How Do I tell if 249 is bad?

cabz · Sep 3, 2006

I was test driving my daughters ZJ and noticed that when I would go to turn a corner ( especialy from a dead stop ) the jeep acted like I had the brake on , It did not want to turn smoothly at all . It felt like something was grabbing and dragging on the jeep .

Could this be the VC going out? , This is a 93 ZJ 4.0 incase it makes any diff

If it is on the way out how hard Is the VC to fix/replace? and what is involved with swapping in a 231?

Zj95Maxx · Sep 3, 2006

does it do it as soon as u start the jeep and turn? or do you have to drive a bit..if the viscous was bad, it has to heat up to grind and rub, thats whats wrong with mine, im swappen it toa 242...

cabz · Sep 3, 2006

Zj95Maxx said:
does it do it as soon as u start the jeep and turn? or do you have to drive a bit..if the viscous was bad, it has to heat up to grind and rub, thats whats wrong with mine, im swappen it toa 242...

It seemed to get worse the more times I tryed to turn, I also had the jeep running a while in one place checkin stuff out and topping off the trans fluid

Skyclad · Sep 3, 2006

I would guess that yes indeed the VC is on the way out. Before I replaced my 249 with a 231, the VC had completely locked. The was NO differential between the drive shafts speeds, and it did make driving it around town and through parking lots interesting.

Swapping a 231 into your Jeep is not all that tough. Anybody with even moderate mechanical skill should be able to handle the task. If you get lucky and do not have to change the input shaft, you won't have to open the case at all. I wold think the chances of the correct input shaft being in the new TC are pretty good, since most 231 cases are mated to the 4.0L engine and tranny combo.

I did have to change the input shaft when I swapped my transfer case. It took me about 8 hours or so to remove the old transfer case, tear down the old TC to get the input shaft out, tear down the new TC and put in the long input shaft then reassemble and install the new transfer case. I had some assistance from my son and I use a factory service manual for disassembly/reassembly of the transfer cases. That was the first time. I have knocked my time down to about 6 hours for removal, dis/reassembly and reinstall.

AndyZJ · Sep 3, 2006

x2 on that.

And just in general, if you have a 249, then the VC is bad. They suck, plain and simple.

Get a 231/242

cabz · Sep 3, 2006

Skyclad said:
I would guess that yes indeed the VC is on the way out. Before I replaced my 249 with a 231, the VC had completely locked. The was NO differential between the drive shafts speeds, and it did make driving it around town and through parking lots interesting.

Swapping a 231 into your Jeep is not all that tough. Anybody with even moderate mechanical skill should be able to handle the task. If you get lucky and do not have to change the input shaft, you won't have to open the case at all. I wold think the chances of the correct input shaft being in the new TC are pretty good, since most 231 cases are mated to the 4.0L engine and tranny combo.

I did have to change the input shaft when I swapped my transfer case. It took me about 8 hours or so to remove the old transfer case, tear down the old TC to get the input shaft out, tear down the new TC and put in the long input shaft then reassemble and install the new transfer case. I had some assistance from my son and I use a factory service manual for disassembly/reassembly of the transfer cases. That was the first time. I have knocked my time down to about 6 hours for removal, dis/reassembly and reinstall.

when you say "the right input shaft" which one is that? I kinda like the idea of not having to tear into a case to swap it.
I had heard that it was nessesary to swap out a sun gear?
when you swapped cases what else had to go? shifter, linkage, etc?
If I case swap in a 231 easy enough that'll be the plan.

Skyclad · Sep 3, 2006

There are different length input shafts. It seems to depend on which transmission you have. The 4.0L are cursed with the 42RE tranny. I am not going to say that it is a POS, but it certainly is not a great transmission. The V-8 Grands get a better transmission, 46RE in my case. That is the main reason the I look for the V-8's when I buy a Grand.

Any of the three different transfer cases (231 / 242 / 249) will bolt up to the different transmissions. However, the distance between the different overdrive units does cause the input shaft issue. The rear seal on the 46RE transmission is further away from the mounting flange for the transfer case (I am not sure about the 44RE) that it is on the 42RE. The input shaft provides one of the sealing surfaces for the rear seal on the overdrive unit, so if your input shaft is not long enough, there will be no seal. Bad things result.

You will be able to tell which input shaft you need fairly quickly after pulling the transfer case away from the transmission. The short shaft only sticks out the front of the TC about 2 - 3 inches. The longer shaft is closer to four inches.

If you decide to get the 231 transfer case, try get one make before 1994. New Process make a change on the angle of the gear cut sometime in 1994. If you get a transfer case with the different gear angle, the tail shaft from your 249 will not fit in the new case. They can be purchased, but I do not remember the part numbers. Maybe somebody else can help out with that.

Kevin's Offroad has a good write up on doing the 231 swap Here is a link.
http://www.kevinsoffroad.com/techarticles/2492231caseswap.html

Venomized · Sep 4, 2006

How do you tell the 249 is bad? Well it is a 249 that's how.

The 249 is an acceptable t-case for street use but they fail. Generally above 80K without proper fluid maintenance they start to bind up the VC.

Drive a tight figure 8 while idling and see if you have wheel hop or if the engine is laboring to maintain speed. If it is then you need a new VC.

Problem is a new VC from the Jeep dealer is about $1200 for a 96-98 ZJ. Not sure on the 93 ZJ for price. You can fix it or replace the case with a 242 or a 231. If the daughter is just a street driver then stick with the 242.

What shape is the rest of the ZJ in? Might be the nail in the coffin and time to trade it in for something else.

cabz · Sep 4, 2006

Venomized said:
How do you tell the 249 is bad? Well it is a 249 that's how.

The 249 is an acceptable t-case for street use but they fail. Generally above 80K without proper fluid maintenance they start to bind up the VC.

Drive a tight figure 8 while idling and see if you have wheel hop or if the engine is laboring to maintain speed. If it is then you need a new VC.

Problem is a new VC from the Jeep dealer is about $1200 for a 96-98 ZJ. Not sure on the 93 ZJ for price. You can fix it or replace the case with a 242 or a 231. If the daughter is just a street driver then stick with the 242.

What shape is the rest of the ZJ in? Might be the nail in the coffin and time to trade it in for something else.

158.000 miles ,near perfect body - a few scartches and some hood clearcoat peeling and a damn near perfect int , just a falling headlinner.

she,s still got a LOT of life left in her and it is exactly what the daughter wanted right down to the color. :mrgreen:

How Do I tell if 249 is bad?

cabz

Zj95Maxx

cabz

Skyclad

AndyZJ

cabz

Skyclad

Venomized

cabz

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