I miss my jeep grand cherokee larado. The feature I think I liked most about it was the select trac 4x4. For those of you who are not familiar with it, in addition to your standard 4wh and 4wl settings, you had "full time" and "part-time" 4x4.

The full time 4x4 essentially made it like an AWD. You could drive it safely in 4x4 full time. The part-time 4x4 locked the front and rear diffs giving power to all 4 wheels...made the little bugger unstoppable like my old suzuki king quad!

So... I know... what's the point. The point is I miss the full-time 4x4 option for those questionable/boarder-line driving conditions where the roads are not slick enough to use reg 4x4.

Is there such a thing as "select trac" for 2nd gen rams? Is that the idea of having the limited slip in the front and rear?

 

There was a thread earlier on, with a member swapping in the NV242 (i think thats the right one) transfer case into his ram. Not sure if he finished it yet.

 

Thanks HY.

I probably missed it since I did not know that's what the NV242 is.
Is the NV242 TC the one that is in my jeep?
If so, now you have me thinking about the 94 JGC Limited I just posted in the for sale area... perhaps there is more than the engine I should be looking at?

 

Yeah, the selectrac case is the NV242. I could see advantages in that.......

 

Yeah, they offer an AWD type transfer case, but it surely doesn't have anything to do with "locking" the front and rear diffs. Unless you swapped in some lockers, they were open diffs... essentially leaving your 4x4 a 2x4, like most 4x4's on the road.

 

Jeep Grand Cherokee Overlander. Limited slips front and rear, and select-trac 4 wheel drive. Neat system. I want one.

 

personally, if i dont know the trail or question the traction i will put it in 4hi, other wise 2hi and 2nd gear work fine.

 

Fixed it for ya.

A 242j will bolt up in place of the 231d as long as the inputs shafts are the same (1.55" with the 46RH and .84" with the 46RE).

You should be able to swap over your front output yoke. I'm not sure about the rear though. A 242j will have a 27 spline output, I'm not sure if the 231d uses a 27, 29, or 32 spline output.

The 242 is a little weaker than the 231 though. Still plenty strong however.

Some Durangos came with a 242d. I would imagine it would be a direct swap.

Another option would be a 242HD AMG case from a hummer. Strong as hell, but no 2wd option.

Oh yeah, keep in mind that the full time system in a 242 is NOT that great. It has no progressive or vicious coupler which makes it simple and appealing, but the lack of such makes the case incapable of transfering torque to where it's needed, but instead to the path of least resistance AKA the wheels with the least traction. If you were to jack up one wheel of a Jeep and shift the transfer case to 4 full time, 100% of the engines power would be transferred to that wheel.

If you want a good AWD case, go with a '96+ NP249 from a ZJ, OR a NV247 from a WJ. The NP249 is a very strong case, but the vicious coupler is expensive ($300+) to replace. Both have low lock capability, and with 2nd gens CAD system, you could retain a 2wd option.

 

What years are we talking about here? From my understanding, the earlier models (2002-2004ish) had no limited slips, while the brand new ones offer a rear limited slip only. Front and rear limited slips on a street driven ride could get very scary/dangerous in the snow, and I just cant see jeep doing that.

 

Overland package started in 2001. So far as I know, front and rear LS diffs were standard for the package. (friend of mine has had two, an 01, and now, an 08, both were similarly equipped.) They actually drive very well in the snow. With the right tires, it will climb buildings....... I suspect that bias ratio in the front diff is pretty low....