On an R380 equipped drivetrain you can shift everything with the key out. I actually prefer this setup over all the "safety" features on the auto equipped.

 

My safety point which is of course purely just my personal opinion is that any person or child could disengage xfer case and cause vehicle to roll. Imagine being at a family reunion and some kids are playing hide and seek. Of course locking the doors would prevent this but what about when you lock you giant black lab in the vehicle while you go into the store and someone with a cat parks next to you or worse some pranksters tease the dog.

When it comes to having a real get in the mud and play I personally prefer all manual, no safety feature for just about every aspect. It is a pain having all the auto stuff and safety stuff making you feel like you are a baby who has to be watched out for, elimination options & choices.

 

Well, my kids knew I took playing in the car very seriously, I always locked it groups where poorly trained kids might be, I don't have a large dog and I always set the transmission brake. So I don't worry too much.

 

kind of a tangent here but IF you actually always obeyed your parents on every issue they thought was serious then I think you would have been the first and only kid to have done so.
When car makers and government regulators make safety devices or requirements they cannot do so for individuals but for the entire population which includes wild, crazy, and some might say stupid people like me who would not always lock my doors and may start a 2nd noahs ark with my car. Can you visualize the farmyard in my disco? lol

On a related matter to the actual thread and addressing question I posted prior, but possibly I didn't phrase it well, any suggestions on removing broken exhaust stud bolts in exhaust manifold? I had to remove (or wanted to) the pipe from manifold and one bolt is broken. All the bolts further back, like muffler bolt are similar to wheel lug studs and through torch heating and then cooling, one or a few good smacks with a sledge popped those right out. These manifold bolts are the type threaded on both ends and not just pushed in (or out). I tried heating with torch, then cooling and twist with vise grips but no luck. As I am still waiting for new gaskets to go there I put back together with just 2 of the 3 bolts in place on that side and some exhaust patch/tape as temp gasket (worked pretty good though as quieter and less fumes than before). Would it be better to heat with torch and try twisting it while still hot? I've read about heating it so hot it actually starts melting but doesn't that require a special welding torch? It is not an easy spot to get to either so to do nay drilling will require quite a long bit. I knew there was drill bits for removing bolts but not sure if they make them this long, make bit extensions, or if work well on exhaust manifold bolts. I would start new thread but seems related and important for people later to realize these bolts can be an issue as need to remove the exhaust pipe to drop transfer case. If someone wanted to, would they, could they, or more importantly should they just cut the pipe and clamp in new pipe instead of messing with the pipe to manifold bolts? I knew I had small leak due to broken bolt so was determined to unbolt pipe to put in new gaskets and replace bolt.

Sorry, a lot of questions.

 

In regards to the broken exhaust bolt I bought new exhaust gaskets online but by time they arrived the exhaust still was holding up well with no leaks and sounds quiet. Given that I am still lacking confidence on removing the broken bolt, have plenty of other things to work on, and the "don't fix what isn't broke" line of thought I am going to leave it as is and hang onto the new gaskets for future use if and when exhaust needs replaced or it starts leaking. This is the header pipe to exhaust pipe junction. I reused one gasket on side where all 3 bolts were ok and used exhaust repair tape for a gasket on other side where only 2 of the 3 bolts were good. It was the repair tape that is black rubbery looking stuff with the red plastic that you remove prior to use. I simply made a VERY rough cut out of it to match the gasket. Surprisingly it worked well. I had only hopes for short term at best.

I still have not taken apart the old transfer case and not sure when I will, but if I do I will start new thread as opposed to replying here. I am considering possibly tearing apart for the scarp metal and selling any pieces possible such as cover plates, emergency brake drum, etc. if there is market for those things. I had seen one case sold on ebay for core use only and listed non-working so may go that route too. Need more research plus an initial inspection/tear down of case. Just thought I would give some ideas I had for "food for thought". It just seems too bulky and heavy and too much expense to keep around for "just in case". Plus I now have discovered a decent used case is not all that expensive once you know where to look and are willing to drive up to 200 miles round trip.

Thanks to everyone who offered information, experience, and thoughts.

 

To get the stud out you need to torch it and use a stud remover or a pair of pliers.

Take out the exhaust manifold and torch out the studs. not too hard to do. just need a really acetylene torch. Anyone can do the job. just chase the threads when you are done.

 

That makes sense, but I don't have access to a acetylene torch. Maybe I could rent one? Is it possible to get close enough to hot enough with a propane torch?

 

I doubt propane would do it, but you can try. Just heat it to as hot as you can. Mapp gas gives you more heat, just in case you need to buy a fuel source. Not sure mapp gas would do it either, but again you can try.