Transfer Case/Speedometer/Transmission?

[Grey425]

I picked up a 96 XLT, 4wd, auto trans a few months ago. Didn't need the thing to last more than a year or 2 but apparently it doesn't even want to last 3 months. The speedometer stopped working. We replaced the speed sensor and that still didn't work, so we took it to the shop to see if there was a loose wire or anything in the dash. They fixed the wires which were loose, but the speedometer was still broken. They determined it was a worn gear somewhere in the transfer case that needs replacing. We aren't sure what we want to do about replacing it yet because... We were driving the other day right before taking it to the shop and it just kind of popped into neutral while driving. Our transmission guy said he doesn't think it's because of anything in the tc, but "it could be" and he'll find the worn gear in the tc for dirt cheap and it "may or may not fix the problem."

My question is do you think the "slip" is from the broken speedometer/tc gear or a transmission problem?

 

[Rick]

The speedometer drive gear can't cause a slippage problem in itself, but if I remember the gear is plastic and fits on the output shaft of the Transfer Case. If the gear got chewed up it could have caused other problems...