Hello sleepy DML,
On a recent trip in the Dakota I heard a few "clunks" from the
drivetrain and quickly realized that my 4x4 shift lever was no longer
attached to anything. Fortunately, the noise was just the linkage
bumping into the driveshaft and nothing more serious.
I found a number of references on the web to the rubber grommet on the
shift linkage wearing out, allowing the linkage to float around freely
under the truck and crash into the driveshaft. The fix in most cases
was a replacement grommet (many references to P/N 05017960AA). That
grommet appears to go into the lever that comes down directly from the
cab, and in my case is not the failed grommet (though I'm sure it will
probably fail soon enough due to the age of the truck).
The grommet that failed on my truck is the one that actually attaches to
the range lever, directly on the transfer case. I found a replacement
lever and grommet which I have ordered. My presumption is that it's
already assembled into one unit. Now my question: It appears that the
range lever is just attached to the transfer case with a nut and
washer. Is it safe to just remove this and do a direct replacement of
the lever, without any further dis-assembly of the transfer case?
(Mainly, my concern here is that I take off that nut and something
stupid happens like part of the range selector falls into the transfer
case, and then I have to take the whole thing apart for what could have
been a 5 minute repair).
Thanks, and happy holidays to all.
-Bill
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