Mexstan

Yesterday needed to use the 4WD but when I came to go back to 2WD found that the shift lever was disconnected from the t-case. Was in very wet mud, so was not going to crawl underneath the truck to try to figure out what happened. It took a while to get the transmission unloaded enough to get the front hubs disconnected, but eventually did, so drove home in 4WD (fortunately not 4WD low) and with the front hubs free wheeling as usual.

Once home I discovered the the linkage between the lever and the t-case had just popped out. It looks like all that holds this link in place is a sort of shouldered anti rattle rubber bushing and with age the shoulders wear off. Can't see any mechanical lock to stop this happening again. The linkage popped back into place with very little finger pressure, so it is obvious that it will pop out again. Will go the dealer and order new rubber tomorrow.

Has anybody else had this problem and is there a permanent fix for it? I am going to take another look at this tomorrow and see if there is enough material past the rubber to drill it and add a washer and a cotter pin, but doubt if there is. Another option is to maybe drill and tap into the end of the link for a 6/32" screw and washer and lock it into place with Loktite. it will not take much to stop the link from falling out.

Sittingbull2

I had same problem one time but I lost all of everything rod rubber gromets. Went got a new one and drilled a hole in each end. Put a cotter pin in it.

Danderson

A friend just ordered four fasteners. His wore the grommets out too.
One of them goes to me. I'll swap out the old one for a new and keep it as a spare.
No electronics in the fasteners as opposed to the dash mounted switch.

Mexstan

I ordered my truck with the manual shift as I do not trust the electronic stuff. Too many things to go wrong - just when the 4WD is really needed. Never thought that I would have a problem like this. Looks like the Dodge bean counters found another way to save a cent! Been driving 4WD stuff for over 60 years and never had a problem like this.

Ordered the rubber grommets/bushings from Dodge. Could not locate any aftermarket. Dodge very obviously knows that the only place to obtain these parts is from the st(d)ealers, so up the price dramatically to extort the customer. I was forced to pay US$96 for these!!!!!!!!! How about that for extortion? As far as I know, there are only 2 of these parts used on the entire truck, but for some strange reason Dodge sells them in a package of 4. That works out to about $24 each. A fair price would be $2 - $3 each. This is an excellent example of why I stay away from (d)stealers as much as possible.

In retrospect, I should have not bought these parts as I figured out a way later to make the equivalent myself that would outlast the OE part, plus never fail again and leave me stranded