NP-231 Fun

[Miles]

If you shift the transfer case to Neutral, and leave it there, while the engine is running....it's going to grind if you try to engage it into any selection. If you ever pause in Neutral with the X-case, you need to kill the motor, engage the x-case, then re-start the motor.

I just never pause in Neutral with the X-Case when the motor is running. Just pull the lever right through it.....with no pause. I engage the x-case by first shifting the transmission to neutral, THEN pulling the x-case shifter to either 4HI, or directly all the way back to 4LO. I've never had a problem with this. Then shift the transmission back into gear. It also sometimes helps to have the vehicle slightly rolling when shifting to 4LO. Again, just stick the transmission in Neutral, then just shift the X-case directly into gear, going right through the Neutral gate altogether. Easy Peasy.

I repeat this same super simple process anytime I shift back into 2HI. I rarely ever use 4HI.

[Kristian]

Looks killer (cant wait to get Miles reaction) Now you just need a 2wd delete plate.

[Miles]

WHY DO I HAVE TO KEEP GIVING OUT ALL MY IDEARS OUT ON TEH INTARWEBZ?????

It looks freaking awesome. Shipping to 76058 please.

Seriously. How much will it cost me to have that done if I sent you two consoles in dark charcoal?

[TrailTamer]

if you're serious, i paid $350 for this job, the shop said this job normaly will run me $600-$700 but they're desperated due that they're not busy so they gave me 50% off discount!

the shop is called Rigg Bros, there's several in the chicago area, i went to the one in Downers Grove.

i could have them to have my blazer for few days to mock up and make your console if you're down for it.

i will get better pics later today, these pictures' terrible lol

my 4wd switch delete plate's on its way now, same seller kristian got his from (ebay)

Originally Posted by Miles

WHY DO I HAVE TO KEEP GIVING OUT ALL MY IDEARS OUT ON TEH INTARWEBZ?????

It looks freaking awesome. Shipping to 76058 please.

Seriously. How much will it cost me to have that done if I sent you two consoles in dark charcoal?

[Miles]

I'll have to think about that. Being in DFW, I would think that there are shops here local to me that can do this as well. Just hadn't explored that yet.

Do you have any pics of both shifters bolted to the floor pan, without the console? I'd like to see how it looks with them both being bolted to the same two studs in the center.

[TrailTamer]

i put the transfer case shifter assembly UNDER the floor transmission shifter assembly (the black plate under the shifter assembly.

i couldnt just put the t-c shifter on top actually cuz the plate wont let it to seat evenly

no pic sorry

whats DFW?

[Kristian]

Originally Posted by TrailTamer

whats DFW?

Dallas Fort Worth Texas

[TrailTamer]

heres the new pics, much better than the earlier post (deleted)


http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s...r/DSC01386.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s...r/DSC01387.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s...r/DSC01388.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s...r/DSC01389.jpg

http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s...r/DSC01390.jpg

[ynotortsac]

That really does look good, man!
Now you're gona have to clean the carpet on the floor tho.

[HenryJ]

Originally Posted by ynotortsac

Now you're gona have to clean the carpet on the floor tho...

Or a handfull of dirt and a cup of java so it matches

It does look really good! Nice job.

[Kristian]

Lots of questions over on USA so Im posting this here also.

Ok first off get yourself an older case of of a pre 94?(I think). The older cases will have the wide chain and will probably have a 6 gear planetary assembly but thats not why you want it. Its a fixed front output case that should allow you to use a first gen drive-shaft with u-joints on each side. Not only will the case be stronger but the front drive-shaft will be stronger as well. This will also help with front drive-shaft angles should you ever go SFA.

Wires:
You Do Not Have To cut anything on the 236 Harness. The Speed sensor wires for the rear output (tacse) are actually part of the transmission wire harness. If you feel around on top of your tcase/transmission you will find the wires that go from the transmission wire harness and run inside the tape on the tcase harness. Once those are free of the tcase harness they can be adapted/spliced into the speed sensor on the 231.

Delete the 236 harness:
To remove the 236 harness simply unplug/unclip all of the connectors from the 236 and the large connector found inside the engine compartment near the master cylinder. Once its free on both ends you will have to remove a bell housing bolt to free a metal harness hold down strap. Once thats down the entire thing can be deleted/removed from the truck.

Drilling:
Once the old console is removed you will find a few divots in the sheet-metal marking where you need to drill. You will need to drill a very large hole for the cable grommet. This is much easier with a right angle drill and a short/cut down hole saw. You can clean up the hole with a sanding bit so long as you use a slightly smaller hole saw. I used some thick rubber washers to help seal my bolt hols, inserting the bolts from under the rig through the rubber washers.

Cutting/Modification:
The front of the console will need to be trimmed to fit the 2nd gen dash. You may (Jeremy Didn't) also need to trim the bottom of the console to fit the floor.

Rear support bracket:
The rear support bracket will need to be changed. I found the bracket from the 2nd gen console could be used with modification. The top will have to be drilled for the sheet metal screws of the 231 console. The bracket will also need to be cut down and shortened. I pounded the bracket flat in the middle and cut out a section of metal to shortened the bracket. I then used some thin aluminum to clamp the bracket back together (no welder)


-Kristian (feel free to PM me)

[warriorcustoms]

I know this thread is old, but it's the reason I joined. I'm doin the swap in my 95 Blazer. My issue is that I would really like to use the pigtail that spliced into the wiring harness. I removed everything from my 95 parts Blazer in an attempt to make everything look and work like it was the stock option, because I would like my lights to work on the console. Anyone have the wire diagrams to help me get it right? The 4dr parts Blazer had the under dash computer, the 2dr has the better under hood set up.

Thanks fellas! Oh, and where were the pictures taken that are on Miles avatar? I would like to go try it out after I get my ride buttoned up.

[Miles]

Originally Posted by warriorcustoms

Oh, and where were the pictures taken that are on Miles avatar? I would like to go try it out after I get my ride buttoned up.

Those were taken at different locations, across 3 states I think. Any pic in particular?

[Blazerguy]

Originally Posted by HenryJ

I am not going to be much help. I don't have the schematics for a '94 It is a "tween" year , add to that an export model and it may be a difficult egg to crack.

Ours has three control modules. The PCM (Powertrain Control Module) in the engine compartment. The BCM (Body control Manual)under the dash and the TCM (Transfercase control module) in the right side kick panel.

I do not know where your PCM is located, or if the kick panel module is both.

Your best bet will be to get your hands on a factory service manual. Helminc.com

Be prepared it will be $65 US. from there see if you can find the right trail to follow what has been done in this thread for the later model years.

A bit OT sorta...but I actually have the GM service manuals for a 94. Not sure if they are the same for an export or not. I had a boosted CPI 94 Blazer at one time so I wound up buying all the service manuals. PM me and we'll figure out if these have what you need and I can get you the pinouts or if you want I'll sell you the darn things. No longer have the 94 anymore so they are pretty much thick books taking up space in a bookshelf.

[warriorcustoms]

The one on the rock in the middle of the lake or stream my dad seen it and was like how the hell'd they get that up there LOL I said lockers front and rear most likely lmao

[Kevin S]

I just spent a bunch of time reading this again while I should be studying for 2 Finals I have tomorrow

Reason being - I got everything to do a 231 swap I'm talking the case, support bars, shifter bracket, cable, lever, and a black center council. I'm so excited right now.

The case is out of a 95 - so it should have the splined output shaft as opposed to the U-joint right? The seller is going to double check for me though. I DON'T want a U-Joint output, because I have a Knaffle/Synergy HD Front Driveshaft that I would like to continue to run. Otherwise I would have had this done a long time ago. The yard by me has 2 dozen S-Series in it, half being old school, and about half of those had 231's in them.

And I grabbed a Bravada shaft and Tube at the junkyard Thanksgiving weekend for a bank-busting $20.

I think these things should make a nice addition to the Blazer. Hopefully I can knock it all out one weekend over my Christmas break.

[Mud Man89]

which dust cup do you have, the one for the 236 or the one for the 233? Reason for my asking is I think that Kristian had some troubles with his cutting the seal. But I don't remember which driveshaft he got his out of

I think that either '94 or '95 was the cutoff for those, but you can still use the driveshaft even if it has the yolk output on it, just take the sliding flange part(or whatever its called) off and bolt it to the yolk, IIRC he said that its the same size as the factory one. Or another option if that doesn't work out, but i know that you don't want to do, is get a driveshaft from a first gen, its all the same

[Kevin S]

Originally Posted by Mud Man89

which dust cup do you have, the one for the 236 or the one for the 233? Reason for my asking is I think that Kristian had some troubles with his cutting the seal. But I don't remember which driveshaft he got his out of

I think that either '94 or '95 was the cutoff for those, but you can still use the driveshaft even if it has the yolk output on it, just take the sliding flange part(or whatever its called) off and bolt it to the yolk, IIRC he said that its the same size as the factory one. Or another option if that doesn't work out, but i know that you don't want to do, is get a driveshaft from a first gen, its all the same

I have a 236 and have the smaller dust cup shown here

You lost me on the 2nd part of that

All I know is that I don't want to run a 1st gen driveshaft, since I have one of these babies




If this case is a U-Joint for the front output, I know it can be swapped for a splined output from a 233, since those cases are pretty much identical correct?

What about using the splined shaft from my 236? Would that work? I know the 236 case sits about 1" further back at the front output since its 1" longer overall (Source: Jeremy Miles on ZR2USA. Thanks man!) but I don't know if the shaft is any different.

Hmmm.


Sorry if I am mucking up your thread Jeremy. Feel free to split my posts into a new topic. I won't be upset

[Mud Man89]

for the second part, all you do is take the u-joint out of the yolk of the part that slides onto the output shaft, and bolt the driveshaft onto the output yolk

[Kevin S]

Well, my seller checked his case and it is indeed a splined output
I'm really excited to get this stuff and do the swap!

You guys can delete my now-worthless posts above. LOL

[Miles]

Naw man, glad to hear you're gettin it done! Let us know if you get in a jam.

[Kevin S]

Will do!

I'm going to re-read this thread and the one(s) over at zr2usa before I start.

I think I'm going to pick up all the parts on the 18th. Only thing that sucks is that I will leave Lansing after my Final Exam, drive 4.5 hours south east to Indianapolis to get the stuff, then another 4 hours back to Holland Oh well - it will be worth it.

Then the plan is to tear into it all on Sunday. I don't have to work that following week (21st) so I will have until Thursday to solve any issues I may have. I don't really anticipate any, but who knows. This is the first/largest project I have taken on mechanically speaking, so its both exciting and intimidating at the same time. Thankfully I have some nice footprints to follow

How long did it take you guys who have done the swap? Full day of wrenching + a little time to tie up loose ends (shifting issues, etc)

Oh - I also have to install my Bravada shaft and tube!

I'm excited. It will be nice to not only have 4wd working again, but now have it be reliable.


BTW - does anyone have any pictures of the shifter bracket mounted? I looked through your album Jeremy, but maybe I missed it. I know there are stamped areas in the body to drill out, but I would like to see a few pictures before hand. It would have been nice to have pulled the stuff myself so I could see all this, but what can you do.

[cknaffle]

Is this what you need Kevin?

[Miles]

Here's the link to my 231 swap album for reference: CLICK

Mine:




Tom's:

[cknaffle]

Holy crap, I can't even look at the pictures of that shiny case without sunglasses on.

[Kevin S]

Alright this will be a long post, so bear with me

The 231 swap is complete and functional! Its actually been done for a week, but I have been too busy to post.

I had a friend come over last Saturday to give me a hand and we made quick work of the swap. I think we started at about noon and had the case, shifter assembly, and cable in and functional by about 8. That included taking time for lunch, dinner, and a parts/tools run. I think we had about 5 hours into it, which I don't think is too bad.

Drivetrain
We pulled both driveshafts and then stuck the front end up on jacks to give us some more room to work. We then put the jack on the transmission pan to hold it up because we pulled the transmission crossmember off.

Once that stuff was all off and out of the way we unbolted the 236 from the adapter plate and pulled it. I know Miles said he had to fight his to come out and pry his engine/trans over, but that was not the case with mine. We pulled it back, dropped the front down, rotated it a bit and it came right out. I think it helped we had the jack under the trans as opposed to a strap holding it up because we were able to get some vertical movement out of it to help with removal.

Once that was out, getting the 231 it and bolted up was simple. We followed the same "path"/method that the 236 used to come out to put the 231 back in. Except this was easier because the 231 is smaller and lighter.

As for the VSS - I did what was mentioned here and matched colors. Can't remember them ATM but I do know it was the connector for the VSS on the Front DS of the Autocrap.

This should have been there from the factory!
Its like the Blazer got a tummy tuck LOL
PS - I know my frame needs painted

Interior
The interior part was fairly easy as well. I don't know how anyone would drill the hole for the cable without a right angle drill. That and a 1.5" holesaw bit made quick work of that part. I then took a file to clean up the whole.

I know some people have drilled holes for the 6 bolts needed to mount the shifter assembly and cable, but I opted to use self taping screws with both a rubber and metal washer. That worked very well IMO. I was under the truck to check clearance on the screws so they didn't hit the transmission, cable, etc. and my friend drove them in. I know that some people have had issues with the fuel lines in the way, but I did not.

Along with the rubber washers, I applied caulk to help seal it all up.

I think the biggest PITA was cutting the padding under the carpet It doesn't really cut well - more like it rips. I could have probably made it easy on myself buy just cutting out a big square, but I wanted to retain as much carpet and insulation as possible for noise and heat reduction. It probably doesn't matter though, as I would like to Dynamat a good chunk of the interior sometime this spring. Although, I may not if it starts turning into more of a wheeler. Who knows.

Now, I really wanted to keep the factory indicator for the 231, but I could not figure out a way to do so. The BCM was right in the way and I tried and tried but failed to figure out a way to relocate it. I didn't want to cut up the kick panel either and leave it exposed. So I did like Miles and others have and cut the indicator off. Let me tell ya - cutting up a pristine 231 council is rather sickening. But its trimmed, in and IMO looking good . The council is not exactly flush with the floor in a few spots, but I can't quite figure out what part is keeping it from being so. Oh well. Its pretty close and in the end its not a show car. Maybe I need to mod my rear support and it will help fix it (still haven't done that).

I didn't have to pull any fuses or bulbs for my "Service 4WD" light to stay off. It has been off for a few weeks and I think its cause it actually burnt out after being on pretty much full time for 2 years LOL


Everything works perfectly and I am VERY excited to have 4wd working again. Its SO nice to just be able to pull the lever back and be in 4HI. I'm a little pissed at myself though - I forgot to run the wire for 4LO, and I forgot to plug my cigarette lighters back in :brickbash: So I have to pull some of the dash and kick panels back off. Not really hard, just annoying. I can't believe I forgot. :reallycrazy:

The only thing I don't like is that I have no storage anymore. The old center council had a huge area in the front, but the new one is tiny. And the coin holder sucks so I'll probably put a delete plate in there.

Things needed to make the 231 Swap 100% Complete:
Run 4LO Cable
Plug in Cigarette Lighters
Install Aluminum Skid
Mod center council rear support bracket

I still have yet to install the Bravada shaft and tube. I actually tried 2 times now, but failed. Both times I get stuck on one of the brake caliper bolts and the 36MM axle nut. I even soaked the shit out of them with PB Blaster. I kept bending my 24" Breaker bar, and the Impact couldn't do a thing either. For now, I made a spacer to keep the front diff cable pulled. Similar to what vice grips would do. I pulled the cable so the front end was engaged and then made this spacer to keep it from going back. Its not my favorite thing, but it works for now.


Anyways, here are some pictures. Ignore the nasty floormats and carpet. Its winter :P

Halfway mounted Shifter Assembly
Close to being mounted: Pic 1, Pic 2, Pic 3
Cable and infamous clip

[Kevin S]

Thanks again for the help, and for doing the research and testing on this


One quick question - can I run the 4LO wire to the TCCM? Or does it have to go to the PCM in the engine compartment?

[Miles]

Welcome to the club man! It looks very nice! Very glad it worked out for ya.

You will need to modify the rear bracket for the center console. I have the Bose amp under mine, and it was a bit tricky. Came out very nice though.

As for the wire for the 4LO, it needs to be run over to the ECM under the hood, to patch in to that wire. There's a little rubber grommet on the passenger side fire wall, right above the floor board, and it's easily accessible by pulling the carpet back. Just run your wire through there, and it'll come out right under the heater box in the engine compartment. Mine came out very clean, and the wire is well protected there.

[troublemaker]

Yep same way I did mine. It really wasn't that hard.

[Kristian]

Originally Posted by Miles

As for the wire for the 4LO, it needs to be run over to the ECM under the hood

You can also tap into the wires inside the cab as they run to the TCCM. Simply remove the plastic from the passengerside kick panel and splice in.

[Kevin S]

Originally Posted by Miles

Welcome to the club man! It looks very nice! Very glad it worked out for ya.

You will need to modify the rear bracket for the center console. I have the Bose amp under mine, and it was a bit tricky. Came out very nice though.

As for the wire for the 4LO, it needs to be run over to the ECM under the hood, to patch in to that wire. There's a little rubber grommet on the passenger side fire wall, right above the floor board, and it's easily accessible by pulling the carpet back. Just run your wire through there, and it'll come out right under the heater box in the engine compartment. Mine came out very clean, and the wire is well protected there.

I'm very happy to be in the club

My rear bracket lines up perfectly, but just isn't quite tall enough to sit on the floor. I might just get some spacers to go under it and put the bolts on and call it a day.

Yea, I know about that grommet - I have my amp wire ran through it. I just hate running wire

Originally Posted by Kristian

You can also tap into the wires inside the cab as they run to the TCCM. Simply remove the plastic from the passengerside kick panel and splice in.

Ahhh Yes!!!

That is what I was hoping to hear. Saves me some time and trouble. Thanks!

[Mud Man89]

gotta quick question, i got a friend who has a '00 Tahoe with the autotrak, and he's looking at doin a 241 swap, in general should this be a good guideline to follow?

[Miles]

Originally Posted by Kristian

You can also tap into the wires inside the cab as they run to the TCCM. Simply remove the plastic from the passengerside kick panel and splice in.

Hey....quit correcting me and go buy a Heep already!!!

[Kristian]

Originally Posted by Miles

Hey....quit correcting me and go buy a Heep already!!!

Pulling the axles out of it right now actually.