So here I am making my way up a trail at 5AM to my favorite huntin spot. It's 30 deg. and dark. I'm aproaching a big river crossing, so I stop to put my JK 4-door into 4lo. I pull the shifter through 4hi into neutral when I feel a horrible feeling, my shifter goes loose and free! Sh#t!!! Something's wrong with my linkage and the trans case is in neutral. Sh#t!!! OK, I take a moment to think----I have no tools,my bad, cell phone is useless here, and I'm three miles from the nearest gravel rd.------ So, I know that the linkage on every other 4x4 trans case I've owned is held onto the trans case with a metal pin. Alright---I know that pin is probably missing, so I dig out an extra keyring from my console and plan on hopefully threading it through the hole where the pin should be----just like threading on a key. I dig for my light and realize that I left it on my basement desk, my bad again. I use a small light on my key chain to inspect the t-case. Here's the good part.---------Just as I suspected, the linkage has disconnected--------Here's the kicker-----The linkage is now a small ball and socket attatchment, the ball is the size of a greas fitting and the socket is a piece of plastic the size of my fingernail!!!!!! What tha--who tha---why in the h#ll would anyone use such a Mickey Mouse set-up? Who in their right mind would OK this? My brand new Jeep is a glorified grocery getter after all!
I put the linkage back on without a problem, but it felt like it could pop off again at any moment so I had to leave it in 4lo the rest of the day til i got back to gravel.
Folks ---this is a serious design problem that will always cause distrust. From now on I will have to put mt Jeep in 4lo anytime I'm off road. What if I had tried that in the river--one that I am very familiar with---and that had happened?
Or what if that mud hole that's been there forever gets wallowed out the night before and I have to do this?
This piece of sh#t design is definetly th WEAKEST LINK. It needs to be corrected.

 

Is it difficult to get too? Got Pics?

Seems like something in need of a MOD.

 

Wow, I'm glad to hear you were able to jimmy something together to get you off the trail. I have not heard of this problem before but it is something I will start thinking of now. As mentioned, do you have any pics?

 

Sounds like a good set up… any idiot can fix it and so far you’re the only person to have that problem… by the way jeeps are not grocery getters.. Only their owners are

 

 

 

Small ball and socket on a t-case shifter?? That's not good. What model are you driving? (there's two different t-cases I think)

 

pics please!

 

 

Does this look like it. This is from the parts list.