Got a problem. Like many others, my 4wd won't engage... the plastic bushing on the transfer case is broken. No problem... I bought a new bushing, but when I tried to put it on, I found that the round connector on the end of the shifter cable is rotated about 45 degrees. Rather than being perpendicular so that it can be pushed onto the shift lever on the transfer case, it is angled at a 45 degree angle. I've tried to turn it by hand, but it just twists and springs back. My concern is that with it being at an angle like that, even if I can force it back onto the lever it will keep so much tension on the new plastic bushing that it will cause it to fail prematurely.

Has anyone ran into this before? How in the world do you get the connector turned back perpendicular?

 

They will continue to fail. Those things are junk.
Some will last 50k, and others only a year. When I first got the jeep I think both had broken in two years.

Just a tip, there are a ton of low and high dollar remedies to handle this for the long haul. Many members have improvised and posted solutions to this issue over the years.

 

Thanks. I agree, it is a cheap plastic part for sure. My concern is that with the angle of the connector it won't last a week because of the additional stress placed on an already crappy part. Is it common for the connector on the end of the cable to be at an angle like that, causing it to have to be twisted just to snap it back on? If that's pretty common, I'll just snap it on and be done with it... I was just thinking maybe I had another problem that needed to be addressed? I searched, but never saw anyone mention the twist before...

 

Guessing the twist could be remedied and reversed depending on its origin coming from the console. Chances are maybe, big maybe, the bushing on the shifter side is causing the angle on the case side.

I would take a look at mine but I'm no longer running a stock shifter cable for the transfer case.

 

I did some more searching, and found (based on various pictures) that the twist is not uncommon at all. So I just popped it back on as-is. I did, however, apply the "fix" of cutting the top off of the plastic bushing, putting on a 1/4" flat washer, and securing with an e-clip on both ends. Hopefully that will keep it from coming off again... or at the very least, prolong it!

Now the (last) problem I have is the (orange) transfer case shifter cable retaining clip. In my zeal to get the cable end re-attached, I had the bright idea of taking the orange retainer clip off so that I could drop the cable to work on it easier, but after taking one end out I decided it was too much trouble. Now, I can't seem to get the clip end that I pulled out to pop back in! Any tricks or suggestions?

 

Nevermind, got it! Just had to pull the cable and retainer out of the bracket and reinstall...

 

It is a sacrificial part, designed to fail in order to prevent damage to the transfer case.

 

Not a design feature. It's just a cheap plastic part.