4 wheel Drive stuck

[devrjays]

Hi Everyone,

I have a 91, l300 with a 4wd issue.
right now I can't get it out of 4 hi. before it was stuck, it worked fine going in and out of 2-4hi, but would not go into 4lo.
So far I have disconnected the cables from the shifter, and transfer case and they are both free.
I have tried rolling back in neutral, shifting on the fly and in park...ect.

has anyone had issues with the front diff vacuum actuator? or the transfer case?

any helps or ideas would be great, thanks.

J

[nxski]

Mine got stuck in 4H once because of turning sharply right on asphalt with 4wd engaged. My solution was to shift into 2H and boot it in reverse, I heard a loud clunk and all was good.

Will the shifter not move or it just won't shift out of 4wd?

[devrjays]

the shifter will not move at all. I am going to jack the whole van up tomorrow, inspect the actuator and try to manually engage the transfer case...

any one have other ideas?

J

[RichD]

Are you sure the clunk wasn't something falling off your roof rack?

[nxski]

Are you sure the clunk wasn't something falling off your roof rack?

This was in the early days of Hermione, before the nice rack...

[devrjays]

fixed.

4wd low cable off transfer case, and found the lever on top off the transfer case that engages 4 lo, was stiff/seized. I worked it free with penetrating fluid and fluid film. works great now.

reason why it wouldn't go into 2wd, was because it was slightly in 4 lo, and that made it stuck in 4 hi.

It would be good practice to shift through all 4wd modes periodically just to keep things moving freely.
Unless you are four wheeling on a daily bases.
I'm on it now.

J

[FalcoColumbarius]

Could it have anything to do with the age of the T-case fluid?
I change the fluid every couple of years and when I first read your post that thought came to mind.

Falco.

[joshh]

Are you sure the clunk wasn't something falling off your roof rack?

This was in the early days of Hermione, before the nice rack...

okay, now I get the reference.

[mararmeisto]

Could it have anything to do with the age of the T-case fluid?

Falco.

Cable. Fluid. Two different functions.

The cable moves the mechanical bits into position in order to engage 4WD.

Fluid lubricates mechanical bits that are now moving because they vehicle's in 4WD.

Other poster made a valid comment - one that's in the owners manual of every 4x4 - to periodically shift the vehicle through the different drivetrain configurations. One of the reasons is to ensure that moving parts still move.

Good fix.

And Hermione still has an awesome rack, and I don't care who knows it.

[Mr. Flibble]

fixed.

4wd low cable off transfer case, and found the lever on top off the transfer case that engages 4 lo, was stiff/seized. I worked it free with penetrating fluid and fluid film. works great now.

reason why it wouldn't go into 2wd, was because it was slightly in 4 lo, and that made it stuck in 4 hi.

It would be good practice to shift through all 4wd modes periodically just to keep things moving freely.
Unless you are four wheeling on a daily bases.
I'm on it now.

J

Yes! It is always good to use any function like that to keep it from failing. The same goes for your e-brake as well! If you don't use it it can seize too.

[FalcoColumbarius]

Could it have anything to do with the age of the T-case fluid?

Falco.

Cable. Fluid. Two different functions.

The cable moves the mechanical bits into position in order to engage 4WD.

Fluid lubricates mechanical bits that are now moving because they vehicle's in 4WD.

Other poster made a valid comment - one that's in the owners manual of every 4x4 - to periodically shift the vehicle through the different drivetrain configurations. One of the reasons is to ensure that moving parts still move.

Good fix.

And Hermione still has an awesome rack, and I don't care who knows it.

Thanks Marameisto, always good to learn something. And I agree with you, Hermione does have a nice rack.

Falco.