Question regarding the gear shift indicator on the instrument cluster. The Durango has the 5.9l engine and 46re transmission, it has the transfer case with the 2wd option (sorry haven't crawled under to verify the t-case number yet). When you start the engine all the gear indicators are shown on the gauge cluster, however the selected gear is not outlined. It will shift into all gears but will still not show the selected gear.

Any suggestions on where to start looking for this?

Thanks,

Steve

 

Is it the original trans?

 

Honestly I'm not sure. With only 98k on the odometer, I (and I hate to say it) assume it is. We all remember just how crappy the engine was treated on this beast, so not really sure.

 

I think the prndl is driven by a switch on the trans? Should be a five wire, right below where the shift linkage hits it?? Or maybe the wire feller to the column? Not sure on that one.

 

We'll check it in the morning...far too much lightning going on right now...

 

Well I'm an idjit...I was WAY over thinking this one...

I figured out why the shift indicator was not working...and I should have know better...the 2000 doesn't have the digital display for the gear indicator. The indicator is a bright orange "stick" that is supposed to fill the window below the corresponding gear.

Indicator assembly out of vehicle manually showing how the line is supposed to work

Luckily I still have the '00 2wd donor here at the house and was able to pull its indicator off...problem with that one is that the cable seems "stretched out" I cannot get it to consistantly adjusted...run out of adjustment screw before it's in the correct position.

Original assembly with missing end

Missing end next to the adjustment screw




Could it be a routing issue that perhaps I don't have it going the correct way? Has anyone modified or cobbled together a replacement end for the cable? I had thought of taking a round wire terminal and squeezing the hell out of it to make it oval (I know I cannot get it to the rectangle shape of the original) and seeing if that works on the original shift indicator...anyone one else have suggestions? Trying to wrap this up by next week so we can make the road trip to Colorado...And for those of you who would say "eh, just leave it and count clicks" not sure the boy nor his girlfriend are that capable on a daily basis, and as this will be a daily driver for them I want it as safe as possible...

Thanks in advacne

 

I've got the digital readout but if I were you, I'd pay a visit to a junkyard to see how it's setup and snag any needed items.

 

cars trucks and SUVs with automatic transmissions have been 1 click from Park to Reverse and 3 clicks to Drive for HOW LONG now? Cmon…. the one in my 96 Dakota shows being in Reverse when its in Park and "2" when in Drive but I never pay attention to it.... so what. I just drive it. Ive had this truck for 42k miles and counting, its not hard to figure out where it is supposed to be. Better yet.... find them something with a manual trans....

 

While I do understand what you are saying, you're kind of missing the point here. The whole idea behind this Durango was to make it as "bullet proof" as possible for my son and his girlfriend in Colorado. Being in Nevada its a bit hard just to pop over and offer advice and help. That being said the other reason I was trying to get it fixed correctly is a matter of personal pride..it pisses me off when I have to have something be "half assed" and in my opinion it is just that. Due to time constraints we had to let it go all funky. Oh well...and for the record, this is the first column mounted shift vehicle my son has had as a daily driver, also the first 4wd and first dedicated RWD vehicle. So there is a bit of a learning curve. And I don't even want to go there on a manual