Okay, just signed up on site, been reading through quite a bit of stuff on here and came to the determination that I have an issue with worn/missing grommets for the shifter rod that connects to transfer case and shifter, I believe its a NP242, options for the 4WD are 4LO N 4WD 4HI , I have no use for the LO or HI, just need to keep it on the AWD or FT whatever you want to call it, btw.. 1999 Dodge Durango SLT v8 Magnum is the make/model.. It's currently stuck in 4WD Lock, Im not sure which one though I think its 4HI either way its still bad, I have been reading about people stating you can climb under and manually shift into the proper gear setting (for me that would be the AWD then) I was wondering if anyone could specifically detail the steps involved in this or an explanation on how to tell when it is properly adjusted. a Family member had originally adjusted it while we wait for the grommets but I still need to get to work so have been driving it still the past 2 days carefully, was fine until yesterday somehow ended up back in 4WD Lock mode.

I just want to know how to manually adjust it properly so I can get back and forth to work, my Durango is still currently sitting in the parking lot of my job, Saw the reverse trick but not many places to do that in NJ, so havent tried that just yet but assumed if shifter rod is connected properly or if it wasnt inbetween gears that it wouldnt help. I'm not very good with vehicles but pretty good at figuring out what im doing with some help, so if someone could please help i would greatly appreciate it. thanks.


**Edit:: The person who helped me the first time is no longer in the state and is currently unreachable for some time, so he cant help me again..

 

Well it's a simple lever mechanism, so when you push the shifter forwards into 4wdft it is actually pushing the lever on the transfer-case backwards (you can confirm this by looking at the mechanism), so you should be putting the lever on top of the transfer case in it's rear most position.

Lever end of mechanism




Transfer case end of mechanism

 

Okay so move the lever to the rear most position, so wouldnt that be as if the shift stick inside the Durango would be all the way forward (which for me the selection further towards dash is 4LO) so should I move it all the way foward to (4HI, which is where it might be already actually) and then just move it up 1 position?? and also, As stated before we just got the Durango and i'm no mechanic but I can follow instructions etc, but I have no intention on using 4x4 I believe someone in my household was fooling with it when they were driving it which is what caused problem in first place, anyway.. question is, from what i read you should be in N to shift 4x4.. But I wont be able to get the vehicle off the ground and planned on keeping it in P while attempting this, I'm pretty skinny and can get under there without jacking it up, gonna try to see if I have the room to move around under there and do this.


Will this work in P instead of N? And any advice or tips for when I do this?? since I'm not planning on using 4WD at all is there anyway to rig it to where I dont have to worry about it messing up again?


*** Please Note that I dont know much about this stuff, So i could be wrong on the TC model, When i got under there originally I couldnt see any label as stated, All i know is my Shift Options by the stick read from top (near dash) to bottom (towards back of vehicle):: 4LO N 4WD 4HI .. now i could be mixing up the position of the N and 4WD but i am 100% certain those are the 4 options, from what I've read many people dont have these options, they have a 2WD or some other option in place of the 4WD option.. but I think it is the NP242 ***


Also I'd like to address the most recent problem of it getting locked in again, without the shifter rod is that normal for a manually adjusted Transfer Case to have a chance of shifting back into 4WD on its own?

 

Normally you only need to stop and put it in neutral to go between hi range and low range (ie going through neutral on the transfer case shifter). While parked you should be able to shift it while it's in park. And no, the transfer case won't shift itself (unless something is really wrong with it) between ranges without the rod there.

As for which way to shift, my shifter goes:
(closest to dash) 2HI, 4HI, N, 4LO (furthest from dash)
When I'm in 2HI the lever on the transfer case is all the way backwards.

In 2HI in the picture.

 

Okay Great I think I understand it now, I appreciate the help.. I will go and give it a shot tomorrow and report how it works out, not sure how it got back into a lockd 4WD again then but one problem at a time lol

 

You are the first 99 that i have seen with the NV231 transfer case.....

 

Just for kicks the NV242 **** looks like this ~~>

 

Yeah, finding a 242 transfer case to swap in is on my long list of things to do.

 

I picked one up a while ago for a future rebuild project that took a detour after my transmission became priority. The woman at the yard charged me $75 IIRC for it. If you ever happen to swing over to my neck on a trip to PA maybe we could work out a way to send you home with one.

 

Transfer cases are $100 ($75 + $25 core) at the pull a part here in Columbia. I'd just have to find one there and then remove it (would need to make sure I have all the right tools with me too). If I find myself in Carlisle before I find one locally I might take you up on that offer.