Transfer case woes!!!

[Hammer_Z71]

So, we got us a monsoon of a storm today, the kind with a foot or two of standing water on the roads, where there were a bunch of cars pulled over with flashers going. Came upon about a 1/4 mile low stretch, figured I'd put it in 4WD at least till I got to the other side. Shifted fine, 4 HI, drove through, no problem, hit a small bump just before coming out of the water (only about a foot to foot and a half deep) and noticed the transfer case shifter bounced forward about 3 or 4 inches. Put my hand on it and it freely moves all the way up & down. No resistance, doesn't engage anything.
So now I'm stuck in 4 HI. Truck runs fine, no CEL. First time in seven true 4x4s I've owned I've had either a tranny or transfer case issue, so I'm kinda stumped as to where to start to troubleshoot this one.

Any ideas???

 

[quietpeen]

wow hopefully somebody chimes is that has an idea

 

[txbass06]

Get it somewhere dry and check the linkage from the shifter to the transfer case and see if it's come loose or anything


Sent from my iPhone 4 using Tapatalk

 

[0212353]

Do these have a "shifter cable"? maybe it broke?

just guessing, never seen how these work.

 

[Hammer_Z71]

I plan on getting under it first thing in the A.M. It's pouring right now. I did kneel under it when I got home, couldn't see anything obvious, but the rain was coming down in sheets and the wind was gusting at about 45 mph, to top it off it was almost dark...

 

[txbass06]

I think it's just a metal rod attached to the bottom of the shifter to the lever on the transfer case itself, probably using plastic linkage clips.

When you get the chance, look at the side of the transfer case. It should be fairly easy to see the shifter linkage. See if it's disconnected, bent, broke or anything that could cause the issue you're having. If it looks good, have someone move the shifter from inside the truck and see if you see the linkage and everything moving with the shifter.
You could also try to manually disengage 4wd from the transfer case itself and see if that does anything


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[txbass06]

If not, you may have bigger issues

 

[Hammer_Z71]

I'm pretty sure it's just linkage related, like I said, when I got home between the rain coming down in buckets and it being just about dark, I really couldn't see anything.

If I slap the shifter, it'll go all the way up top to 4 LO and just fall back down to the bottom (4 HI) like nothing is connected to the shifter at all. So I doubt it's a problem with the transfer case itself, I'm just hoping what came loose is outside the transfer case, so I don't have to pop the cover.

First issue I've had with the truck in over 7 years aside from a broken stock shock way back. ****** me off though, cause I searched high and low for a Laramie WITHOUT the electronic shift buttons. Figured that was just another thing that could go wrong. How can you mess up a good, old fashioned stick shifter? LOL...

 

[RubberFrog]

Sounds like a concensus has been reached. And I concur.

 

[Hammer_Z71]

Sounds like a concensus has been reached. And I concur.

Yep Froggy, I guess it's VERY common for the rubber grommets to dry-rot, crack and fall out. I've received feedback from about 20 guys on another forum who have had either one side fail and the linkage be dangling or both sides fail and the whole thing be GONE!

I am heading out for a golf tourney but I may just try to kneel underneath on my way out and see what I can see on my way out. But I'll be tackling it late this afternoon.

From what I gather, you have to buy the damn shifter from the dealer to get the grommets, but I've got a link for them online for about $6 a piece. The consensus is they can be pressed in with just channel locks.

Since I had just shifted into 4WD and it worked fine, I'm hoping only one side failed and my linkage is still under there.

Most guys noticed it when trying to use 4WD and finding it wouldn't shift, so they could use the truck in 2WD until getting it fixed. I had just shifted into 4WD fine, so I'm stuck there. If this is my issue, I see no reason why I can't climb under and manually put it back in 2WD as TXBASS06 suggests.

I had no plans that I needed the truck for in the next couple of days. I plan on fishing tomorrow, but wading the intercoastal flats. Need a 4WD to get back there, so I guess this is one of the times it's nice that my DD is a gas guzzling, lifted, V8 4x4 as well, LOL.


When I get this fixed I'll post up some pics and part #s so if anybody else has it happen they'll know what to get and what to do...

 

[HemiBabe]

Dang that sucks... always has to happen at the worst time!

Sent from my Android.

 

[quietpeen]

glad to hear that it doesn't sound too complicated of a fix.

 

[0212353]

When I get this fixed I'll post up some pics and part #s so if anybody else has it happen they'll know what to get and what to do...

sounds like a great idea

 

[Hammer_Z71]

Well they pushed back my golf event from 10 till 1 due to over 3" of rain on the course, so I had a chance to change into "work" clothes and climb underneath. I have one 90% disintegrated grommet and nothing else! Linkage is GONE!

I was able to manually push the lever on the transfer case back, so it's in 2WD now and drivable.

I dunno if it's worth re-tracing my steps and looking for the linkage or just buying one. Can't be that damn expensive, it's a short rod, but you never know when it comes to stealerships!!! From what I'm told on the "other" forum, the linkage rod is it's own part, but like I stated earlier, the stupid grommets you supposedly have to buy with the shifter for stupid money. I'll re-check that tidbit with the dealer and if that's the case, I'll get online and buy the grommets.

Looks like it's the Jeep for fishing tomorrow and no boat, which is no big deal, we usually get out of the boat and wade fish the flats anyway. I normally keep the 10' boat tied to my waist to hold an extra rod, spare rigging and the bait, but I can get by without it. With all this rain lately and knowing the condition of the trails to get back to my spot, I ain't chancing not having 4WD with the truck and I ain't about to climb under and manually push the transfer case in 4WD and then back. Screw that!


At least I know the transfer case is fine...

 

[0212353]

good to hear! (well, on the last part anyway!)

 

[Hammer_Z71]

Actually it gets better, I found the damn linkage, not 1/2 mile from my house, laying in the middle of the road! Damn thing musta been hanging like 11 miles on the way home and the other side let loose on the last turn before my driveway.

Just ordered the two grommets (at the dealer no less) for $8 and change a piece and will have them monday. I'll have this thing pressed back in no later than monday evening...

Since I didn't have to order the linkage I don't have a part number, but in case anyone needs the grommets they are Mopar part #68078974-AA and you need two of them, one for the shifter side and one for the transfer case side. From what I'm being told most dealer's parts guys don't know this and will try to sell you the whole shifter/linkage assembly kit for stupid money...

 

[0212353]

how in the hell did you find the linkage? Blind luck?

 

[Hammer_Z71]

how in the hell did you find the linkage? Blind luck?

Stupid blind luck! I showed my g/f a pic of the linkage someone on another forum sent me and said "look for this while I drive". We weren't gone 5 minutes, hit the first turn at the end of my street onto the main road and she says "is that it" - sure enough, laying right in the middle of the road! Funny thing was, even after she said that, I thought it was just a stick till I pulled over and got out and got about 10' from it. 27 year old eyes are better'n 44 year old eyes I guess, LOL...

Was dumb luck that thing hung on the truck till I was almost home...

 

[HKkid]

GLad to hear you found it man.

 

[Hammer_Z71]

Ok, this is the information I was able to verify (and it's a little complicated):

The rod was changed after '06. So if you lose yours and go buy a new one the part # is 52105555AA this rod will work in older 3rd Gens and the older style is no longer available.

IF you purchase the new rod, it will require a different clamp (52105212) and clamp bolt (J018077) as well as the grommets. The shifter side grommet is 52105551AB and the transfer case side grommet is 5080227AA.

If you have your pre-'07 rod (as I do - now that I found it) then the grommets for both sides are the same and the part # for them is 68078974AA, obviously you'll need two.

Hope this helps somebody down the road at some time. From what I'm hearing it's fairly common. Had a LOT of Ram, Dak & Durango owners chime in elswhere who had this issue. Most of them found the t-case didn't work when they needed to shift to 4WD so they had no clue when they may have had a grommet (or both) fail. Some found a dangling rod on one good grommet, some lost the whole assembly as I did. In my case it had just shifted to 4 HI & wouldn't go back to 2 WD, so I pretty much knew about where/when it failed...