Welp, some of you may remember the conundrum i had with my truck. Wouldnt run right for several months, cut off the cat and viola, it runs.

Well this week ive got another issue, well a few but i knew about 2 of the 4 problems. Since i got the truck going from any gear into reverse and reverse into any gear i would always hear this 'clang' after it changed gears. I thought it was in the tranny, but come to find out my u joint on my rear axel is busted. its only being held in by one joint and the broken end is banging on the joint support. luckily thats only about 20$ to replace. Now at the other end of the driveshaft, most likely because of the u joint being so bad, i can grab the output of the transfer case and giggle it around. a crack has turned into a full blown separation of part of the case. fml. also my passenger side wheel bearing is bad.

Anyone know where i can get a t-case for relatively cheap? i can do the 20$ for a new u joint and 40ish for a wheel bearing, but i wont be able to do 150$ (local junkyard) for about a month. seeing as how ive heard this 'clang' sound since ive bought it & the amount of fun ive had with the truck i dont see the driveshaft going out before the transfer case since it has no fluid in it. but hey ive got 2 jobs and very important bills i have to pay and cannot be late on.

 

i would try craigslist........look for bad trans. all u need is t case ....right

 

post a picture of how bad it is. I know the slip yoke seal is probably roasted...the casing itself should not be able to seperate...

 

You didn't feel any vibrations as you drove the thing I mean a broken U-joint is a very easy thing to notice?

Everyone should crawl under there truck open the hood and do an inspection one or two times a year especially if its 7 or more years old so you can catch anything going bad before it becomes a major problem this will save you big in the $$$$ department.

You may need the drive shaft replaced or repaired if the end of the shaft is chewed up bad

 

ill post some pics tomorrow at work. i got under it and checked it out when i first picked up the truck for my boss (i bought it off him that same day) i saw the cracked t-case and knew there was a PS leak, didnt see the broken drive shaft tho, i go more in depth with checking things out when i review it at the shop. There is vibrations but i was thinking it was from a bad wheel bearing. And yes the case is separating, right now its barely held on by a bolt i believe. Its jankey but as long as it can get me to and from my two jobs for at least 2 more weeks it will be fixed soon

 

If it was bad enough to crack the transfercase on a manufacturing seam, I have a feeling you're going to be buying an axle rebuild kit as well...if nothing else, at least a pinion seal.

 

Another good thing is my mechanic boss has a 2000 dodge durango that has been waiting for a new motor for over 6mo now, we have the motor but too much other stuff to work on for at least the next 2 mo. durango was made 04/2000 my dakota was made 05/2000 i believe, can i transfer the tranny/t-case/driveshaft over no problems? both seem to have the same setup and i cant see any difference in the design of the drivetrain items. the only thing i need to make sure of is that the t-case is infact np242d, which from the research i just did it is. np242d is 2spd, 4torque rating, awd full time correct? and the tranny should be 45fre which is 4spd, 5torque, rear wheel, front wheel? (guessed on the F) and e is electranoic shift, i have yet to check out the tags on the durango's t-case and tranny, ill do that sometime today

 

Go to the Dodge web site and input the data, get build sheets for both vehicles and find your answers:

http://www.dodge.com/wccsapp/univers...ull&category=U

 

ty i shall try that

 

If it's just the tail cone that's broken, you can buy it separately and it's pretty cheap. I might even have an extra. If it's the actual case, you're probably best off trolling craigslist for one, like someone else said. They're pretty common, so a pick-and-pull might have one, too.