SargeW

There is an inherent weakness in the transfer case shift cable used by Jeep. The shift cable that runs from the 4 wheel drive selector in the console to the transfer shift case has a plastic bushing that secures the cable to the shift point. This plastic bushing can and will fail without warning, and usually at the most inopportune times. The cable itself is fine, heavy steel cable with an attached machined steel fitting on each end.

Inside the fitting a plastic bushing serves as the spacer to allow the steel fitting to rotate freely on the shaft on the shifter in the console, or the shaft on the transfer case lever, and as a pinch nut to secure the cable onto the shaft as well. When the bushing fails the cable will pop off of the shaft preventing you from shifting into, or out of 2WD, 4WD, or neutral. This can be a real problem if you are towing the Jeep 4 down, are about to tow the Jeep 4 down, or just want to shift into or out of one of the Jeeps low ranges.

The bushing has failed on me twice now since it was new in 2008. The first time it failed I had about 10K miles on the Jeep and was in Alabama. We were not able to shift the transfer case into Neutral to tow it so we drove it to a nearby Jeep dealer who replaced the bushing in the console. That took about 6 hours of sitting around waiting. We were not really informed as to the problem at the time, and were just happy to get back on the road. BTW, the bushing costs about .38 cents to buy.

This time it let go we were leaving El Capitan State Beach in Ca on a Friday morning. I hooked up the Jeep to tow behind the motor home and got in and tried to move the shifter into neutral. No luck, just a sloppy shift handle. I knew right away what it was. This time there was no dealer close, and we were do at the next campground about 200 miles north that afternoon. And there was no way I would get an appointment at a Jeep dealer the same day on a Friday on a holiday weekend.

Since I frequent this site, I was better prepared this time to handle the short term repair. First I slid under the Jeep with a large pair of channel lock pliers and moved the transfer shift lever into neutral. We were able to tow to the next place as planned. Moving it back at the next campground was a little more challenging but doable.

Now the fix. The only place close was a Home Depot. I knew I was going to have to take the console apart and get to the shifter linkage. That in itself was a little daunting since I didn't do it before. But it wasn't as bad as I had imagined.

After getting the console off, I discovered that it was a two part problem. First the linkage had popped off of the "cable keeper" about six inches in front of the bushing. Second the shifter bushing was cracked and falling apart as well. Both would have to be taken care of to put the Jeep back in service. The biggest issue was going to be the shifter bushing. Replacing the plastic bushing with another one was not an option. It is obviously a poorly engineered part. (My research into this problem revealed chronic failure of this bushing, some after as little as 100 miles.)

After much searching at Home Depot, I finally came up with a brass bushing that was actually part of a Watts water line fitting. The diameter was close and I just needed to shorten the length of the bushing. I used a small pipe tubing cutter to cut it down to size. I did squeeze the end of the brass bushing a bit with the tubing cutter. I had to flare it back out a touch by pressing a pair of needle nose pliers in the end and turning the bushing as I pressed. To hold it on the shifter hitch lever, I went with a stainless hitch pin.

With a new bushing and a hitch pin to hold it in place the shifter now worked as designed. To keep the shift keeper on the cable in the correct location, a few zip ties will keep it from moving around. In my research I learned that the failure rate of the bushing was really common, and which end of the cable would fail is a toss up. Unfortunately you usually don't know that the bushing has failed until you attempt to move the shift lever. Often the shifter will select the appropriate gear range, and it's not until you try to move it back that you find out that you are stuck in what ever range you had previously selected.

Some folks had to get towed to a dealer for repair, and some were able to drive it there. As of this date, Chrysler has no plans to produce a modified bushing. There is an after market company that makes and sells a replacement shift cable with different ends, but it sells for about $200.

I was able to source a different bushing at a Lowes store today that looks like it will fit the bill without having to cut it down. The hitch pin is still the recommended method of holding cable onto the shift pin. It is the last pic.

If anyone in interested in how to remove the console, let me know and I can post up some pointers. But this post turned out longer than I had anticipated already

The whole cost of the repair, including the tubing cutter was under $20. If I could have found the bushing without the large nut, it probably would have been less than half the cost. The bushing I found at Lowes was less than $3. I bought two.......

SargeW

Yeah, the engineer that came up with that ought to be shot. Whomever thought that a plastic bushing used to join two metal parts together and withstand constant pulling and pushing forces was an IDIOT.

MuddRat

Nice Idea. I had to do a similar repair.

TeraFlex

Great write-up! I've been wanting to upgrade mine for sometime now.

Battlefrog

Just added another project to the list, thanx for the write-up....

AREA 13

I would really like to get a good write up on this repair. Your write up was good, but would like to ask to include some pictures of removing the console and attaching those parts. I have had this happen to me once with a 400+ repair bill. If I pre-buy these parts with a really good write-up, that will be my ace-in-the-hole.

SargeW

I didn't take pics of the console disassembly, but I did make some notes.

Ok, here are a few tips to remove the console. One of the hardest points is to remove the 4WD shift lever. It is simply pushed on and there is a notch on the shift lever that holds it on. Put the shift lever in 4 LO if you can to give yourself more room to pull. I just pulled mine hard and it popped off. Twisting won't help, a straight off pull is the best way.

The lowest panel on the center console needs to come off. It's easy, just slip a straight edge at the top corners of the panel. It pops off at the top and lift it up to remove.

Remove the dark color insert in the console. Start at the front of the console and lift gently as you pop off the hold down tabs. The shift boot ring also pops off. Lift it up, turn it 90 degrees and flatten it out to feed it through the dark color insert. It will stay on the shifter. Keep pulling the dark color insert up until you get to the emergency brake. Pull up on the e brake as hard as you can. The straighter you get it pointing up, the easier it will be to get the console off. Open the lid of the center console. The last clips holding the dark insert in place is the lip over the console cubby. Set this aside.

Now remove the screws holding the console down. There are two larger ones easily visible on the front sides of the console. next remove the 4 screws (all torx heads) on each sides of the console. Three are easily assessable, the last one you will need to slide the seats as far forward as possible to get to the last one. Before you start to pull the console up, there is a clip just to the right of e brake that holds a wire loom. Slide the wire loom off of the clip. It is put there to keep loom from getting cut by the lifting and lowering the e brake. The console should lift off now, again twist the shifter boot to get it through the console and work the rear of the console off over the e brake handle.

Getting to the linkage and bushing is easy. I had to drive the Jeep to the store while it was taken apart which was no problem. I did this in the parking lot of a campground, so no heavy lifting is necessary or major tools other than a set of torx bits.

Putting it back together is easy and much quicker. Make sure you put the wire loom back in the holding clip to keep it from getting damaged.

Clear as mud?

Clark Collins

Thanks for the write up and photos. On one of the JK trip videos someone had this problem and had to fix it. Don't remember which one, but I think I'll fix mine before the bushing fails. This forum is the greatest!

SargeW

Good deal, I'm glad it helped! Too bad Jeep won't step up with a new and improved bushing. This getting stuck stuff is for the birds.

Clark Collins

Question: This modification fixes the shifter end. If the same bushing is on the transfer case end, what if it fails? One poster said they shifted the trans case by hand. I climbed under to look at the trans case and can't see how that would be done.