I have seen the consoles on the jeeps, but, not the 'rango's....

I would almost be tempted to just customize a console, that I could mount somewhere..... to indicate what drive range I was currently using. I think just having it turn on the 4x4 light in the dash wouldn't be too bad.... would need to see wiring diagrams for the rango to figure it out though.

Apparently, the lite is an 'always hot' circuit (with ignition on) and the switch in the cad just provides ground path. Figger out which pins do what on the new switch, and you should be able to make up a harness that would be plug and play to make the light work.

 

Further on in that thread that I quoited from there were other numbers listed and when I compare them them to http://dodgeram.org/tech/specs/tranfer_case.htm

all the number's are coming up as MAX tq not continuous tq.

Edit: It looks to be based on a 241 but the inner diff is holding back its rating, no better than a 231 xcase. For you to upgrade you would be looking at a 27? xcase. But that does not have a diff in it.

 

I went looking for NVG's website, but, came up dry. I would love to ask them directly what the specs are, as I can't find anything definitive on the web... lots of speculation, and numbers all over the place.... but, that's it.

For a max input torque number, that seems REALLY low for a "4" designated case. Less than half the 241? Something just doesn't seem quite correct there.

Next question becomes, IS there such an animal as the 272? I don't seem to be able to come up with one.

 

I guess I don't buy the super low torque rating simply because it's available in vehicles with drive trains as powerful and nearly as heavy as the Ram. My swap for instance, is the TC from a 360 Durango, going into a 360 Ram. There's no reason to think the 242 would be a failure point compared to the 231 simply because it has the diff in it. Unless a tech from NV has some hard data to present, I would be curious where some of the ratings online came from.

 

nv271 is a manual shift xcase thats what I meant to type sorry.

 

Ok, found this. PDF file with various specs for NVG t-cases. Apparently, max input torque for the 242HD is indeed 2028 ft/lbs. Wow. Guess that differential in there is indeed the weak point. Max vehicle weight is listed as 5500 pounds. Whereas, the 241HD I have in there now is 11000 pounds.... basically half the strength of my current t-case.... and my truck is borderline over the weight limit in any event.

The AMG case is a bit stronger at 2340 max input torque, and 11500 pound GVW, but, it is my understanding that the AMG case does not have a 2wd mode.

Now, I wonder if I could swipe some of the hard parts out of the AMG case, and stick them in the dodge case, and have the best of both worlds......

The 271 case doesn't have the "full time" 4wd option though, and that is what I am looking for.

 

Link no worky

 

Try it now. Think its fixed.

 

Thank You for posting that pdf file

 

So, I'm resurrecting this thread from the dead because I have been considering this swap for myself. I picked up a 2003 Toyota Sequoia this year as temporary transportation while my ram is off the road for bodywork/paint, and it has a transfer case that works very similarly to an NP242...and I love it. It's SO much better to deal with in the snow than my 231 equipped ram. Here in Indiana, most of the time when we get inclement weather, it's a mix of snow/ice and dry pavement, so in the truck I always feel like I'm hesitant to use 4wd unless it's truly bad. Therefore, I spend a lot of time driving around in 2wd when I would prefer to be in full-time 4wd. 2wd is fun, but with 4.10 gears, no traction control, a newly rebuild limited slip, and especially the stroker motor currently under construction for this truck...the *** end of the truck can get fairly sketchy. I liken driving the truck in the snow to an axe murder who is your friend. If you're really awake and have some driving skill, it will get you where you need to go...but you better not screw up and give him a reason to hurt you haha.


Let's talk about gauge clusters and the 4wd light options for a moment.
Here is a stock ram cluster

Here is a stock durango cluster

As you can see, the durango clusters appears to be nearly identical to the Ram cluster, other than the series of bulbs along the bottom. One of which being the 2 4wd modes.

Perhaps the cluster swap could be done and the switch on the 242 wired up in a factory fashion? Would the Ram ECU be able to do anything with this information?

I really like the idea of having the full time and part time lights on the dash if we can come up with a solution for this. The shifter is far away on the floor in a ram, so visually seeing which position the lever is in will not be as easy as in a jeep or durango. I'm less concerned about me doing something dumb like leaving it in the wrong position, but I plan on this truck being a member of my forever fleet, so I try to build all my vehicles in such a way that my future wife could jump in them and drive them without and special things to remember, or I could loan the truck to a friend/family member without a whole lot of special explanations (full time vs part time is already complicated enough).