TJ Transfer case Tragedy

[Steve-O]

Well guys, this is why I can't have nice things. Got the trouble code on my dad's Gladiator cleared, he wanted to go out and see if it would come back. We decided on Yankee Hill because it was close. Got only a couple miles in, decided 4LO was unnecessary, came to a stop, shifted down to 4HI (or so I thought), put the transmission in 1st BOOM big ol pop from underneath me. Look down at the transfer case shifter and it's more in neutral than 4HI, somewhere in between. From there I cant move the transfer case shifter at all. Get under the jeep and try and move the selecter arm on the side of the transfer case, won't really budge, just wiggle a little. Disconnected the transfer case shift linkage from the selecter arm and tried to move the selecter arm again to 2HI. No dice. Had to get towed down by my dad, fortunately the TC was not making any horrible sounds as I was being towed. I'm praying to the heavens I didn't just grenade this TC, I'll never be able to find a replacement for a Rubicon.

Can anybody recommend a good mechanic or 4x4 shop who would know how to diagnose a TC?

Legitimately heartbroken right now

[Java]

I seriously doubt you did any real internal damage, they are notoriously durable transfercases. I'd suspect the shifter, and I bet you can find posts with similar problems. Is there any metal in the fluid? Edit- meant to ask if there is any plastic in the fluid. The shift fork has s a few plastic guides on it that can wear out / break off and screw up shifting, that's what I was thinking.

[Steve-O]

Tow truck is about to place it in front of my house, I'm debating just calling another one tomorrow to take it to a shop versus trying to push it into the garage. I could check the fluid, and (probably) drop the TC myself, but at that point I wouldn't even know where to start...pretty much clueless when it comes to TC internals...but I suppose if I couldn't figure it out I could just take the TC into a shop, save the money from them having to pull it. I'm mostly concerned because a cursory Google search did not reveal any full rebuild kits available (if it came down to that) for this particular NP241.

Your post has me hopeful, Paul. I have to admit, I would be surprised if a half a second of crunching really damaged the internals that bad

[Jim]

Repair yourself vs. call a shop - I'm on the fence. I've taken mine out - not a terrible job. Basic fasteners, nothing special. The main bit is on your back under the jeep dealing with heavy things.

I'm with Paul - not terribly concerned. Replacement parts, if needed, should be available. Get it apart (you or shop) and see what's up.

Putting a spare tire between two vehicles might be an option to push it into the garage. Perhaps tow / push it up the street a few houses - push to get some momentum for it to make the driveway turn w/o needing to be pushed through the turn.

[FINOCJ]

I'm another guessing it's a shifter issue...maybe check this out...
https://www.novak-adapt.com/catalog/shifters/sk2x/kit-sk2xr/

[FINOCJ]

I am currently out of town this week but if you want to try and tackle this yourself, be happy to lend a hand and tools like a transmission jack etc in a week when I get back. Good news is that you have another jeep to drive while working on this one.

[Trevor?]

I used cobra transmission to source parts for my NP271 rebuild. Looks like they stock 241 parts after a quick search.

https://cobratransmission.com/NP241-Transfer-Case-Parts-Search

In my opinion, compared to transmissions or axles, working on one of these transfercases is the easiest of the bunch. If you have the desire to learn and dig into these kinds of components this would be the one to start with.

[derf]

Transfer cases are "easy". At least when compared to a transmission. I can also offer help on rebuilding it if you want to try it. Though I'll be out of town through to almost the end of the month. But I'm free after that.

[RockyMtRebel]

What? Oh man, never had any issues with the t case except one time the linkage popped off and I had to reconnect it but it was fine. Sorry to hear this man. My initial thought is linkage jammed up or bent but if you ruled that out already then I’m at a loss ;(

[Steve-O]

Well pretty good news I was able to get it into 2HI and into the garage. I was working the lever back and forth through it's range and it seems ok now after some pretty grumpy noises, still does not seem to like 4LO to 4HI. May be a shifter issue, I'm going to take Paul's advice and drain it and look for any broken plastic guide pieces. That's the only thing I can possibly think as to why I couldn't get it into 2HI on the trail, but I could in my driveway after it cooled down and working the shift lever a bit. Overall, it looks like I wrongly assumed the worst (a strategy that usually works for me :lmao:)

[Jim]

Here's to things looking up :cheers: