Nice to have good equipment when your truck breaks

[txfireguy2003]

A few weeks back at the deer lease, i wanted to use 4x4 on the old Dodge, but when I reached down and pulled the shifter handle, nothing, it was loose, no shifting...... ****. Luckily I wasn't stuck yet. When I looked underneath, it ead immediately obvious what the problem was. Dodge uses little plastic/ rubber bushings to hold the shift linkage into the shifter arms where they come out of the cab and the transfer case...... those bushings eventually wear out, dry rot, crack, fall apart etc., and the linkage falls out of its intended hole and you no longer have the ability to shift.

So, i ordered a replacement bushing from Amazon, about 10 or 20 bucks iirc, and oor was waiting at the house when I returned from the lease. Great. Well, I went out the other day to install it, and while trying to press it into place, the one on the other end crumbled and the whole linkage fell off in my hand, ****it! Now I know why the was a two pack of bushings offered, shoulda bought that!

Now, it's close to opening day, and I'm not willing to risk not getting my order before I leave Thursday, so...... off to TSC. Sure, I coulda gone to the dodge dealer and paid 3 prices for the bushings, but they were a pain to install and a cheesy design anyway, so I'll fix this problem once and for all. A 7" piece of 416 stainless I had on hand, a drill bit and 5/8-18 tap, came together on my lathe with a couple of 5/8 heim joints to create a whole new linkage.

Overkill? Dang right! But it won't come loose again!

On top you can see the new linkage, on bottom the offending OEM part.

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[Dirtymike]

How much to ship to round rock?

[tradtiger]

I like overbuilt stuff.

When I hung a hammock, the weakest thing was the 800-lb working load chain.

[txfireguy2003]

How much to ship to round rock?

I take it you've had this problem before?

It would probably be around $60, and it'll be a week or so at least, as I'm out of bar stock that's even close to the right size. Plus I need to replace that tap. Or was cheep and I broke several teeth off. But if you're serious, I'll get the parts coming.

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[outlook8]

Jeep has a similar ****ty design for their transfer case linkages...ask me how I know...

Good news is I looked like MacGyver putting the thing back together using one of my wife's bobby pins on the side of a 10,000' mountain pass in Colorado.

[bigjohntex]

Looks solid to me!

[BLACKFINTURKEY]

I’ll take one

[Archery1st]

Weird...this is the third time I have heard of this happening in 2 weeks.

You have a very marketable product.

[txfireguy2003]

Weird...this is the third time I have heard of this happening in 2 weeks.

You have a very marketable product.

My brother had it happen on his F-150 last week as well. I'm thinking the problem with marketing is that every vehicle model will have a different length, different size holes in the shifter arms etc. But just for Dodge diesels, i might be able to make a few.

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[Trkhunter]

I just replaced the bushings on mine. I search but there wasn’t many options for a better replacement.

[hntndawg]

I had that happen on a boat ramp last year...parts store had the bushings for just a couple bucks in their "help" section. They were super easy to replace, but I like the heavy duty idea. I have since smartened up and got rid of that Dodge

[KDinTX]

I’d be insterested in one as well, but would have to check and see of there is much difference for the 68rfe.

[txfireguy2003]

Alright guys, pm me if you really want one and I'll get them started. This one is made of solid stainless bar stock, but i think tubing should be plenty strong and keep the cost down. Worst part is having to drill out the bar stock in order to tap it, so if I can find some tubing with the right ID or close, i could knock these right out.

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[Dirtymike]

I take it you've had this problem before?

It would probably be around $60, and it'll be a week or so at least, as I'm out of bar stock that's even close to the right size. Plus I need to replace that tap. Or was cheep and I broke several teeth off. But if you're serious, I'll get the parts coming.

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I am in. No rush either. Just let me know.


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[Palmetto]

That Chrysler engineering is a force to be reckoned with! Almost as brilliant as the BA clutch linkage bushing on a Ford Superduty.

Both my brother & FIL had this problem with their 3rd gens.