The Parts Manager at my dealership gave me a free part. It's the dust cover that's wrapped around the shifter. People are paying as much as $600 to $700 for the entire shifter assembly when that piece breaks and $1000 all together to put it in for you. The dealership replaced one on a WK two days prior to me calling and they just had the old shifter assembly laying around.
The belt/dust cover from my 05 WK was made from a silicon/rubber material. Terrible design flaw by Chrysler. The belt/dust cover the dealership gave me came off of a later model and it was made from plastic which causes less friction when sliding inside the shifter assembly.
I brought it home and went to work. Here's how it goes and excuse the mess from my deceased dog. I'm able to keep it clean now.
Tools:
-T-20 (torque bit, you can pick up the Allen set a Lowes for $10)
-Small flat head screwdriver (for wedging)
Time:
~15 minutes
Here is the piece I got for free.
1) Remove the chrome bezel from around the PRNDL bezel. It snaps right off so you can use a small flat head screw driver. I used my finger nails.
2) Remove the outer black bezel. It's a snap on part also.
3) Step could be done first or now. It doesn't matter. Turn the bottom of the shifter knob COUNTER CLOCKWISE. It should drop down. Once that is done, just yank the shifter knob straight up.
4) There are 4 silver screws. The 2 on the left are easy to locate. The 2 on the right are underneath the rubber piece in the tray. Remove it with you flat head screwdriver. Then remove the 4 screws with your T-20.
5) Use your flat head screwdriver to help remove the shifter wire harness.
6) Pull the PRNDL bezel up. You should now be able to remove the broken piece of rubber/silicone or whatever that piece of crap is. After that, feed the new piece through and be sure to line up the hole for the shifter rod. Do the steps in reverse to put it back together.
You can buy a whole shifter on eBay for 150 bucks.
I can't get my plug out of the back so I will remove the whole console. I squeezed it with pliers and it said service brake system !
Hey that was an awesome write up. I feel comfortable doing it myself now. I just got a 2005 Jeep Grand Cherokee Inferno Red a week ago and I put it in drive last night and the dust cover broke. How do I get another one? Any help or direction would be great, I'm new to the Jeep world and I don't want to get ripped off by a dealer.
I really hate to say that they are not sold anywhere. Not even online. You'll have to start a thread on here and hope that somebody has one laying around.
Sorry to bump an old thread but can you use a shifter that has the 4 low handle on a car with full time AWD. I have a base 2005 Laredo that has a shifter issue but no 4 low handle. Will a shifter still work to replace?
It's pretty much all 2005 models. They changed it to plastic for less friction in 2006 because they new about rubber one being bad. Pretty stupid that they won't sell the part alone or better yet, free. It's a common issue. Something should be done about it.
Totally stupid they prefer have angry customers than sell a cheap plastic part. Like for a lot of other stuff.
And don't speak about the reliability of 4WD after N23 recall
This just happened to my 05 Grand Cherokee. I called my local dealership and they only would sell me the entire shifter. Does anyone know have this piece that they'd be willing to sell me or know where I could find one online?
This is excellent information. You're a Saint for doing this. I've been driving around for 2 yrs with a busted cover because the dealership wants $1,000 to fix it. Here's my problem now. I've called every junk yard and parts dealer and no one sells a dust cover or even the bezel assembly with the cover. Any ideas on where I can get one if we're not as lucky as you?
Perhaps cause I'm in Toronto I'm not having junk yard success. Email me at Andrew.Tyrrell@sympatico.ca and I can throw you a couple bucks as a finder's fee. It'd be a huge help for a fellow Jeep enthusiast.
Perhaps cause I'm in Toronto I'm not having junk yard success. Email me at Andrew.Tyrrell@sympatico.ca and I can throw you a couple bucks as a finder's fee. It'd be a huge help for a fellow Jeep enthusiast.
How does one disconnect the negative terminal? My husband is going to have to do mine once we find that shifter belt piece. Until then I have paper covering the groove to keep foreign objects from getting in there.
I agree since apparently several of us have this piece broken! And probably not $400-$1000 just laying around. Why fix what's not broken? I got to my car after work yesterday (after issues with the silicone bunching for the last year and a half) and found the black plastic clip that cups the shifter was gone, so when shifting it got caught and I was blocking traffic after backing out cuz I could not get it into drive! I took out the broken piece and its been fine but I don't like that groove being exposed.
If you aren't having success in scrapyards, check out ebay or similar. I was able to pick up the entire, brand new shift assembly for a reasonable price, and now I have a spare circuit board (another problem that is not uncommon) in case I need it in the future.
Am new here...
My 06 GC shifter rubber track belt also broke. I disassembled and took it out but there's that hole open now. Does anyone have an extra one for sell? Has anyone tried fabricating it as a DIY project?
Similarly for me, one example where 2wd has the advantage, I can just about feel the two screws, one seems to align underneath the "4wd lo" cap, the other just in front of the "neutral", but I do not understand how they can readily be accessed by conventional tools unless the whole console is already out.
Is there some specially adapted J shaped screwdriver or similar that deals with this? Can some kind soul please confirm one way or the other?
If I can get the remains of the belt/curtain out to act as a pattern I will look at the possibility of getting a small batch made.
Similarly for me, one example where 2wd has the advantage, I can just about feel the two screws, one seems to align underneath the "4wd lo" cap, the other just in front of the "neutral", but I do not understand how they can readily be accessed by conventional tools unless the whole console is already out.
Is there some specially adapted J shaped screwdriver or similar that deals with this? Can some kind soul please confirm one way or the other?
If I can get the remains of the belt/curtain out to act as a pattern I will look at the possibility of getting a small batch made.