I posted this in the cummins forum as well, but hope that a few more eyes will provide a few more answers so I am posting it here as well. Thanks.

Hi folks, new to the forum and really appreciate all the good information I have learned already.

I have some questions but first some info about the truck. It is a 94 Ram, 2500, cummins and standard trans. 4X4, 225,000 miles on it. It has some performance upgrades and is brand new to us, only 144 miles since my 17 yr old son turned over his life savings to the PO.

Ok, so on the first day, he was dropping a friend off at home, said friend lives on a rural area with a 1/4 mi long driveway that had not been plowed so my son puts it into 4 low and within a few feet - grenades the T-case. I come out to see the issue. The front drive shaft "cone" broke off the case and the drive shaft smacked the case hard enough to break a chunk out of it I can put my hand into. Not good at all. So I put it into 2wd and take her home. Once there I take a look, the case is cracked all the way to the rear of the case... yes I know, must have been a serious smack right?


So now here is the question. Finding a t-case in a junk yard from a similar truck we have found to be difficult at best. the tag is labled NV241 DLD but son insists it is a HD truck.

1. What other trucks can I look for to find a replacement case.
2. What years?
3. Does it have to be a manual or will an auto t-case work?
4. What should I look for when I do find a replacement?
5. Obviously this does not happen often, as I have not found a single instance anywhere online or talking to others who are far more knowledgeble so what might have caused it?

Thanks again for the great website and all your help.

 

I am rather curious why a diesel truck would have a light duty t-case in it... that just seems..... wrong......

You should be able to use either the LD, or HD, but, I would hold out for the 241DHD. I don't *think* there is a difference between auto, and manual output shafts, but, am not 100% certain on that. Best bet would be to measure shaft diameter, and spline count, and find something in the yard that matches. Keep in mind, you can only uses a case from 94-97 trucks. In 98, some things changed, and I am not sure if it would be a direct swap.

 

Something tells me the light duty version can't handle the torque of the cummins. It shouldn't have been in there, which makes me wonder. What happened to the original transfer case? If it were mine, first I would make sure the front and rear have the same ratio and take a good look at the internals on the front.

 

Not that it helps any, but, I think Hockey "son" is not telling the truth about what really happened.

 

Oh, trust me, I am well aware of that. This is why it is his dime and his time doing the repair. I was 17 once too, and while it was a good amount of time ago - not so long that I have forgotten the behaviors (and the fun) I used to have!

Found a t-case about 150 mi round trip from us finally. So we are off to chase it down tonight after work, and will probably get started on teh R&R tonight as well. Anything to look out for, any advice?

Thanks

 

I agree with 1) checking input shaft spline count to see which it is, and 2) checking front and rear end diff ratios for a confirmed match.

If the tcase has a 23 spline input, it is indeed a DLD, which means the transmission also is a Light Duty, or at least has had a light duty output shaft installed, which would make no sense. If it is a 29 spline input it is a DHD.

 

Do the output shafts vary by weight class of truck? I thought the 241 into a half ton truck was a direct bolt in?

 

The dodge heavy duty 241 has a 29 spline input, to bolt it up where a 231 was, you have swap out the input shaft for a 23 spline. I thought all 2nd gen dodge cummins came with the dhd 241 and a previous owner had an issue, found a 241 light duty, and swapped in a 29 spline input shaft. But after digging around, it looks like from '94 to '98 in the 2500's, it was possible to get a cummins with a light duty nv4500 and light duty 241. That's what the 2500's came standard with and the heavy duty nv4500 and heavy duty 241 were an option. And I couldn't find anything that said choosing the cummins automatically upgraded to the heavy duty trans and transfer case until '99. I would be getting a build sheet to see how it actually came from the factory, and go from there.

 

The 98 and up transfer cases work fine. Ive got a 99 in my 97. The only difference is the shift pattern is different, other than that direct swap.

 

Cool, thank you. Good to know.