96 GC Quadratrac to selec trac

[Maui_Dave]

Originally Posted by dksob81

Well if thats the case then you deffinately have a bad Viscous Coupling. Have you checked the transfer case fluid.

Some have had luck with switching to synthetic fluids in the transfer case, Sythetic oils help disipate heat faster to keep the VC from locking prematurely under hot conditions.

Joe

Joe just so you know, I think I misstyped the info. What I meant to say is that it seems to depend on the gripping of the front tire temperature. It's worse on warmer days because the rubber grips more. I have not noticed a difference between operating temps while running.

That aside, I bet you're right about the VC . I'll check things out and try the synthetic first. Thanks for all your help.

Bye the way, I'm getting a TCC (Torque Converter Clutch -P0740) fault that is failing my emissions. I get a Bad Engine Coolant Sensor fault on my display. I changed the sensor and it still says the same thing. I'm wondering if these two problems are interrelated? I'm going to post this one on a new thread.

Dave

[neon_rt]

I thought the Quadra Trac transfer case used a totally different kind of fluid. I thought the fluid was a Silicone based fluid (thin when cold, thickens with heat) instead of a petroleum based fluid (thick when cold, thins with heat). If you have the wrong fluid in it, that could explaing the binding problem you are having. I've heard the reason for the Quadra Trak being used with the V8's is the fact that they used the Dana 35c rear axle and the axle is not strong enough to bear the power of the V8 all the time, this way the power is spread out between the front and back axles.

[dksob81]

well vc uses a silicone type fluid not the transfer case, the transfer case uses regular dexron tranny fluid..

[neon_rt]

I thought the Viscous Coupling was part of the Quadra Trak transfer case. If not where is it?

[dksob81]

Originally Posted by neon_rt

I thought the Viscous Coupling was part of the Quadra Trak transfer case. If not where is it?

it is, but the vc has a silione putty type fluid inside of it, but the transfer case itself uses dexron/mercon tranny fluid. go here maye it will help explain this a lil easier. http://www.masoncomputing.com/np249/ if u go down to the pic of the vc mybe it will give u a better understanding of the vc....

[Maui_Dave]

dksob

Great site for the VC replacement. All I need now is the $430 for the part !

[motocip]

Update

I went to my local auto salvage yard Tuesday 4-11-06 and found 3 Jeep Cherokees with 242 transfer cases. All of the Jeeps look like late 80's to early 90's. Two of the Jeeps had over 200,000 miles but one of them had 95,000 on it. This one has been sitting on the ground with no wheels and the case has been in contact with the ground for some time, possibly one year. I was given a price of $150.00 if I pull it, or $225.00 if they pull it with a 10 day warranty.

They are not Grand Cherokees, they are sport Cherokees. I noticed the 242 transfer cases have two different housings on the output shaft for the rear drive shaft. My wife's 97 JGC 4.0 w/ 242 case has a rubber boot that makes up for a short tailshaft housing. The 242's I saw in the sport Cherokees have the longer tailshaft housing that looks more like my quadratrac. I am gambling and plan on pulling the one myself, boy do the bolts look rusty. When I have time to do the swap, I will take photos and let you know how things go. Wish me luck!

[motocip]

Update, Wednesday 4-12-06

Today was the day I went for broke. I went back to the bone yard with tools in hand to remove my tranfer case from the donor. The yard worker flipped the Jeep on it's side so I could get my part at which time I discovered the transfer case I thought was a 242 was actually a 231. I did not have the heart to tell the yard worker I made a mistake, so I spent two hours removing it anyway. Got it home and got to work.

Got the Quadratrac out in about 40 minutes and set it next to the 231 to see if I was going to be able to use it or if I was going to have to try to sell it on ebay.The outside casings were quite differet looking. The Quadratrac housing is definately bigger and rounder looking but I proceeded anyway. Checked the input spline count and got 23 on both, so far so good. Measured the input shaft extension from the housing mating surface and only a .100" difference. I thought either this will be okay or could be a problem and mounted it in the Jeep anyway. Went in just fine, I think it is going to be okay. Finished installing the front and rear driveshafts and would you believe they fit perfectly! Lengths are good and all is going well. I am waiting for the bomb shell of why it isn't going to work and next thing the shifter linkage is a problem. A half hour of hillbilly engineering I discovered I need to make it shorter. Cutting and welding done, now it shifts into two, four, and four low. Fill with fluid and road test. Now I am crawling down the driveway waiting for all hell to break loose and nothing happened. On the road and slowly gaining trust, now I am at 70 mph. Runs like a champ but not sure if speedometer is accurate, seems like it is. Stop in the middle of the road, road is wet and no on around. Mashed the pedal to the floor and held firmly. Rears are spinning and the Jeep is starting to drift to the right. Second gear still spinning, third gear some spin then traction and go. I did not know this thing had posi, Wow! $160.13 and half a day of labor, I swear this is the truth. Was it worth getting rid of the Quadratrac, I think the Jeep drives much better now.

Now the question is, will the 231 hold up? I put fresh fluid in it and put some grease on the original driveshaft seal, by the way tranfer donor vehicle had 95,000 miles on it.

I have pictures but do not know how to post them. Any help would be appreciated.

[Maui_Dave]

Congrats - nice job - makes me want to get rid of my Quadratrac...maybe

[studious03]

quick questions.... to my understanding doin this swap would make it a 2 wheel drive(saves fuel) until switched into 4x4? also what about the VIC, what would be displayed? and lastly the levers would stay the same(4x4 High, 4x4 low) no extra selections with the swap?

[motocip]

Originally Posted by studious03

quick questions.... to my understanding doin this swap would make it a 2 wheel drive(saves fuel) until switched into 4x4? also what about the VIC, what would be displayed? and lastly the levers would stay the same(4x4 High, 4x4 low) no extra selections with the swap?

I have been driving my Jeep to work now for about a week in two wheel drive. I can tell a big diffeence in how the vehicle turns, it seems to roll better, and it I hear less interior noise.

My gas mileage is hard to tell just yet because my wife used my car to run erands over the weekend. I anticipate about 1 mile per gallon increase. My average mileage is closer to 17 mpg when before it was about 16 mpg.

As far as the VIC, I don't use it for the four wheel drive. I will probably just mark my console where the shift lever needs to be for 4-hi, neutral, and 4-low. So far it has been a great swap. I am getting a little leakage at the tailshaft- driveshaft seal, that is an easy fix. I know the selec trac has part time and full time four wheel drive, I am not sure about the 231 case. I am going back to the bone yard today to look at the console shifter. I think the 231 case only has full time four wheel drive, who cares, I only would use it when I need it anyway. I am still happy with the swap and would recommend it in place of the quadratrac so far. By the way I tried a burnout on a dry road with posi and I only got about 8-10 feet of rubber in first gear. Just for fun.

[96spyderman]

Originally Posted by motocip

Update, Wednesday 4-12-06
Now I am crawling down the driveway waiting for all hell to break loose and nothing happened. On the road and slowly gaining trust, now I am at 70 mph.

Slowly gaining trust.... as I ram it to 70 LMAO....

My VC is definately going bad.... When tranny is cold front doesn't bind but after about 15 minutes it's like I have the ole WARN hubs locked in

Last time I checked it would be about $2000 for JEEP to fix it

I don't have the level of knowledge/ability that MOTOCLIP has.... but pretty sure I could at least replace the VC myself.
Here is my question to follow what was posted earlier... If I replace the VC I will still have the bad binding?
This winter I changed the front/rear fluids, transfer case fluid and tranny... the trans and transfer case was replaced with synthetic along with an additive JEEP told me to use.
WHY NO RECALL if this seems to be such a common problem?

One good thing... my 98 GC has 110,000 and I get an average of 18-19 or about 22mpg at 65mph....can't complain tooooo much

[jeeperphil]

I used to sell these 92-95 and at a technical conference in indiana (I'm from ohio) they showed us how this case worked so we could explain it to our customers. The quadra trac is in 2wh normal and when it senses rear wheel slip it goes into 4wh automatically. Via the viscous, due to heat from the friction caused by wh slip causing the gel in the viscous to harden connecting the plates inside, giving a solid connection front to rear until gel cools. It happens so fast that you don't notice it. By the way viscous was developed by nasa. Figures. Most all wheel drive vehicles use them also and with same problems as the jeep. I also drove several of these as demos and never had the binding front wheels on driy hard pavement. If they do this - something is wrong! I did the swap over a year ago now and I love the select over the quad. If you get one from the salvage yard I definitely recoment rebuilding it.
Ps pull the vic out, about and 2-3 inches back in the wire bundle you will see a set of plugs that are disconnected. next to a set connected. one is red and the other is black. disconnect one and connect the other to make the vic read the select or cammand trac instead of the quad.