Engine/Transmission (1998.5 - 2002) Dealer Frustrations

[Ereynolds72]

I'm writing to see if anyone has had a similar experience and might have some advice for me. I bought my truck new. It came with a 7yr/70,000 mile warranty. At about 55,000 I noticed the transfer case was leaking fluid bad. At this point, the damage was done and this dealer replaced the transfer case. At about 65,000 miles, I noticed the same leakage and took it to another dealer here in Virginia where I am currently working. The worked on it (I'm not sure what what they did as it was not explained to me) and sent me on my way. I am now at 71,000 miles and I have the same leakage problem. I took it back to the dealer and upon examination, they discovered a crack in the transfer case but since it was no longer under the warranty (or service contract ending at 70,000 miles) they could not cover the repair and I would be responsible.



From my point of view, the problem has been an ongoing since 55,000 miles and never really got fixed. The dealer who last worked on it at 65,000 miles should step up and back up their work. In my opinion, they may have put a band-aid on the crack and sent my down the road knowing I'd be back eventually. I am furious with this situation it seems like a no-brainer to me but all I keep hearing is "we're trying to help you out" and you're out of your service contract.



Has anyone had a similar experiece or have any advice on how to handle this?



I appreciate your help,



Erik :-{}

 

[Ereynolds72]

For those who read this post, I'll provide an update on how it all worked out.



I ended up writing a letter to the owner of the Dealership after my truck sat there for 10 days with nothing being done. I received a call from the svc manager the next day with a more "willing to work it out attitude". The dealer's position was that it wasn't their fault and wanted a commitment from DC. Well, I offered to pay for the labor to install if they (or dodge) provided a new transfer case. This is what we settled on. It cost me $200 bucks.



The svc. manager however, told me I no longer have a warranty on the transfer case since I didn't buy it. This is still crap but hey, I got my new transfer case. Dodge says that if I paid for ANY PART of the repair, I will receive the 1 yr/15,000 mile warranty on the part.



Here's the best part... It's been about 3,000 miles since the new transfer case was installed and I'm experiencing the same leak again.



Here we go again.....

 

[av8r]

Why

The question should be: What is causing the crack/leak, and repair that as well.

 

[Ereynolds72]

Well, I don't know what could be causing the leak. I spoke to the fellas at Transmissions.com and they said I need a reseal. But hell, the thing was installed new only 3k miles ago. Can heat make this happen? Is there supposed to be a heat shield between the exhaust pipe and the transfer case? It seems to be really bad when I'm on the highway on long trips.



If this is a new transfer case, and the seal was a problem from the factory, maybe if I had a shop perform a "Reseal" the problem may go away.

 

[Ereynolds72]

Sorry, that's www.transfercases.com

 

[jkeyes]

I am not exactly certain where your leak is in the case, but one thing that I have seen before is that the output shaft of the transmission is bent and will crack a case like that.



Jason

 

[Ereynolds72]

Whoa!



That would suck! Thanks for the info.