfieroguy

My transmission fluid is bright red and clean and at the exact same level as before i bought it and what's on the cross member is fresh and black as coal, the cross member was clean when I climbed under it when the problems first started the other day as best as I can remember. It sounds like gears grinding and it went away when I put it in neutral going down the road.

cruiser54

Take it to a shop.

pontiacfieroguy

Can't afford to take it to a shop. Why do you think I need to take it to a shop instead of repairing it in my driveway?

cruiser54

Because we can't see it or hear it.

Can you afford to put a transmission in it and that's not the problem?

pontiacfieroguy

Considering I can buy one from pull a part for around 75 and that's the going hourly rate around here then yes

Radi

Change the mount. Change the fluids. Check the flexplate bolts. Check the u-joints and slip yoke. Check the exhaust hangers. Check the trans cooler lines. After doing those things, see where you are.

It seems you have a heat related trans issue. The first step to troubleshooting that is to see if the trans is really overheating and if so, why. If the cooler is shot your replacement trans will fail too. An infrared thermometer is pretty useful here.

CCKen

The AW4 4WD transmission has an transfer case adaptor that goes between the transmission and the transfer case. The adaptor has a transmission output shaft seal and the transfer case has an input shaft seal. Both seals are intended to retain the fluids where they belong. The TC adaptor has a weep hole in the bottom of it, just above the transmission mount. If the transmission output shaft seal is leaking the transmission fluid will drain out of the weep hole, and if the TC input shaft seal is leaking it will drain out the weep hole.


By the description of what you see on the cross member (black oil) I would suspect the TC input shaft seal is leaking. TC fluid, when very old, will turn black/grey, especially when its fluid level gets low and damage to the TC internals occurs.


By your description, you have an NP242J transfer case. This is a good TC but it has a deferential carrier that is its weak link. It can cause lots of noise and even no-go if it goes to hell.


I suggest you drain the TC fluid and see how much fluid is/was in the TC and what color it is. Also check the drained fluid for bronze colored particles in the drained fluid. Bronze bits in the fluid indicates the differential has probably shelled out. There's a magnet in the TC that will collect steel bits.


I think I see a replacement TC in your near future.

cruiser54

Good call, Ken. Transfer case is probably empty.

CCKen

And trashed.

pontiacfieroguy

Other than making sure that it turns and shifts what should I look for in a junkyard transfer case?

pontiacfieroguy

What year ranges of xj or other vehicles can I get a 242 from? I don't need 4wd on the road around here so can I switch to a 231 if that's all I can find? I know the 231 has more aftermarket support but which is stronger from the factory?

pontiacfieroguy

Does anyone have a concrete answer as to what years I can pull a transfer case from? I've read conflicting answers all over the internet.

cruiser54

91 to 95 .