Transfer case near impossible to shift? What's going on? (1 Viewer)

[Try These]

I have a 2001 LC100, 270k.

Up until the past few months, the transfer case was relatively easy to shift in and out of. But as of recently, the lever has needed more and more pressure to engage 4hi or 4lo, even going into N. I was able to engage it a couple weeks ago on a steep climb, but wasn't able to get it to work this past weekend without fear of breaking something.

At this point, I'm afraid to force it any more. It feels like it needs 30-50lbs of pressure to shift it. I have no idea what's going on. I have had the fluid checked, and it seems fine. I use it all the time, so lack of use shouldn't be the issue I don't think. (And yes, I always shift it while parked and in neutral.)

Any ideas what could be going on? I really don't want to replace it, that's expensive as hell.

I've got a 1300 mile trip coming up in a few months and will probably rely on 4lo to get home.

Thanks for the help in advance everyone.

 

[Zuberg]

May want to check this out. Search 'stuck transfer case lever', 'seized transfer case shifter', etc

“Un-Sticking” The Transfer Case Lever

I’ve been working through the various corroded components on my rig and found the 4 H N L Lever is “stuck” in the 4 H position. I mentioned this earlier and folks pointed out it probably needs a bit of PB Blast and some force. I’m sure it’s never been engaged - Question - once I let the PB work...

forum.ih8mud.com

You can inject something along the lines of kroil or pb blaster into the joint once the console is out. I keep a syringe of kroil around for jobs like this, super handy. Just be wary of the pointy end.

 

[Mike NXP]

I have a 2001 LC100, 270k.

Up until the past few months, the transfer case was relatively easy to shift in and out of. But as of recently, the lever has needed more and more pressure to engage 4hi or 4lo, even going into N. I was able to engage it a couple weeks ago on a steep climb, but wasn't able to get it to work this past weekend without fear of breaking something.

At this point, I'm afraid to force it any more. It feels like it needs 30-50lbs of pressure to shift it. I have no idea what's going on. I have had the fluid checked, and it seems fine. I use it all the time, so lack of use shouldn't be the issue I don't think. (And yes, I always shift it while parked and in neutral.)

Any ideas what could be going on? I really don't want to replace it, that's expensive as hell.

I've got a 1300 mile trip coming up in a few months and will probably rely on 4lo to get home.

Thanks for the help in advance everyone.

Hmm, so in the past it's worked just fine for you without much pressure so that's a good sign that it's been used and works OK. But then it gradually got tougher and tougher to the point where now you're thinking it just takes too much force to shift right?

I'm thinking based on your experience in using the lever it seems like you've got the procedure down....... Can you crawl under the truck, look up towards the transfer case on the passenger side, and douche the linkage with some PB blaster. Then try to work the lever a bit

>> Remember to keep pressure off the drivetrain or else it's hard to shift through. Roll your truck to a nice flat slow stop in neutral and keep your foot on the brake . Then, work that lever.
>> Are you getting any grinding gear noises, or just a stiff lever?


Also, what do you mean about needing to rely on 4low to get home?

 

[Try These]

>> Hmm, so in the past it's worked just fine for you without much pressure so that's a good sign that it's been used and works OK. But then it gradually got tougher and tougher to the point where now you're thinking it just takes too much force to shift right?
-- Yeah, that's right. I'm hoping it's just something sticking.
>> Remember to keep pressure off the drivetrain or else it's hard to shift through. Roll your truck to a nice flat slow stop in neutral and keep your foot on the brake . Then, work that lever.
-- I'll give that a try. I just don't want to break anything!
>> Are you getting any grinding gear noises, or just a stiff lever?
-- No, no grinding except when it doesn't fully engage and I shift back into drive. (which is normal.)
>> Also, what do you mean about needing to rely on 4low to get home?
-- I'm heading into the backcountry with young kids; it makes it a lot easier and safer to get out of sticky remote situations when I can rely on 4low working.

@Zuberg Thanks, I'll read through that post and see what they did.

 

[Mike NXP]

>> Hmm, so in the past it's worked just fine for you without much pressure so that's a good sign that it's been used and works OK. But then it gradually got tougher and tougher to the point where now you're thinking it just takes too much force to shift right?
-- Yeah, that's right. I'm hoping it's just something sticking.
>> Remember to keep pressure off the drivetrain or else it's hard to shift through. Roll your truck to a nice flat slow stop in neutral and keep your foot on the brake . Then, work that lever.
-- I'll give that a try. I just don't want to break anything!
>> Are you getting any grinding gear noises, or just a stiff lever?
-- No, no grinding except when it doesn't fully engage and I shift back into drive. (which is normal.)
>> Also, what do you mean about needing to rely on 4low to get home?
-- I'm heading into the backcountry with young kids; it makes it a lot easier and safer to get out of sticky remote situations when I can rely on 4low working.

@Zuberg Thanks, I'll read through that post and see what they did.

It sounds like you know what you're doing enough to not break anything. It certainly doesn't require any force BUT I do tend to give it a good little smack to get it to do its thing. If you have a bit of pressure on the drivetrain you mind hear a bit of gear grinding noise but still it shouldn't be like super stiff.

Ah, gotcha on the 4 low thing, I thought you meant you drive in that typically I was wondering WTF


I'd say start simple and get under the truck and try and spray down all the linkage and take note of any possible issues down there.


If you have to dive deeper, you may be up against this same issue seen below
>>> Knewstance 1998 Restoration/Build - https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/knewstance-1998-restoration-build.1081969/page-5#post-12971233

 

[Bisho]

It does sound like a sticking lever, which you can lube from the top or the bottom. Its probably a good idea to pull the skid plate and get a good look at the linkage to make sure everything looks correct (bolts aren't loose, things are aligned, etc). Also, when did you last change your gear oil? If its been a while you may want to put a good synthetic oil in there to clean things up.

When I bought my LX the transfer case was very hard to shift and the CDL did not like to lock/unlock. I lubed the linkage and changed the oil, and over a couple of weeks of regularly cycling the lever/switch everything started acting like it should.

 

[GerLC100]

I had and still have sometimes the issue of moving it. Often shifting between N and P helps, guess that's exactly "taking off the pressure".

 

[Try These]

When I get a chance, I'll start with the lever, and work my way down. Thanks all for the help!

 

[OEMGUY0720]

When was the last time your tcase received and drain and fill service?

 

[Mark W]

I have a 2001 LC100, 270k.

Up until the past few months, the transfer case was relatively easy to shift in and out of. But as of recently, the lever has needed more and more pressure to engage 4hi or 4lo, even going into N. I was able to engage it a couple weeks ago on a steep climb, but wasn't able to get it to work this past weekend without fear of breaking something.

At this point, I'm afraid to force it any more. It feels like it needs 30-50lbs of pressure to shift it. I have no idea what's going on. I have had the fluid checked, and it seems fine. I use it all the time, so lack of use shouldn't be the issue I don't think. (And yes, I always shift it while parked and in neutral.)

Any ideas what could be going on? I really don't want to replace it, that's expensive as hell.

I've got a 1300 mile trip coming up in a few months and will probably rely on 4lo to get home.

Thanks for the help in advance everyone.

I have not messed with the 100s nearly as much as the '80s and earlier. That said, in the '80 series it is not uncommon for the TC shift lever to get stiff and even virtually seize in some case. On my personal rig it was so bad the last time out before I fixed it that I had to put my foot on the lever and really really... really push to get it to move back into high range when the time came. It was only the lever. There was no resistance in the Tcase to shifting. In most cases I have dealt with, it comes on relatively quickly. It is the rod/shaft that the lever pivots on. Internal corrosion. It is not designed to be serviced. I have only had to replace a handful myself and I was lucky enough to have access to good used ones. It seems that it would be easy enough to drill and install a zerk to grease it... introduce some good penetrating oil first and work it to get it free before installing the zerk and greasing it.

I am not gonna definitely say "this is the problem". But it is high on the things I would check. Probably the first.

Mark...

 

[Try These]

When was the last time your tcase received and drain and fill service?

I haven't done it since I bought it last year, but the fluid was checked and seemed to be just fine. So I haven't bothered yet.

@Mark W
That's what I think is going on. I'll try to use some penetrating oil first before I remove it and attempt a full cleaning. This has actually been a relief, one tech has told me that the t-case might be bad, and may need to be replaced. No thank you

 

[OEMGUY0720]

I haven't done it since I bought it last year, but the fluid was checked and seemed to be just fine. So I haven't bothered yet.

@Mark W
That's what I think is going on. I'll try to use some penetrating oil first before I remove it and attempt a full cleaning. This has actually been a relief, one tech has told me that the t-case might be bad, and may need to be replaced. No thank you

Great. Check the fill port and if you can add more gear oil until it overflows please do so. The fork for H and L gears works bad if there is no or little gear oil (lubrication) inside the case for the gears for that fork to slide forward and backward.

 

[NickSonoma]

Have you tried parking on a slight hill with the e brake set (or have someone push the bumper), applying the brake pedal, turning the engine off, putting the transmission in neutral, releasing the parking brake, start applying normal transfer case lever pressure, progressively release the brake pedal. Then do the same thing but parked facing the opposite direction.

If there was no difference in outcomes between the three (uphill, downhill, flat) I would assume it is a linkage problem (possibly a pen cap or nut, or something fell under the console at the lever or an under the vehicle). If there is a difference I would assume it is an internal problem. If It is the same then suddenly fixes itself while using the hills momentum, I would immediately change the transfer case fluid.

***This in unlikely to be the right answer. It is simply based on my mechanical inclination of how things work. It is a free diagnostic process that can be tried the next time you get in your vehicle. Don’t apply any force to the lever that is beyond the normal force you would typically apply. If you can normally shift with you back against the seat, keep your back against the seat while testing this to make sure you don’t apply more. If you decide you need to replace the transfer case, park on a steep hill and give it the additional force you are comfortable with, worst case scenario you still need to replace the transfer case. Best case scenario, it fixes itself and you get another 200k miles out of it.

 

[Try These]

So I did some digging, and it looks like the lever housing was seized. I wrestled with it for a while and got it a little bit loose with some pb blaster and hammering (if you use a hammer, PLEASE be careful hammering the eyelets, they can break.) I got it all installed again, and problem solved! This should really be a normal service item every 100k miles or so if you don't use it much.