I went out to plow my driveway today and while warming the truck up I noticed the transfer case handle was vibrating a lot. The ZF5 shifter handle vibrates a little, but the T-case handle seems excessive.

I also can't get the truck into 4Lo. 2H and 4H work. The shifter refuses to move to the left and back to engage 4Lo. I just bought the truck at the end of December and I have to wait until Spring to check the linkage. Any suggestions on the bad vibration? I plowed for an hour with no issues.
Thanks.

 

I dont know other than my 92 does it too, vibrated and loud. Stuck a bungee around the dash brace and hooked on it stopped the noise anyway.

 

Thanks Hairy. Wasn't sure if it was normal or not. I'm going to try and rebuild a spare 1356 this summer for it anyway.

 

check the trans mount when you get under it.

 

If you can't get the lever to move to the left, the linkage is probably frozen/rusted up. Soak it in your favorite spray and take it apart.

 

I've never seen a 4x4 diesel truck without a vibrating 4x4 shifter.

And only been in one that the shifter moves sideways to go in different gears, my 2 4x4 7.3's, you just pull the shifter straight up and back, no side movement at all.

 

My transfer case lever vibrates, too. I think they all do. I don't think I have to move the shifter left to get my 93 F250 into 4L (someone please correct me if I am wrong), but it certainly is not easy to get it back out of low range.

 

Mine vibrates like a pissed off swarm of bees. It drives me insane, but that's why there's a volume **** on the stereo.

Mine doesn't move to the side either, it's just straight up and down. You have to push down on it to get it to move in to neutral and 4-low. Mine's a little tricky, you have to push down and move it very fast from 2-high to neutral / 4-low, or it won't move past 4-high. If it gets to neutral or 4-low, it'll grind like a motherclunker when you try and switch out of them unless you do it fast and give it a bit of muscle. I don't know if that part is normal, but that's how mine is.

 

Are you supposed to be moving to get it in 4L? I was stopped and it was a PITA.

 

There is a gate in the linkage that prevents you from dropping straight back into neutral or 4-low.

In older trucks to clear the gate you have to move the lever to the left.

Newer trucks you push the lever down. I don't know when the switch happened.

Golden Helmet, its not supposed to grind. Is the truck moving when you're trying to shift? Try shifting it in neutral or park with the truck stopped and see what happens. You can shift on the fly between 2wd and 4-high. But you're supposed to stop before shifting through neutral to 4-low.

 

So it's been a few years since I had a Ford 4x4. When I bought it and got it home, it has been used only for plowing so I put it in 4H and never tried 4L until recently. I think I misinterpreted the shift pattern on the ****. I thought it shows 4LO being to the left and back on the **** from 4H. But you guys are saying to pull up and back to engage 4L from 4H which is actually what the **** is trying to indicate. So all three positions are in a straight line.

 

To my knowledge, you're supposed to be stopped and have the transmission in neutral to shift to 4-low, but I can double check the owners manual. I've heard on some trucks (Chevy's I think) you need to be moving at like 3-5mph to shift in to 4-low, but I don't think that applies to our trucks.

My truck was completely stopped with the transmission in neutral. If I was gentle with it, it would grind when trying to leave neutral and 4-low, I could actually feel the gears grinding. If I gave it a good, fast shove, it would shift with little to no protest. There was no grinding going back and forth between 2wd and 4-high, it was just neutral and 4-low that wanted to fight.

I was actually testing my transfer case out a few days ago. I was having trouble getting the transfer case out of neutral with the transmission in neutral (I was trying to be gentle), so I tried shifting out of neutral with the transmission in Park. It was REALLY unhappy with that. That was one of the worst noises I've ever heard from a vehicle. Never doing that again >.>

If I remember correctly, the shift pattern shown on the **** shows a left turn, but it's actually a straight line. You can shift in and out of 2wd and 4-high without pushing down on the shifter, but to get in to neutral or 4-low you have to push down to move it.

 

it depends what shifter you have.
some push down and pull back for 4 low, others push left and pull back.
both my 88's the 89, 90, and 91 pushed left.
the 92 pushed down. all my trucks had the 1356 t-case
and stopped trans in neutral or foot on clutch to shift into 4 low.
i have seen some gas trucks in the 87-91 years with the 1345 t-case that had the push down and pull t-case shifter.

 

Mine must just be tricky. Doesn't really matter to me much. I have little use for 4L anyway. As long as 4H works, I'm good.

 

So let me get this straight. Your truck is NOT moving, the transmission is in neutral or park, which means the output shaft is NOT moving. Well I guess in Neutral, the output shaft could be spinning slowly, but not under any power. In park the output shaft is locked and can not move (hence park...)

If your transfer case is making a grinding noise when nothing is supposed to be moving, there is something seriously wrong! Now if the truck was rolling when you did this, yes it can make noises and you shouldn't have tried that.

Its possible it doesn't slide in if things aren't lined up. Just like you can't always get into a gear with a stick shift if the engine if nothing is spinning, but then it will slide right in if you drop the clutch a hair, or let the truck roll a tiny. But in those cases, the shifter just stops until the gears line up and then it slides in.

So I just pulled out the manual for my 93. The 4x4 chapter differs if you have automatic hubs vs manual hubs for going between 2wd and 4-high, but going to 4-low was the same. It also shows a picture of the shifter **** with the shift pattern in a straight line. It clearly states "push down" next to neutral (between 4-high and 4-low). The older shifter pattern (on the **** in my '88) shows straight down from 2wd to 4-high, then going left, then down through neutral, then right to 4-low. Think of a digital clock showing a 2, but without the topmost line.
The manual clearly says to shift into 4-low, STOP the vehicle and put the transmission in Neutral for auto's or step on the clutch. Then shift in one continuous motion without pausing at the transfer case neutral position. If you pause in the neutral position, it may cause difficulty shifting back into gear. It goes on to say that if you have difficulty getting it into 4-low (or back in 4-high), you can "let the vehicle roll slightly, and/or turn off the engine (particularly on vehicles equipped with an automatic transmission)".
That last part is a direct quote. However, I stand firm on what I said before that in neutral and especially in park, nothing should be grinding if the vehicle is not moving.