It don't happen often, but I've got an issue with the truck and I'm totally stumped as to where to troubleshoot. Suspension, top half of engine I'm in my element, but where I have next to no experience is with the transmission and transfer case, so obviously it was bound that I've have an issue with one or the other.

Here's the deal:

Got us a monsoon of a storm today, the kind with a foot or two of standing water on the roads, where there were a bunch of cars pulled over with flashers going. Came upon about a 1/4 mile low stretch, figured I'd put it in 4WD at least till I got to the other side. Shifted fine, 4 HI, drove through, no problem, hit a small bump just before coming out of the water (only about a foot to foot and a half deep) and noticed the transfer case shifter bounced forward about 3 or 4 inches. Put my hand on it and it freely moves all the way up & down. No resistance, doesn't engage anything.

It was pouring in sheets when I got it in the driveway, 45 mph wind gusts and to top it off it was almost dark. But I did kneel underneath to look for anything obvious and didn't see anything out of the norm. I was hoping to find a cable or something dangling, but no such luck.

So now I'm stuck in 4 HI. Truck runs fine, no CEL. First time in seven true 4x4s I've owned I've had either a tranny or transfer case issue, so I'm kinda stumped as to where to start to troubleshoot this one.

Any ideas???

 

Didn't someone recently post about how the linkage for that lever comes loose a lot? It's like a cotter pin and maybe a washer and you're back in business.

 

Man, tough one. Being i've got a 2wd and never had a 4wd I haven't a clue honestly.

 

Well since you helped me with picking out tires i went and grabbed you a couple pics of the uderside of my setup. Granted mines the 2500 but i wouldnt think the linkage would be that much different. Unless something broke inside the case then there really isnt to much to the linkage. Probably just came lose? Hope so anyway.


By harrison0550 at 2011-09-09

By harrison0550 at 2011-09-09

 

Yeah, it feels like there is nothing connected to the shift lever, you can slap it and it'll go all the way up to the 4 LO marker and fall back to the bottom (4 HI). So I would doubt it's serious, more like something came loose or snapped.
Like I said, it was raining sheets out there, windy as hell and almost dark, so I'll get a better look in the morning. If it's nothing obvious, I have a good relationship with what used to be a Jeep dealer till the downsizing two years ago. I've done some lift work for them when they got swamped and the head mechanic there is about the best I've seen. So I'm sure that they'd take a peek and not charge me just to look, point me in the right direction to fix it.

Pisses me off though, I hunted high and low for a Laramie without the electronic shift buttons, figured just one more hi-tech thing that could mess up, so here I got a good, old fashioned stick and it's broke!!!

 

I'm with you, mines the Laramie and I wouldn't buy one without the shift leaver either. I got money says it's one of those 2 bolts in the pics above just came off or came lose. Should be an easy fix.

 

Well I gotta play in a golf tourney first thing, but should be home by mid afternoon (with this sh*t, I almost forgot all about it), so I'll let ya' know what I find then. Thanks for the pics, I'm almost positive we both have the same NV 241 transfer case...

 

There is absolutely no way you could slap around that lever IF the linkage was healthy.. it has to be the linkage dude..

But, and I'm not trying to be a downer, if those bolts aren't corosion infested, broken, or loose to begin with, I'd be looking for a reason they let loose.. check your mounts dude.. could be the bump assisted the torque already being applied and helped that linkage break.. or maybe not.. let's hope not, but either way, it isn't that big a deal..

 

Oh it wasn't much of a bump at all, but going up/down it was enough to move that lever, more out of gravity than anything else, just enough to catch my eye. If that was enough to break something, I'd have serious doubts about "Ram Tough", LOL...

 

I hear ya there!!

Those levers always seem to float some.. that isn't a big deal.. if the mounts are looser than they need to be though, it could have drifted a little further than normal or enough to bind and break the junction is what I was getting at..

edited to add: that trans and TC sits a good distance from the mounts, and the lever sits right on top of it.. any movement will be exaggerated at that point.. this is why the lever seems to float to begin with.. it the mounts are giving more than they should, the float will even be more exaggerated.. and maybe enough to pop the junction of the linkage..

If you can really easily move that lever, there is just about no doubt the linkage has failed.. it may just be a rusted junction.. and likely is.. but, err on the side of caution and check those mounts all the same..