Personally I prefer the 242 over the 231. I have a 242 mated to my NV3550 behind my 2.5CRD.

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http://www.Colorado4Wheel.com
"Its not about what you can DO with your Jeep, its about where you can GO with your Jeep."
Knowledgeable - But Caustic

Personally I prefer the NP241OR over the 242 or the 231....

Sent from my SM-N900P using Tapatalk

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2002 KJ Limited 3.7, 5.25" lift via coilovers, custom HD rear springs, 32.2" tires on moabs (soon 33s) 4.56/JBA diff, OX lockers front/rear, NP241OR, Parker Fab front/rear bumpers, rock rails and roof rack, Viair OBA.

2006 KJ sport 3.7, 4" Ironman lift, 32" tires, Parker Fab front/rear bumpers and rock rails.

For me the 241OR is no better than a 231. Lack of Full time is a big negative for me, and the 4:1 is no positive for me.

Now if there was a 242OR then I would be interested in it.

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http://www.Colorado4Wheel.com
"Its not about what you can DO with your Jeep, its about where you can GO with your Jeep."
Knowledgeable - But Caustic

I haven't written down all the crap that I've done to this thing to get it streetable, mostly because it's been kicking my booty. The transmission has been the easiest part this far. I went through a handful of vendors trying to get gears for this thing and I had 4 wheel parts cancel my order without my knowledge or any notification because the set of 2.94 gears they had posted on their website were no longer in production. 2.94 gears proved impossible to find, so then I went for 3.07's. They were a stock gear ratio for chrycos in jeeps, so it should be easy. No. The only sets I could find were from dealer stock and they were $650 and up. I ended up paying about $350 for a set of NOS 2.76's from Randy's Ring and Pinion. They went in easy enough, granted I have no idea how to set up a rearend, but following the Liberty service manual, I snapped a ring bolt off trying to step the torque to 70ftlbs. In the process, I had to rebuild the breaks because both sides had inoperable parking breaks, seized caliper pins, ruined rotors, pads and shoes and one side was so rusted that the rivets holding the drum backing plate/dust cover broke away. I've rebuilt the brakes (parking brakes still don't work), cleaned and rust proofed as much as I could and ended up welding the dust cover on because I couldn't get the mounting flange off without cutting off the mounting studs. Moral of the story, never trust a previous owner, check everything, and 2.76's are way too @$#% short for this engine. Also, can someone tell me how to post effing pictures for when I do take another crack at doing some semblance of a write up.

Post your pictures to photobucket or similar website.
Then insert the links to your photos when you post a reply.

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U.S. Army Retired

Can not help but notice the unusual axle ratio's you are quoting? My manual 2.8 runs 3.73 as standard, and I had plans to go with 4.10 from the 2.5 crd manual. even with standard wheels/tires the gearing will be so high with 2.94

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2005 KJ RENAGADE 2.8 CRD 6 SPEED NP242 FULLTIME 4X4

I was hoping to maintain my cruising rpm. With the 545RFE and 30" tires, my cruising set was 70MPH at 2000RPM, using the stock 3.73 gears. When I moved to the NSG, with no other changes, my cruised dropped to 55MPH at 2000RPM. The 2.94's would've put me right back at my old numbers, 3.07's would've set me at around 68MPH at 2000RPM, and the 2.76's have me sitting at 77MPH at 2000RPM. I think that I'll go to 3.07's once I find a company that will cut a matching set for that ridiculous Dana 30a front diff.

With 3.07 gears, 245/75/16 tires will yield 70 MPH at 2000 RPM. 235/75/16 tires will yield 69 MPH at 2000 RPM. Personally, I wouldn't use a gear higher than 3.07:1.

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2006 CRD Sport
GDE FT ECO tune, GDE TCM ECO tune, ARP studs, HDS-001 203F T-Stat, 3.7L nylon fan & Hayden 2905 clutch, Carter P76148M in-tank pump, Racor 245R122 filter head & 2 micron R25S fuel filter, Provent 200, Samcos, Fumoto F-102, Litens 920834A de-coupler, PML rear diff cover, OEM trans pan with welded in bung, JBA UCAs, full skids.

I now understand what you are trying to achieve , My reason going with the manual was for opposite reasons, better acceleration. Will be interesting to see what 0 to 60 times your get with that gearing. Just a suggestion but wouldn't it be easier to go with larger tires to gain the same effect.

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2005 KJ RENAGADE 2.8 CRD 6 SPEED NP242 FULLTIME 4X4

That's what I would do.

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2005 kj CRD, samco, suncoast tc, provent, Kennedy lift pump, GDE ECO full torque, 2nd gen filter head, 245/70/16 a/t tires, mopar light bar, fumoto oil valve, OEM Skid Plates, ARB Front bumper and HD OME, tru cool LPD47391 40k GVW tranny cooler (stock cooler delete), FF Dynamics e-fan and shroud, rocker arms replaced, HDS2 190F thermostat.

To get where I wanted for cruising RPM, I would need tires that were 37" tall. I was hoping to finish this swap and get back on the road for as cheap as possible. I know everyone will have their opinions or armchair QB advice, but what is done is done. I enjoy my manual trans, I'll live with the gears until I have the time to get matched gears and rebuild both axles, and I'll keep tweaking things as needed.

For 37 inch tires, you would need different axles and a serious lift, and that gets very expensive... More than likely a sfa. I understand now why you didn't go with bigger tires.

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2005 kj CRD, samco, suncoast tc, provent, Kennedy lift pump, GDE ECO full torque, 2nd gen filter head, 245/70/16 a/t tires, mopar light bar, fumoto oil valve, OEM Skid Plates, ARB Front bumper and HD OME, tru cool LPD47391 40k GVW tranny cooler (stock cooler delete), FF Dynamics e-fan and shroud, rocker arms replaced, HDS2 190F thermostat.

Here's my first attempt at posting a picture. This is how goofy the interior looks when you keep the auto console and shifter bezel. This is what it looked like before I cut the shifter stalk off of the mount and rewelded it to actually clear the opening.

<a href="http://s1377.photobucket.com/user/Chrisjk/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpshirslax9.png.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1377.photobucket.com/albums/ah69/Chrisjk/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpshirslax9.png" border="0" alt=" photo image_zpshirslax9.png"/></a>

Well piss. How about this one.

This is too awesome! Wanna do mine? LOL. I wish I was more tool handy.

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2005 CRD KJ
GDE engine/trans chips
Provent
Suncoast TC shift kit
40MPG

Did you have to cut a large hole in the transmission tunnel for the gearbox tower to stick through, or is the hole already there?

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2005 KJ RENAGADE 2.8 CRD 6 SPEED NP242 FULLTIME 4X4

So, there is cutting, but it isn't the body. There's an accessory base plate that mounts to the tunnel and holds the shifter, SRS module, parking brake, etc. that is different between the auto and manual. I kept the auto one in place and just ran a drill up from the tunnel below to mark the corners where the body opening is accessible, then just took a jigsaw to the the accessory plate. I also cut the plate into two sections to make the in and out action easier. The manual plate would be a better choice since it has the inner shift boot attached to it, but I just made a makeshift version by using the original seal that was used to plug the body hole. Like I said in the beginning, this would be way better with a full salvage manual chasis, but I'm cheap and worked with what I had.

Here are a couple more random pictures that I took while doing this sh*tshow.


This is my removal technique; a bike Jack and some lumber.

If you've never pulled a transmission, the easiest way is to remove the extra weight of the transfer case and use as many extensions as you have to get the upper bolts from near the output shaft

This is the access port to each the torque converter bolts. If you have a rectangle hole, the lip on the inside has to be cut off. If the hole is round, you should be fine. The flange interferes with the flywheel going on. I couldn't even find a part number for mine, the parts manual only shows the round, flush version of the trans adapter plate. I cut mine off with a reciprocating saw and fine tooth blade.

Here is the flywheel bolted up. You'll need to get new mounting bolts. I used zinc coated 10.9 that I ordered online I don't recall the size but I believe they were 10x1.25 and 70mm. I just compared the stick out of the original bolts out of the flexplate mounting hub.

This is the pressure plate and clutch plate installed. Once again, you'll need new bolts. I believe these were 10x1.5 and 20mm. Since I used the factory dual mass flywheel, I had to be sure that the bolts didn't pass through the outer friction material and bind against the inner hub.

I'll put a few others later, but the biggest issue to be aware of is the pass through hole needing trimmed.

This should be in the tech forum. You should pm dgeist and ask him nicely to move it there, I think many people would appreciate the info.

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2005 kj CRD, samco, suncoast tc, provent, Kennedy lift pump, GDE ECO full torque, 2nd gen filter head, 245/70/16 a/t tires, mopar light bar, fumoto oil valve, OEM Skid Plates, ARB Front bumper and HD OME, tru cool LPD47391 40k GVW tranny cooler (stock cooler delete), FF Dynamics e-fan and shroud, rocker arms replaced, HDS2 190F thermostat.

Here are the rest of the few pictures from the conversion


Here's the gearbox and transfer case all bolted back in. I painted everything for salt rot resistance and I was bored waiting on my trans mount that I bought from Novak Conversions.

This is the driveshaft I had made, since I didn't have a donor car to pull from. A local shop used my yoke ends and added a new center section that's 3" longer.

This is the t-case shifter cable bracket I made from the transmission cable bracket and some 3/16" flat stock. Novak makes a bracket that would've worked but it's made for a TJ and has a second bracket made to fit in the tunnel. There wasn't enough room.

This is the 2.76 gear next to the factory 3.73 gears.

Last, but definitely not least, this gives an idea of the wiring hassel in front of you. I still haven't finished the harness, but everything on the left will be gone. That includes everything from the transmission to the PCM (which isn't even in the car anymore). I halted work on the wiring because I need to redo the wiring I've done for the clutch safety switch to install a two position switch to get cruise control back. I also need to find a pigtail for the reverse light switch that Chrysler doesn't make apparently.

So there you have it, all in working, driving condition...with the exception of not having backup lights and cruise. I won't have my 4wd back until I can find a suitable set of matching gears and anything above a 3.55 for the front Dana 30a will need to be custom cut. I haven't found anyone willing to do the work as of yet. Also, my salvage yard trans, despite only having 29,000 miles on it, sticks pretty bad in 2nd gear, per the norm for this thing. The next upgrade will most likely be lifting it a little to clear 33" tires and then doing tires when I get matching gears. I'm not a fan of Liberty's in general but the diesel sold me and now I'm trying to make my choice bearable.