Rattle Coming From 4WD Shift Lever (1 Viewer)

[Billsboat]

Funny how fragile our egos can be, and I in no way mean that as a slight to anyone, it kinda is human nature Well intended comments can unintentionally take on a life of its own.

Funny thing is, everyone is doing their best to give, from their experience, good advice. Props to you all. With out all our imput, mud would not be

 

[70 FJ40]

Thanks for the suggestions. I will be hopefully looking into it next weekend. I think the transfer case is in good shape. There is no significant wine or any other symptoms like lots of metal on the drain plug magnet or not working reliably. I'll start by taking things apart and looking at things. I was hoping one of our great vendors had come up with a kit or something to refurbish the linkage. Will I likley need to remove transmission hump or should I be able to see enough from underneath and through the shifter hole?
@Downey The mod you're talking about, wouldn't the power to the rear differential be the same as if I had it in 4WD and didn't have the hubs locked?

 

[Steamer]

Haven’t done it but I’m pretty sure you could remove and replace it from underneath with the hump on. It’ll be easier with hump off. I don’t think you could see it enough to see how it all works but you could do that with pics. By the time my paint dried I had to refer to pics to get it back together and installed properly. It’s a little puzzle but not bad. When I searched for pics, I found some variations. Might be for 3 & 4 speed but I don’t know. They all do the same thing. There’s a shaft sticking out the top needs to rotate back and forth (hi & lo), and there’s a shaft that sticks out the front that needs to move in and out (2wd & 4wd). I just referred to the linkage variation pics that resembled mine.

I grabbed these pics here to help me. They might help you. Maybe someone else here can identify the variations. They do show the “gate” that Jim (Downey) was referring to.

 

[SteveH]

Years ago, I put a thin slice of a rubber bushing on the 4wd shifter shaft, on either (or one?) side of the shifter arm, and it quieted the buzz. I removed it a few years ago, and the buzz is back. My xfer case was in a great shape, and the buzz/rattle was just a sympathetic vibration.

 

[70 FJ40]

I suspect my transfer case and linkage is probably just as you describe yours.

 

[70 FJ40]

Well I took my skid plate off and found the grease zerc. Put a little grease in there. Shifted the linkage around a bit and the rattle seems to have stopped. Kinda surprised but quite happy about it.

 

[65swb45]

Well I took my skid plate off and found the grease zerc. Put a little grease in there. Shifted the linkage around a bit and the rattle seems to have stopped. Kinda surprised but quite happy about it.

This is one of the few cases where MIBS applies (More Is Better) I prefer to use the really heavy grease that won’t dispense from a pump; harder to get in means harder to get out.

I drove a Suburban with a 454 for many years. That big block wore the splines down on the tailshaft of the turbo 400 transmission to the point it had an unhealthy vibration . The truck was not worthy of a trans overhaul to replace it.

I hand packed the splines with that heavy grease, and it kept that driveshaft quiet for at least a year at a shot, even with the 454.

 

[skidplate]

My solution ,after the above advice, was to get a piece of pipe insulation, cut long enough to put pressure on the shifter between the knob and the boot, kind of like putting the shifter in "traction".

 

[fyton2v]

You can try greasing the zerk that is on the lever rod for the pivot bolt.

View attachment 1918448

You, sir, have eliminated one of my rattles and I thank you.

 

[GA Architect]

You, sir, have eliminated one of my rattles and I thank you.

Sweet!....by the way, thanks for the reminder. I haven't greased that zerk in a few years now.

 

[120mm]

I haven't seen it as a suggestion in this thread, but most manual shifters and transfer cases I know of use "wavy washers" to take up necessary slop and stop the rattle.

My Mustang had them until I installed the Hurst shifter assembly. Most of my other manuals or 4x4 equipped vehicles did as well.

 

[pb4ugo]

The high/low part of the shifter pivots on a shaft. The shifter linkage tube has a zerk fitting.

 

[Accessmark]

I have a similar issue with my 2000 LC. It's more like a humming vibration than a rattle coming from the hi/lo shifter. Seems to be louder when decelerating at slower speeds. Don't notice it at higher speeds.

 

[WildernessRimFab]

Bungie cord it so it's pulled forward?

My 1972 came equipped with this feature from the PO.

The ultimate solution (functionally) is a twin stick kit from @orangefj45

 

[POPO AGIE]

Sweet!....by the way, thanks for the reminder. I haven't greased that zerk in a few years now.

I did not even know that zerk was even there until I rebuilt the transmission and transfer case.