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Obviously to fix that you would have to pull the t-case and open it. It's a lot of work, but it's not rocket surgery either. I'd just top it off with fluid and watch it.
After looking at some videos it does seem to be a bit of work to get that out - I'll keep an eye on it like you suggested and if I attempt to work on it I'll wait for a few months when the temps in the garage are a little warmer. For the linkage I'm seeing that the grommets are a real pain to install. Don't have much room to work with either so looks like it is going to be a fun job. Guess I better get a big swear jar for this task.
Btw, have a question on the lever on the transfer case - while I was under the car I tried moving it and it didn't budge, should I be able to shift that into different positions from that lever? Was worried that maybe something wrong and it won't shift which caused the linkage to pop out.
Make sure the parking brake is set good and maybe even block the wheels before you go crawling around messing with the shift levers. Don't want to bump it into neutral while you're under it and have it start rolling.
I second that motion of blocking the wheels and e brake usage. From personal PAINFUL experience, DO NOT remove the front drive shaft without everything SECURELY braced. Demon Red got her name after falling and pinning my ribs between the frame and concrete after rolling down the ramps. Luckily my wife was close to grab the floor jack to get pressure off my ribs and then was able to get me a screw jack to get the weight fully off me so I could slither out. Long story short, I had to pull the shaft off to get to the lever and linkage to replace it in my 2000 Durango. Be safe and good luck.
I purchased a 2000 Durango 4x4 last June and eventually got around to making the 4x4 work. Same issue as you, no link or grommets at all. I purchased the items off ebay separately to save a few bucks. Getting the lever into the grommets was a PITA (not much room to get a tool in there to help out). I even took off the end of the front driveshaft for extra clearance. Finally, i said F' it and cut a small slit in the grommet to get the nubs in. It would not be so hard if there was plenty of room -like on a full size truck. I tested it and it works ok. I have never owned a 4x4 and really don't foresee ever using it but you never know. Really like the SUV, especially after owning a 2001 quad cab since new.
You should be able to move the lever on the transfer case without too much fuss. Put on some thick gloves and try it again both ways. And it helped a lot to have someone in the cab, while i was underneath, to get the floor shifter and t-case lever aligned properly before tightening the screw on the lever.
Got the parts and was able to install the linkage. It's definitely a pain but wasn't too bad. I disconnected the front shaft so I could get better access. Took the 4 bolts out from front of the shaft and tried slipping the shaft out of the transfer case but it seemed stuck. Tried using a hammer to persuade it but it didn't want to budge. Just left it alone and it did give me enough access without removing the shaft completely. I knew that it was stuck in 2wd mode because I have been driving it around and when turning the wheels weren't binding. I was thinking that one way to get the grommets in was to remove the shifter cover inside the cab and remove the arm from the transfer case but was afraid if i tried removing the nut off the transfer case arm I would shift the xfer case out of 2wd mode and then wouldn't know for sure how to set correct linkage distance. So, just moved the front shaft out of the way, moved the shifter to 2wd, moved the red alignment pin so that it went through the alignment hole on the shifter lever.
I bought the grommets from bushingfix.com, not sure if they are easier to put in or will last as long as the oem grommets but it was too bad getting in. I had a smaller pair of slip joint pliers that was able to get up in there and squeeze them through ( attached a pic of the pliers I used). And once I got the grommets in put a little grease on the linkage and then used those same pliers to squeeze the linkage into the grommets. Think it is installed correctly... was able to shift into 4hi and 4low so think it all worked out. just disconnecting this gave me enough room to get grommets and linkage installed small plier I used to get grommets in linkage installed, can see red alignment pin in pic
Thanks for all your responses, really made this PITA job much easier!
Looks like you got it taken care of. If you wanted to remove the front driveshaft completely you have to take the 4 bolts on the transfer case side out as well.
01-11-2022, 08:41 AM
