Possible to temporarily convert to 2WD?
Asked by scalfdaniel13 Oct 29, 2019 at 02:03 AM about the 2000 Dodge Dakota SLT Club Cab RWD
Question type: Maintenance & Repair
Hi all, and I apologize if this may have been asked
before. I have a 00 Dakota 4x4 that just threw it's
rear drive shaft. After putting the other one in with
new joints, I find the extent of the damage went on
to busting up the transfer case housing. My
question is this. Is there I way I could temporarily
change this truck over to RWD by some means of
another tranny tail shaft and drive shaft or is it
more complicated than that? I want to keep the
4x4 but I can't afford another transfer case right
now but I need it back on the road. My next
question is can a new transfer case housing be
bought because this one runs and operates just
fine. It's an NV231. I have a lead on a used unit
from a wrecking yard but you never know what you
get there. Any help at all is very much appreciated.
Thanks.
9 Answers
No, you cannot just get a longer driveshaft. The transfer case is bolted to the transmission. To remove it, you would need to change the transmission tailshaft and housing. You can do it but it will likely cost way more than a used transfer case.
scalfdaniel13 answered 5 years ago
OK. Thanks for the input guys. I surely appreciate it. I'll go ahead and put a used one in. In the mean time I'm going to hold on to the busted one I have and see if I can find a case for it somewhere as losing fluid through the crack is its only issue. Thanks again.
The transfer case may have cracked due to running in 4WD on pavement.
scalfdaniel13 answered 5 years ago
Actually, it busted because I didn't change the u joint when I probably should have, and the rear joint snapped and going down the road at 70 miles an hour, the drive shaft took a beating along with the t- case because the front u-joint didn't give. The yoke stayed in the case until I pulled over. I'm guessing an aluminum case was never meant to withstand that kind of beating.
scalfdaniel13 answered 5 years ago
I got some front end issues right now so I keep the transfer out of 4x4 unless I'm on a slick road or in mud.
scalfdaniel13 answered 5 years ago
Oh I believe so. All that's wrong is the ball joints. So the alignment isn't what it's supposed to be. Other than that, and this issue here, this truck hasn't given me any grief. I just learned I might be able to put an AWD NV242 case from a Durango in it with no modification so I'm going to give that a try. The driveshaft and u-joints are good to go now. All that's left is the T-case and ball joints really. For a $500 truck this thing has been as dependable as anything else I've owned. Hasn't let me down so I believe I'll do the same for it. :)
scalfdaniel13 answered 5 years ago
I have had a few issues trying to track down the NV231 in this area. For whatever reason there seems to be an abundance of 2000 Durango's with the 242 in the wrecking yards. Would it still be an issue if I keep it out of FT and just use the PT as needed? I plan on keeping it in 2wd for the most part unless the roads get icy. Thanks for the heads up.
scalfdaniel13 answered 5 years ago
The 242 I was looking at has a full time, part time, 2wd, and 4 lo shift modes. It's still a manual shift though. I know my axles aren't probably set up for something like all wheel drive, as you mentioned. Central Texas doesn't usually give me much reason to use anything other than the 2wd.
