I am just finishing my total vehicle overhaul and rebuild. My transfer case had a giant gaping hole in the rear cover, so I bought a used one from the same year. It is identical except that it didn't have the lockout solenoid. I put the old one from mine into the new one and the transfer case wouldn't shift into high or low. It was stuck in neutral. A while back, I remembered reading that some people were just omitting the solenoid. My Question: Can I leave the solenoid out, or do I need to put it back in? I'd like to leave out any components I don't need that would only add possibilities of failing in the future, not to mention making life hard when rebuilding...

On a separate note, has anyone had a locking diff switch that had pins that broke off? I've had two!

 

2002 and older had the solenoid in the case, 2003 and up had it in the shifter.

It's not required, other than for added safety. Manual transmissions didn't come with it and many part of the world didn't require the safety feature so they didn't get it either.

Just make sure not to shift into neutral while driving down the freeway or while parking in your driveway, because it will still roll when in park. (Though I always set my brake anyway)

 

That is exactly what I wanted to know with the perfect information needed to make that decision. Thank you, Jafir!

I am not including the solenoid on my transfer case, in case anyone wondered. It seems like just another part that could fail, and that isn't needed for people who won't do stupid things.

 

I'm not especially stupid, but I have been known to do stupid things... :-)

I bought a lock switch off Ebay as it was about a third of the price of the OEM one. One of the blades broke off while I was turning it in with my fingers. Bought a real one and it feels so much more solid.