Why is my truck so hard to get in and out of 4WD?

[ghunt]

My truck has manual hubs and a manual t-case.

It seems like you have to fiddle with the transfer case shifter to finally get it into 4WD. I assume you just push down on the knob and pull back to get it into 4WD, right? Even when you push down, it takes several attempts to get it into 4WD. Then, once you have it in 4WD, it's easy to shift fropm 4-HI to Neutral, to 4-LO and back again, but very difficult to get back into 2WD. Today I put it in 4WD briefly and had to mess with it for almost 10 minutes before it would go back into 2WD. The stick just would not move up to the "notch" for 2WD.

What exactly is the problem? Is something binding up?

[danr1]

Was the truck rolling at the time?

You should let it roll if you're not and it should shift from 4h to 2h easily.

You can go from 2h to 4h on the roll if and only if the hubs are locked.

Always lock hubs first, unlock hubs last.

4L only when not moving in neutral, foot off brake pedal.

And yes, push the whole shift lever itself straight down to shift to neutral and 4L, neutral and 4L is used least so the shifter lever tends to get froze up in the tube its in after a while from lack of use.
If you look at the shifter from underneath you can see the roll pin and the detent notches it indexes in. Note the lack of a raised "gate" portion between 2h and 4h notches on the indexing plate, the lever is free to move between these two positions without pushing the lever down.

Oh and make sure the front wheels are not turned either left or right when shifting the TC, move or point the wheels in a straight line when you shift.

[ghunt]

Ah no, it was sitting still and in neutral at the time. I locked the hubs before shifting into 4WD and then unlocked them after going back to 2WD.

I'll mess around with it a bit later this weekend and see if having it rolling a little works any better.

[mstromni]

were you engine on or engine off? shifting between 2, 4H, and 4L, you can do witht the engine on, as long as youshift from 4hi to 4low quickly. If you get stuck in neutral, turn tghe engine off and hold light pressure on it. The reason you need things "roling" (either truck or engine) is so that the internal parts line up. I have a manual, so if i have trouble, i just put it in gear for a moment, then push in the clutch and it will shift easily.

also, look at the braket that connects your shifter to the linkage rod. If it is the aluminum-looking one (zinc actually, I believe) REMOVE it and lube it all up. they commonly break form people forcing them when they get siezed - the part is $400 from a dealer and hard to find anywhere

[jr32560]

yes as the previous poster said clean and lube-often that should help

[oldproudvet]

I assume you have a Borg Warner 1356 transfer case. How many miles are on it? The internal shift linkage wears, the large "cam" pivot becomes worn and it does not engage the shift forks properly. The last of these cases has an updated pivot, but it still will wear. Google Borg Warner 1356 transfer case and you'll see a myriad of fixes. The case will have to come out, but that's nothing tricky, just grunt work. Also pay attention to oil pump issues with this case, if you have it apart. It will bite your around the 150,000 mile mark. Again easy fix, if the case is off and apart

[lisagoud]

what year is this truck?