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Novak Cable Shifter for the NP231 Transfer Case

by Tim Doumit - March 27, 2011
 

Anyone who has a 1997 to 2006 Jeep TJ that has had some sort of modification to the transfer case position in
relationship to the tub needs to deal with the stock linkage.  This means when you have a �belly-up�, body lift, transfer
case drop, motor mount lift, etc. you will have some linkage issues.

When the stock Z-bar shifting linkage gets out of alignment many things can happen including binding, thumping, falling
apart and popping out of gear.  The last can be alarming and dangerous.  Mine let go after a wheeling scare and totally
ruined me for the rest of the day.

There are several ways we can take care of these problems.  Believe me, some are better than others.  I know Stu has
chronicled the stock modified version on this site a few times and I know one is in his AW-4 swap write-up when he made up for the longer drive train.

Using stock linkage and Novak linkage type shifter:
The main idea here is to keep the cross shaft for the Z-bar straight and level to the ground.  The tub side of the linkage
support must be modified in a way that the shaft can insert into the bracket in the correct place.  This might mean
drilling a plate and lowering / raising / moving forward / moving back so the tub bracket�s hole will match the transfer
case position.

This modification sometimes works well but it was not a happy one for my jeep which is why I installed the older version
of the Novak shifter.  There have been a few different versions of this linkage / cane type shifter and it has been
improved over the years.  Novak was kind enough to update their old shifter for me as we found problems.

I used this shifter for a few years and was never completely satisfied with it for some reason.  I knew there should be
something better and that is where we are today.

Novak Cable Shifter:
This shifter is simple and effective.  It is easy to install and is a vast improvement over whatever I have tried in the
past.

Remember that you really should chock the tires as you may be shifting through the gears as the install goes along.  Any
safety precautions should be taken at this time to prevent injury.

Here is the old Novak linkage type shifter that I removed.  (the aluminum shifter knob and rubber boot not shown). If you are familiar with Novak shifters, you will notice that it does not look exactly like their newer style or the old style. 
This one has parts from both.

The install is a little tricky because the cane must be heated up and bent to your liking. I made the mistake of
quenching mine and that thick rod snapped in half on the trail. Lessons learned.  Let your cane air cool

On a side note, I have some jeepin� buddies who are perfectly satisfied with the shifter pictured above.

This is the Novak cable shifter as it came packaged complete with instructions and a few parts including replacement
bolts for the tub side of the install.  You will have to take the brackets off the cable before the install for a couple
reasons....one of them being that a bracket is on backwards in this picture.

One thing I had to do was find my old shift lever.  This did not go exactly as planned as I thought I would never need it
again.  The funny thing is that it was tossed in the trash after getting in my way for a few years.  Thankfully my dad
kept his and it now lives in my jeep.
 

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