I'm removing the transfer case linkage on my 95 XJ, so I can install a direct transfer case linkage kit, but I absolutely cannot figure out how to get the rod out of the transfer case handle grommet. This bit here:



I've lubed with penetrating oil, pried with screwdrivers and a panel clip removal tool, but all that happens is the rod loads up tension in the grommet and then when I stop prying, it goes right back where it was. The grommet doesn't seem soft enough to cut, although it's -6 here so that might have something to do with it. I'm about to the point where I'll just try to cut the rod with a hacksaw, but there's not a lot of room to work.

Suggestions?

 

Use a bigger pry bar with a bit more force than you feel comfortable.

 

The rod will come out, you just gotta put a little more heefus on it. Sometimes the grommet comes out too an sometimes it stays in. If it stays in then you can cut the nipple side off with a razor knife an pull it out of there to make way for the new linkage. I just went through this process yesterday.

 

That was pretty much exactly what it took. For future people trying to do this same thing, it would have been much easier if I'd taken the front driveshaft out to have more freedom of movement, but what I ended up doing was jamming the panel clip remover in from the rear, then moving the linkage assembly so the rod was parallel to the ground, and pulling them both away from the arm until I had enough pressure from opposite directions. The penetrating oil made a huge difference, and it would have been a thousand times easier if it had been substantially warmer (but all that penetrating oil is a little flammable, so I didn't apply heat, just lots of pressure).