Vehicle: 04 Dakota 4.7 ... 160K miles
Issue: Transfer case chain is slipping under load
Question: Is there a "How To" manual available to help me rebuild the TC myself?
Cost: Local trans shop charges $250 plus parts to rebuild & I drop it & reinstall myself
I have better than average mechanical skills but have never tackled anything transmission wise.
I can buy a used TC from a salvage yard for $95 but it has 170K miles on it. $250 for one with 48K miles
Thoughts, help, and advice are appreciated.

Thanks in advance for your help.
Stan

 

How much is the rebuild kit? If it's close to the 250 bucks, I would just go for the low mileage feller.

Get a service manual for your truck. They are generally available for download from various sources, for a reasonable amount of money. It can be EXTREMELY useful for maintaining these older vehicles. (factory service manual please, chilton and haynes are far too generic.)

 

Transfer case is way easier than transmission. More like a motorcycle engine.

Split the case, remove one half, replace chain, re-combine case.

 

Thanks for the replies.
Stan

 

This may help some

 

Just from a time/effort perspective I'd probably lean toward that 48k mile unit for $250 (might be able to talk them down a bit there), but if you have the time/desire to do it, it's not a bad job ripping into a t-case.