Doozy of a T-Case Question

Hello all!

So i found out my truck has a 241HD transfer case that was bastardized to fit the 46re in my truck. Long story short the guy i bought it off of didnt want to put the money into finding the correct tcase when he broke the original so the guy he bought it from (who owns the shop that performed the swap and is the original owner's son) did as cheap of a job as he could so the kid didn't scrap the thing. Right now, the shift mechanism is a hokey twist knob with a cable to engage the axle bolted properly to the back of the axle shaft where normally the vacuum actuator set up would be. The manual shifter on the floor is hooked up but low range does not engage and the shifter wont even go into postition. I would like to set this back up to the factory system but my concern is whether or not i can make the 241hd function in that way. As much as ive been learning the past year about rebuilding axles and engines, ive never bothered to learn about transfer cases or the corresponding axle disconnect systems as its never been a concern.

Another option would be to acquire an original tcase and front driveshaft for the truck but im having difficulty determining the differences between the np241 and np241d if there is one.

OR...if someone could get me the number off of their 94-97 ram 2500 4x4 auto with 360 gas i would appreciate it because i think i could figure it out from there.

UPDATE: I did figure out the tag number for the original tcase based on a part number that the dealership gave me..it was missing a zero and was screwing me up so i have some more numbers to cross reference now but if any one has any answers about keeping the 241hd that would be splendid

Pretty common swap, likely just binding in the linkage or something internal to the case.

The front axle cable is considered by many to be an upgrade as well. Factory being vacuum, if you beat on it it's not uncommon for you to break lines and stuff and make it not actuate. Cable allows you to manually do it rather than relying on making sure youy have vacuum. I went a step further and put in a solid shaft

Im not 100% but I believe later model 241HDs have a different shift pattern than the LD (in line instead of over and down for neutral) which would explain why I cant get the thing to engage properly (not shifting correctly). Can anyone verify that? What year did they change it? It seems the second gens have two different shift patterns and the early third gens are also different from my research. Im not sure what year truck the tcase came from but I believe it was a later model second gen.

That cable that you refer to sounds like a Posi-Lok. I did this swap on my truck a few months ago. Personally, I like it. The front axle seems to have much more "bite" than it did before.

However, DO NOT TWIST the knob. It is meant to pulled. Twisting the knob can/will break the locking mechanism in the knob and then it won't work.

The instructions for operation in the kit were a bit incorrect. What you do is...

1. Engage the transfer case while in drive. You can do this while moving or parked.

2. Pull the cable back. It will "catch" at about half an inch back but it's not fully engaged yet. Keep holding it back until it pulls back another half inch or so. When fully engaged, the shaft will be about 1" exposed. You may have to let the truck move a bit to fully engage or at least that's how it sometimes is for me. If you're stuck in the mud and can't move the truck, just hold the cable back as normal but GENTLY give the engine some gas. It will engage the same but if you use too much throttle, you'll be greeted by a real nasty grinding noise. I learned this the hard way, LOL. The system really does engage easiest if you're moving.

3. To disengage, simply hold the red release button and push the knob back until it's flush with the base. Sometimes it gets stuck and won't disengage so easy especially in winter. I find putting the truck in reverse and moving backwards works a charm every time. I'm not sure if this is the case with every truck but that's how it is in mine.

4. Disengage the transfer case and you're back in 2x4.

If you're driving along and you hear a loud "pop" noise coming from the knob, that means the cable isn't fully engaged and is slipping. The system does take a little getting used to but that's the nature of mechanical setups. And not having sporadic 4x4 due to little vacuum leaks =

In case anyone was wondering i was unable to engage 4low because the shift pattern on the tcase in the truck does not match the original shift pattern. If i pull straight back it engages low range.

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