transfer case swap

Hey guys, my brother found me a 231 TC for my 95 Grand for $200. The chain on mine had been slipping and I couldn't really afford a rebuilt one. It came out of a Ford and had been sitting (out of the weather) for about 6 months. Everything matched up except for one electrical connection. He just took one piece where the wires plugged in (sending unit?) off the old one and put on the new one. He had me move the TC shift lever down to the N position while he bolted the linkage back together. He then told me to put the lever in 2 high. It was very difficult to move, but it shifted. The problem is that now it is stuck in 2 high. The lever will not move at all. He tried several different adjustments to the linkage, but nothing worked. The TC had no fluid in it all when he bolted it in. He suggested driving it a couple of days with fluid in it to maybe lubricate and loosen it up. That was yesterday and it is still stuck. Sorry for the long post. Any suggestions?

Did you try to put the shifter in N then try to shif the lever down? I think it also could be the wireing. i dont think what he did was a good idea with the electrical. there are reasons why the electrical looks a certon way.

Yeah we tried it in neutral with and w/o the engine running. It was getting late and we were all tired, or he probably would have pulled the TC back out. If there was a problem with the wiring, would that show up with the engine off?

It could, some ecu's will not let a car shift into gear is the engine is off. What about fluid, is there enough in there?

Only 2 things i can think of. 1. Linkage is hung up somewhere. 2. The "electrical connection" you switched over is for the VIC mode display and is too long for that t-case and is jamming the camlike detentes inside the t-case. The simplest answer is usually the correct one (Occam's Razor), but to check is real simple. Take out that "electrical connector" and try to shift the case, if shifts, there u go. If not go to the linkage. Did you measure the input shafts to make sure they matched up? If the new one is too long, it can jam up all kinds of stuff, including your tranny. Good Luck 'Bro!

Thanks everybody for the ideas so far. I talked to my brother today (before I read these last 2 posts) and he said that he was able to shift the TC by hand before he connected the shift linkage. He tried several different adjustments to the linkage before it got too late. As far as fluid level goes, he filled up the case with Dexron right after everything was bolted back in and connected. Concerning the input shaft, nothing was measured as far as I know. It is an NP 231 with ratio of 272. That is exactly what was on the Jeep. The only difference that I know of is that electrical connection and I will try that suggestion tomorrow. I hope that my brother can look at it again this weekend.