Stuck in 4 wheel drive

[flyfishnut]

Took my 77' out to the local greenway to hike, etc with the dog and my BIL who was visiting.

On the rutted dirt road, I thought it would be good to put into Hi and Lo 4 x 4 just to keep the parts moving and when I went to put into 2 wheel it would not budge.

The shifter will go into Hi and Lo easily.

I had to drive a few miles home in 2nd gear, low RPMs literally on the side of the road (a couple of the neighborhoods had some really carpet green grass-- sorry). I'm sure my BIL from Florida was like, (WTH - in a rusty old truck with a dog in the back riding on the side of the road at 8mph)

I thought maybe the linkage was screwy, but it looks fine. No slippage, well connected, and the shifter looks fine when shifting from HI to Lo etc just no forward movement.

What would be my next step in trouble shooting?

Any help appreciated. Thanks -

FFN

 

[45Kevin]

I have trouble getting my t-case back into 2wd. I shut it off to shift. You could always just unlock the front hubs for highway speeds driving.

 

[JohnVee]

Try backing up with the lever still in 4WD and hubs still locked. Then put the tranny in neutral and try to shift to 2WD again. Might have to go a little further in reverse if it doesn't work.

 

[myquestoyota]

4 high shouldn't be a crawl, 4 low on the other hand........

 

[Living in the Past]

If you could get into 4WD high and have lockout hubs turning those to free you could drive faster than 8 MPH and not hurt anything. It's having both axles locked driving on hard pavement that is the issue. Might also shift out of 4WD easier with the tension of the front axle.

 

[ozcrusier]

Johnvee has the fix you need to unwind by reversing the truck while pulling hard on the hi low shifter it may take some strength but it will come out.

 

[ccasteel]

I wouldn't have expected the shaft to lock up that quickly. But, if you spray a little PB Blaster, or similar, inside the boot around the shaft, it should help it move easier. Mine usually does that only after having left it in 4wd for the winter. You may also need to tap the shaft a bit to get it moving after the PB Blaster. It won't take much force, but I would still put a block of wood between the hammer and shaft.

 

[flyfishnut]

I tried slowly going backwards and pushing hard on the Tranny - but was afraid I was gonna break the damn stick! Also tried forward...I tried neutral, crawling under and tapping the shifter. I neglected to unlock the hubs, so I need to unlock them and back up for about 20 feet and then try shifting. I will also spray some PB in the boot where the tranny shifter is....

Thanks,

 

[KOOTENAY KRUZER]

My general rule of thumb is dial in the hubs at your last pavement rest stop. To go from 2hi to 4hi, just pull the tcase lever from 2 to 4 while moving. If the lever doesn't want to move, try backing off and getting on the gas pedal. To shift from low to high range and vice-versa requires the vehicle to be stopped, but in and out of 2 to 4 wheel drive is usually easier while the vehicle is in motion. I have often hit pavement forgetting to get into 2WD and just run my right side tires on to the gravel shoulder while pushing on the lever and when the load gets low enough it pops out. Next rest stop, dial out the hubs. This technique worked on a '56 Dodge Power Wagon as well as a '76 FJ40, '79 BJ40, and '83 BJ42.

I once tried to back a trailer into a tight carport using low range so everything would happen slower. This was on a paved driveway and I had forgotten to dial out the hubs. Eventually the truck would not move any more. I realized what had happened and jacked up he left front tire to get it off the ground. I'm sure this must be an exaggeration but my memory is that as soon as I had removed the load on that tire to the point where it could spin it rotated almost 270o when it unloaded the strain on the drivetrain

 

[ozcrusier]

It will come out just keep trying as your backing the vehicle and yanking on the H/L shifter.

 

[Fast Eddy]

It's not the linkage, it's the collar on the front output shaft that's stuck. I find it to be a regular occurrence in all different 4x4s. Put it in reverse with the hubs locked and give a spirited pulse of acceleration in reverse. That always frees it up for me.