4Lo but no 4Hi

[digitalthug916]

I recently had my R1 transmission rebuilt and re-installed at a shop. Prior to the work I never had any trouble with shifting my transfer case in any direction. It always worked flawlessly. Now I went snowboarding yesterday and in the parking lot I could not get the transfer case into 4H. 4L engaged just fine. The front hubs grabbed and off we went. 4H just would not engage. Also teh 4x4 light never came on. Please Help!!

My truck: '94 XLT, 4.0L, 5 speed Man, Manual Transfer case, Manual hubs

I'VE ALREADY GONE THROUGH THE TROUBLESHOOTING PAGE!

 

[4x4junkie]

Sounds like the shifter gate just needs to be readjusted (something your trans shop must've not done).

Loosen the two bolts that hold the 4WD shifter on the side of the trans (one big, one small) and adjust the gate so it allows the lever to move freely through 2hi-4hi-n-4lo.

 

[scotts90ranger]

The easy way to adjust the gate (just to add to what junkie said) is to move the shifter back until you feel the first detent, it'll be past where you have to move it left since it isn't going into 4hi, then move the gate until it's at the step for 4hi (you can see that from the bottom) then lock it in position.

Or go back to the shop and tell them to do it since they should have... it's only a 15 minute job though...

 

[digitalthug916]

Thanks guys. I'll try the shifter adjustment. I'm not going back to the transmission shop. I'll never let someone else work on my truck again. Just for more info, I took it to a gravel patch near my place and tried all different ways of shifting. If I gingerly move the shifter to 4h from 2h it will engage going forwards but not in reverse. I'm assuming it's just the misalignment of the shift lever like you mentioned. I'll get to it this week and post my results.

 

[ab_slack]

You can get at the two bolts from underneath, it is pretty easy. Don't have to take the boot off which just add complications.

One quick test you can do to confirm it is the plate. Evidently pulling it back to the stop doesn't get you 4H. Push it left and pull it back a little further. You will probably feel the detent. You should notice you have 4H operation at that point rather than neutral as expected. It is the front to back movement of the lever that does the shifting. the sideways is just the gate.