Hello all,

My2000 Durango had a rattle yesterday. Today I heard a clunk and the transfer case lever twitched. I looked under the car and the linkage between the lever and transfer case is gone. The lever in the car just flops around now.

I never use 4wd. Over the years I have engaged the 4WD about once every 6 months just to do it.

Can I just leave it w/o the linkage and always stay in 2WD? Or do you need to engage the 4wd now and then for the health of the system? If I can do nothing that would be ideal since it'sthe path of least resistance.

Thanks, Andy

2000 Durango, 5.9L

 

The linkage is not hard to replace. Yes you can do nothing and it will always remain in 2WD if it does not shift. Without the linkage you do not know what position it is in or if it has moved.If I know something is broken I would repair it just to know that it is working as it was intended. Just because you don't have the linakge does not mean you can ignore your transfer case. Still change the fluid even if you don't use 4X4.

 

a buddy of mine is have the same problem. except for we went mudding and went to put it into 4 wheel drive and the shifter moved freely. and because of that we were stuck. but thats beside the point. does anyone know where to get the linkage?

 

Dealer or junk yard items only.


Don't shift it into 4X4 and just leave it and fix the linkage.

 

My name is also Andy , my wife and I are laughing this one up. We had the exact same thing happen to us yesterday in our 2000 Durango. Were you able to find the part? Thanks

 

This is an old thread and most likely the user isn't active with only 1 post.....LOL.....I don't think he will answer you.


You have 2 choices;

1. Go to a junk yard;
2. Go to a dealer and get ready for a good bend over.

 

The same thing happened to me. Cost me $27.00 at a dealer they delivered it to my house the next day. It took 20 min to put it on and now i have 4x4. it was in a tight area but im sure i saved alot of money doing it myself vs having it done at a dealer.

 

I have heard friends talking about this happening to them. It finally happened to me recently. The rubber grommets wore out on my transfer case shift linkage on my 2002 Dodge Ram 1500. I went to Home Depot and bought a short piece of flat steel and a couple of stainless steel nuts, bolts and washers. I now have a permanent fix that will not wear out again. I am new to dodgeforum.com but I will try to upload a couple of photos showing what I did with my truck. I have been using the 4-wheel drive often and it has been working great.

 

Just ahppened to me about two weeks ago in my 2004 Dodge....ron374, what a great bit of info you provide, think I might try that !

 

Thanks Ron374:
Nice pictures.
My daughter has a 2000 Durango that is having this problem.
I will try to get a pic of it when I fix it.

Update:
I haven't had time to totally fix it yet. The linkage is completely missing from hers too. I do know what's wrong with the Dodge transfer cases though. I was reading the manual & it say's to shift-in to/out of-low 4, you are supposed to put the Transmission in Neutral & coast a couple miles an hour, then shift the transfer case to-or-from low 4wd. That's ridiculous.
Anyway, I jacked the vehicle up & put the Transmission in neutral. Then I climbed under & shifted the transfer case into Hi4. That will get her by until I can get the parts & fix it right. Luckily Kansas City has been snowless this year.