dave1123

Really! If it breaks or comes out while you're driving, the driveshaft will continue to spin until you stop, whipping around destroying everything in it's path, until it tucks under and breaks off at the diff. I had that happen on a Chevy truck. The major problem on mine was it slashed the brake line and put dents in my truck bed. My problem was a universal joint that I ignored too long. Yeah, we all do stupid stuff. That was one of mine!

Were the rear wheels hanging when you took that picture? If so, I wouldn't worry TOO much, but if it was sitting on the ground, I'd be VERY worried!

jon-d

called Tom's this morning and ordered a standard SYE kit from a guy named Josh. should be here early next week. he gave me a choice between the HD kit and standard kit ($250 difference) but based on what I think I will be doing with the jeep I stuck with the standard.


just to share, here is something incredibly stupid I did last night that could have been really bad. to place the SYE kit order I needed a bunch of dimensions and info so I crawled under the jeep to take them. I have it parked in my drive, which has a slight incline. to get exact measurements I started to remove the drive but it was binding a bit so I grabbed the hammer to nudge it out. before the first swing I realized what could happen and got out of there quick! after chocking the wheels I jacked up the rear to release the pressure and the drive easily came out. it could have been a Darwin moment!

dave1123

Well, as long as we're talking about stupid moments, I just crushed my snow blower with my jeep. I have a dirt/gravel driveway with 2 slight depressions in it where I park it every night. When I start it up, I shift to neutral to let it warm up. Apparently, it wasn't exactly in neutral when I got out to open the hatch. It started forward and pinned the snow blower against the garage, crushing the auger housing! No damage to the jeep or the garage, but totally destroying the blower! ****! It's $168 for a new housing IF that's all I need!

Of course, my parking brake doesn't work!

jon-d

tracking says Tom's SYE kit will be here today! I can hardly wait to get off work and start tearing it down. anyone know how long it typically takes to do the work? also, what is a good ATF trans fluid to use? I assume that the same fluid is used in the transfer case as the auto trans.

dave1123

Keyrect! ATF+4.

jon-d

OK, so the kit is in but I have not driven it yet but thought I would provide some closure to the project for future searching. I was able to pull the fill plug and fill it with AFT +4 per a different post I made on the subject. This is the first time I have pulled apart a transfer case and I was really concerned at the start of the project that I would have some issue or somehow not install it correctly but really its not bad at all. the Tom Woods instructions are not that detailed so I would recommend watching youtube's bleepin jeep video where he installs a kit on a 231 transfer case. its basically the same as the 242 case and removed some of the mystery.


here are some lessons learned:


remove the case - doing the work in place would be a real pain. some say either way is fine, but i would recommend removing it so you can use gravity to your advantage and have room to work.


removal - use a jack that can lower the case when you are ready. my jack was too small and I dropped the case on the concrete floor. upper bolts were a pain to get to but overall no snags.


rebuild - the front yoke requires a half inch air tool to remove, which is something I did not have. while at Walmart picking up some fluid I asked the tire center to zip it off for me. I had it ready to go with the socket. I came back at the end of the day so they could zip it back on for me. I really appreciated that! everything else went smooth, the C-clip rings were the most difficult to get to and remove, especially on the main shaft by the sun gears. I employed my wife on that one and four hands were better than two! take photos with your phone so that you get the gears on correctly and if by chance something shifts out of place you can refer to your photos on how it should look. while you are there replace all seals even if they are not leaking, including the trans seal. you don't want to go back latter for a leaky seal. this also supports the reason why you want to pull the case.


install: I tried using my jack but again it was too small so I had to hulk it into position. While under the jeep with the case next to me I placed the case on my chest and then lifted it up into place. once you get the case shaft on the trans it simply slides into place. much easier than I thought it would be.


install drive shaft and set angles. I used an app on my phone to compare the pinion angle to the drive shaft angle. I am not sure if I did it correctly or not (perhaps someone can chime in), but I compared my drive angle to the pinion angle and set the pinion 1 or 2 degrees below the drive angle. I measured the pinion angle at two points, the flat circle spots on the rear and also the flat flange on the front side.


sorry for the long post, but hopefully this helps a future owner in performing the work.