Won't shift out of 4wd
 

I have a 93 I6 auto. Had to use 4hi this am since the plow truck plowed me in my spot at my apt. and and since then the 4wd doesn't seem to disengage. I drove the 1 block to work on a slick road this am and thats it. Drove it right into the garage here and just now got to check it out. Handle moves to all positions (2wd, 4hi, n, and 4lo) climbed underneath and the linkage all seems to be good it moves and the actual lever?(not sure what the technical name is, the piece on the transfer case that connects to the linkage) moves as well. 4wd light stays on and its feels like the front end catchs and jerks when turning. Any ideas? Need to figure it out since my other car is already down.

Have you tried going forward and backward to try to disengage it?

yeah I was just about to add that i tried that and it didnt help. can't check the fluid level since I don't have that size with me. (that won't happen again)

The same thing happened to me on my 96 and I tried rolling in reverse in a parking lot for a good time. Did nothing, But eventually it just went back into 2wd on its own. I had the lever in the 2wd position.

did it keep doing it or more a one time thing? I don't wanna mess up my tc cause last I checked in the couch cushions I had enough for a pop and pack of gum lol

Haha, No, at least not for me. It happened to me back in august I'd say. I have used 4wd multiple times afterwards and haven't had a problem with it. But then again every Jeep is different. So I'd be careful.

Hmm well I guess I will keep trying the sugestions that I have heard of and hopefully it will. Ill keep my eye open for a used one just in case. Now its on to the nss issue

If you can't fix it just find some mud and have some fun

Had the same problem on my 97 ZJ w/ select trac. I keep this one in NY as my Northeast machine. Light stays on you can definitely feel its in 4wd then I shift out light sometimes stays on. I do alittle back -forward -drive a bit then can feel it go out and all is good.
Doesn't seem to be a major problem, as posted by others can be just a Cherokee quirk, As their 4wd system are top notch.

Crawl underneath your jeep and check the tcase linkage. Its a series of like 3 or 4 rods connected going from you tcase to shifter. If one of those rods popped out of its grommet or broke you will not be able to shift in or out of 4x4

I had this happen a lot on my Jeep, you need to be on some gravel road or dirt for this to shift easily.
0. if it's stuck in 4WD, the put the shifter into 4WD (if you already moved it into 2WD)
1. get moving between 5-10 mph going straight
2. take foot of accelerator, shift into Neutral
3. shift down into 2WD
4. shift into Drive, stomp down on accelerator pedal

should shift just fine now, there is a vaccum hose going into the differentials and it probably just needs two things (surface where it can slip and get out of gear and also a bit more suction on the vaccum hose to help actuate the gears)

Maybe I'm totally wrong but this always works for me, because shifting on the pavement is not easy between 2WD and 4WD

hey thanks everyone I got it to go back into 2wd. I had checked all the linkages and they were good. I had tried the all above mention ideas minus the dirt road trick(that was next and it shifted as i backed out my parking spot in the icey parking lot. thanks again everyone

If it happens again another trick you can try is jacking up an axle. Sometime if you turn on pavement you can bind up the 4wd system and it will constantly hold tension on the drivetrain. Jacking up the axle reliefs the tension in your drive train. Then try backing up and going forward in a strait line. Takes a little longer but it worked for me.