anthony20031

So my main shifter cable failed and had the jeep towed to my mechanic. About $400 later I had that fixed at which point he told me my 4WD cable was failing and asked me if I wanted him to fix it while he had the console torn apart. He said it would take another day to get the parts and install (and additional $200-$300). However for the main cable he just bought the factory parts and installed those which obviously are prone to fail (which he brought to my attention to horrible design). So with that in mind and the fact I could not go another day without a car I told him no, that I would deal with it.

Now that brings me to the fact that I need to get this fixed. So my question is should I spring for the Advance Adapter Upgrade kit ($190) or is there a much more economical/easier way to fix this issue permanently? How easy is this to fix, either with the upgrade kit or with parts cobbled together from a hardware store? And just to b e honest I have yet to crawl under the jeep or take apart the console myself to see the exact points that it is failing. I'm also no mechanic but love learning and doing stuff myself.

CharlesS

You need to ask yourself a question..... How much Off Roading will I be doing and whether it is worth the extra expense of the AA kit. You did not post whether you have a manual or automatic transmission, a Rubicon or regular JK; the auto and Rubicon make the swap out of the cable or replacement of the bushing/retainer at the transfer case end a bit more difficult. There are a few way to repair the factory bushings, OEM replacements or get creative with a bushing, washer and spring clip.

karls10jk

The real question is "why is it failing"? I'm on my original cable and I shift through to 4lo and back at least once a week.....for 5.5 years and 140,000 miles now on the odometer.

What are you doing differently that is revealing the point of failure and what is the weak link in the cable?

Machoo

Hey Karls. You are doing all that shifting in and out of 4lo and the little plastic bushing attaching the cable to the transfer case has never failed you?

goaterguy

Mine is a Manual Sport so I keep an extra bushing in the glove compartment and hope when the day comes, I will be able to fix it on the spot.

karls10jk

Correct- I only recent added one to my collection because it was on sale on eBay. If you slam through the gears or it shifts rough then you're likely to go through the bushing. Mine shifts like butter with a distinct clunk for each position.

anthony20031

Sorry I should have included that. I have a 2010 Unlimited and Auto. I have not offroaded much but planning to do more. To be honest I have not done much with it after I first bought it due to having 2 kids etc. I am just now building it as I want it to be and then planning to do some more offroading. Would like to do some longer expedition type trips with my family more so than rock crawling etc.

anthony20031

That is the odd thing. I have not had to use the 4WD that much at all lol. When the main cable broke my mechanic told me that it was just a horrible design that was bound to fail at one point or another. With that in mind I would a) prefer to know how to fix it myself and b) perhaps fix it permanently lol.

karls10jk

It's a pretty simple design so it's not necessarily the design. The plastic bushings can be irritating but they aren't a failure point on all jeeps (look at mine).

Fixing it yourself involves disassembly in the cabin area which sucks and feeding it through a tight hole in the floor to whip a quick 90* turn and head back to the t-case. I'll find the YouTube video.

In2rsq1

Had ours only fail once and that was because we treated it like an atlas. Lol. Have to be smooth with it. Ensure rolling when guiding into gear you are attempting. Forcing will just shatter the plastic bushing. I bought a few at if memory serves me .30cents a piece when it failed once. Have not needed it again since we learned to shift with ease. 104,000 miles later no issues and wheel quite a bit. 2009 rubicon with very little stock items undercarriage. 😜