241OR transfer case will not shift into 4LO

[JoeUtley]

I have searched this issue and not found anything similar which seems odd. I picked up a Rubicon Tcase to swap in my 2006 tj x and it will not shift into 4lo. on the table before we put it in and after making sure it had fluid it was hard to shift into 4hi and neutral and would not go into 4lo. So we figured maybe it had to have a load with the drive shafts and everything rolling slowly to get into 4lo. The jeep is completed put back together and a roller and still will not shift into 4lo. It shifts into 4hi, neutral, and back through to 2hi no problem.

I am new to the 241 for sure so if anyone has any tips to ideas of what could be causing this your input would be greatly valued. I am using the Novak shifter cable as well.

 

[Chris]

Did you take the transfer case apart before installing it? It sounds like it may have an issue internally if the lever will not engage 4LO.

 

[Steel City 06]

Can you disconnect the shifter cable and manually shift the lever on the case through all of the positions? If there isn’t enough throw in the cable assembly, you might not be able to shift completely

Edit: ignore. Just saw you couldn’t shift on the table

 

[LieutenantJohnson]

Well if you couldn't shift it manually while it was sitting on the table, I would have been suspect. That was the time I would have cracked it open to see what was up. Sounds like you will need to pull it and inspect inside

 

[tworley]

Stated he couldnt shift into 4lo when it was on the table. I'd crack it open and investigate. Tcase's are pretty simple once you get into it

 

[JoeUtley]

Before I unbolted the 12 transfer case skid bolts and 4 trans mount bolts I wanted to just check with some experienced 241 owners to see if this case is stiffer than the 231 or if it should shift into 4lo with the same ease as the other shift locations. I have plenty of experience messing up my 231 in my lj and having to crack it open so I will just pop this 241 open and dive into it.

I was for sure suspect of the internals when I couldn't move it into 4lo outside of the jeep but had heard the 241 is a lot tighter than the 231 and did not want to force it.
If anyone knows of some write ups for rebuilding the 241 or going through it that would be greatly appreciated. Or simply some heads up or anything that would be cool too!

Thanks fellas

 

[g.hayduke]

Before tearing the entire thing apart again, disconnect the cable, get a front and rear wheel off the ground, then try to manually shift into 4L at the TC while rotating the rear driveshaft by hand.

That's if you didn't already do that before you installed it into your Jeep.

When I installed the Savvy cable shifter (very similar to Novak) in my '05 Rubi, I had to provide a little more clearance for the shift lever to move all the way back into 4L. I think the lever assemblies vary somewhat from Jeep to Jeep.

Also, not sure what the difference is but the cable shifter kits are specific to either the 231 or 241OR. Are you using the correct cable shifter for the 241OR?

 

[JoeUtley]

Before tearing the entire thing apart again, disconnect the cable, get a front and rear wheel off the ground, then try to manually shift into 4L at the TC while rotating the rear driveshaft by hand.

That's if you didn't already do that before you installed it into your Jeep.

When I installed the Savvy cable shifter (very similar to Novak) in my '05 Rubi, I had to provide a little more clearance for the shift lever to move all the way back into 4L. I think the lever assemblies vary somewhat from Jeep to Jeep.

Also, not sure what the difference is but the cable shifter kits are specific to either the 231 or 241OR. Are you using the correct cable shifter for the 241OR?

I will put a tire from each end up and try again while moving the rear driveshaft while my wife tries to put it in 4l.
So are you saying the plate that attaches to the tcase on one end and the cable shifter on the other needed clearancing? If so I will definitely look into that because the guy who sold us the case did not include that lever or plate. I believe I purchased the plate itself from Savvy because the novak 241 kit does not include it like the 231 kit does.

Used the proper Novak 241 kit on the TJ for sure.

 

[g.hayduke]

So are you saying the plate that attaches to the tcase on one end and the cable shifter on the other needed clearancing?

No. I'm talking about the slot that the actual shift lever (that you grab with your hand in the cab) travels through. In my case, the lower part of the actual shift lever in the cab was hitting the back of the slot before it was fully into 4L. This slot is under the console, inside the cab. It can limit the travel of the shift lever.

That's why I said to disconnect the cable shifter and move the selector on the TC itself. That eliminates any possibility that the shifter or cable is preventing engagement of 4L.

 

[B00mb00m]

So i just spent a SIGNIFICANT amount of time troubleshooting the NP231 since i did a rebuild and forgot a single retainer clip (that was hard to diagnose). Anywho, even on the bench it can be hard to put enough torque on the sector shaft by hand but if you disconnect the shift lever/cable from the sector shaft you can use a box wrench on the nut to turn the sector. Do this to check if you have enough stroke at the sector. Make sure its not turning the nut. You can do this without removing the skid plate. 4:1 from 1:1 is a big jump so i imagine getting into L on a 241 is even harder. Turning the engine off can help also.

 

[LieutenantJohnson]

So i just spent a SIGNIFICANT amount of time troubleshooting the NP231 since i did a rebuild and forgot a single retainer clip (that was hard to diagnose). Anywho, even on the bench it can be hard to put enough torque on the sector shaft by hand but if you disconnect the shift lever/cable from the sector shaft you can use a box wrench on the nut to turn the sector. Do this to check if you have enough stroke at the sector. Make sure its not turning the nut. You can do this without removing the skid plate. 4:1 from 1:1 is a big jump so i imagine getting into L on a 241 is even harder. Turning the engine off can help also.

it is actually like butter on mine to get to 4lo. Not a struggle whatsoever with a Savvy cable. Before the cable, it shifted not to bad. There were times where the tcase liked a slow roll while switching though.

 

[Daryl]

Remove your transfer case range sensor and see if you can shift it.

 

[JoeUtley]

Busted it open and found the issue. Mode ring was installed wrong by PO. The idiot also cut the shift rod presumably trying to get it to shift into 4lo. Anyone know the correct length of the 241or shift rod? Want to make sure this one is usable.

 

[B00mb00m]

Busted it open and found the issue. Mode ring was installed wrong by PO. The idiot also cut the shift rod presumably trying to get it to shift into 4lo. Anyone know the correct length of the 241or shift rod? Want to make sure this one is usable.

That'll do it!