Another 42re to AW4 swap thread

[jeepnfl]

My '95 ZJ with 275K miles is just about ready for a fresh tranny. I have an AW4 that I got for FREE from from a buddies wrecked 96 XJ. I see plenty of threads on here about this swap but none of them seem to be complete. Has anyone completed this succesfully on a DD / weekend warrior ZJ?

What I know: 96 XJ AW4 is OBDII and 23 spine.
95 ZJ is OBDI and 23 spline. Sounds promissing.

What I don't know: Do I need the TCM from the XJ? How bout the shifter and bezel? What else?

I've never done any tranny work so I'm kinda flying blind here. If I could find a good ZJ write up I have a friend (mechanic for Jeep) who is willing to tackle the install. Any new news on this swap will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

[DJJordache]

ok first things first is your 95 a I6? If so then your current transfer case will not slide onto the AW4 since the 93.3-95 I6 tcase inputs have a inner sleeve and the 96+ ones do not. but the input length is correct. The AW4 trans output shaft is splined all the way to the end. a ghetto fix can be seen here
There have been several that have done this but no step by step writeups that I know of. I'm pretty sure the sifter is the same but the bezel is different. spykosshow is doing this right now in his 96 and I think he is wiring the AW4 pcm into the existing Jeep wiring. hopefully he will chime in and help ya with that.

[b1pig]

another ghetto fix is to remove the sleeve from the t-case input shaft.





you have to disassemble the t-case and break down the planetary set, drive the cap and bearing out the back of the input shaft and then cut grooves in the sleeve.... but to me it is less reisky than grinding on the output of the tranny. more work, but less ghetto.

[jeepnfl]

OK, I went researching to see if I could just remove the sleeve from the T-case and came back here and saw b1pigs post. Pig you had me convinced until you said "then cut grooves in the sleeve". How would you cut groves to perfectly match the splines of the output shaft? Grinding the output shaft to match the sleeve seems much more do-able. Again, no tranny experience here, am I missing something?

Thanks.


EDIT: BTW, yes, 4.0L with 242

[TrojanMan]

You use the TCM instead of a PCM. You need to grab a tranny mount, some shifter parts (when we're done with our AW4 swaps we'll do a write up), a shorter driveshaft in the front possibly. Also make sure you have the dust shield for the AW4 and the torque converter (flex plate is different too, I think). That's off the top of my head.. when me and charlie finish up the swaps we'll get back to here and do a write up.

[jeepnfl]

Thanks Trojan, I've been following your other threads about this and appreciate the materials list. How did you handle the output shaft issue?

Thanks everyone for your input, this is some good info!

[spykosshow]

Parts (with part numbers)

TCM and connectors
Dustshield 5300 4907 AND 5211 7767
flexplate
torque converter (and bolts)
floor shifter 5300 7749
rear crossmember ----you won't need this actually.
rear tranny mount
bellhousing bolts
shifter linkage cable bracket 5300 7746
TC linkage bracket that mounts to the tranny 5207 7509
TC linkage rod 5207 8345


I can't think of any others right now, but I know there are more.


My output shafts were fine because they're both from 99 xj's. (I think the TC was from a 99)

[b1pig]

first, of all, this is kinda labor intensive. I did it this way because ... I thought it was reversable. That is tha way I have done damn near EVERYTHING on my ZJ. (x-cept the long arms)

I was kinda in the same boat as you. I had a 98 42RE and a '94 planetary set to install into a NP231. Instead of machineing the output, I figured I could remove the sleeve ... and if I absolutely had to have the sleeve, I could file the edges of the cuts and tap it back in. It's been woking fine for the last... oh... 5 years or so.



to remove the sleeve:

disassemble transfercase.
remove planetary gear set (includes input).
disassemble planetary.

if you look at the inside of the input shaft(top pic), there is a needle bearing that is "pressed" into the same cavity as that sleeve. I had on old broom handle in the shed. I cut a section of it and used it to tap the bearing out from the splined end. (bottom pic)

One the bearing is out, you can use a good hacksaw blade and line it up with the splines. Then, I cut 4 relief cut in the sleeve, then used a cold chisel and hammer..... using the same method as torqueing lug nuts, I tapped it out. It wouldnt budge till I cut the relief cuts in it.

Once the sleeve was out, I rubbed some black RTV onto the backside of the bearing, and tapped it back into the input shaft to the depth it was before. The RTV was used to ensure a good seal and prevent leaks.

reassemble.



This is also a good excuse to inspect the guts of the t-case and replace anything that looks suspect. Like if the chain is stretched...

if you dont mind grinding on the output of the tranny, have at it. I must confess... almost any Jeep part down here seems to contain gold, because there are rarely any "good deals". Also... while there will never beany numbers out there, I wonder if the heat from grinding affects the temper of the output shaft.

[jsteves]

Just get a new input shaft...bout $100 from a tranny parts supplier. Figure out which one you need, buy it, swap it. Then you don't grind on anything.

Edit: Or just get the t-case (or input shaft) out of your buddies wrecked XJ.

[b1pig]

the input (if avail) from the donor XJ would be good.
if you have to take it apart to put in a new input shaft.... why not save teh $100?

[spykosshow]

Why not take the whole casE?

[jsteves]

Edit: Or just get the t-case...

already been said.