transfer case won't go into 4 low
 

I searched but didn't see exactly my situation, so i wanted to ask everyone:

i have a 3 inch lift kit, 1 inch transfer case drop kit. i'd had a problem with my jeep "jumping out" of 4 hi. 4 low worked fine. a fellow xj enthusiast looked it over and said it needed a new transmission mount, the added movment was moving the linkage enough to pull it out of 4 hi.

so i replaced the transmission mount. It took a lot of effort to get the cross member to line up to put it back in.

now 4 hi works fine, but i can't get to 4 low. even when the bolt is loose on the linkage for adjustment, i can't move the selector by hand into 4 low.

what did i do wrong?

thanks in advance.

What year XJ are you working on? And do you have a 231 or a 242 transfer case? I would pull the rear drive shaft and try and rotate the output shaft a little and see if it pops in. With the 1" drop on the case you could also have a problem were the linkage ad broken free from the body mount as too. When was the last time you checked/changed the oil in the case?

Try with in nuetral.

(2nd edit) 99 Jeep xj, 242 TC, changed oil Saturday (need to change TC oil, i changed motor oil)

nothing looked out of place. tried changing by hand / adjusting linkage at that time as well.

i do put in neutral, every time. i can get it to a point where its grinding, but not fully engaged.

Remove adjuster rod and try with channel locks not running.

was linkage drop bracket used ?........ https://shop.advanceautoparts.com/p/...Q&gclsrc=aw.ds

i did not use a linkage drop bracket. lift has been on it for a while, but transmission mount was recent. maybe it's all out of line with the new mount, but i thought i should be able to move by hand if linkage was not connected.

i'll try with channel locks next. thanks.

Kinda tough by hand.

true, i can move through all others by hand, just not the last setting.

mine was always a pain when it had the t-case drop in it. every situation is different, but I never liked the way the t-case shifted with the drop kit in it and I used the relocation bracket because I could not get mine into low and even after it went in hard. Get a SYE and don't look back, totally worth the time and money.

I had the same issue when a 1" drop crossmember was installed. 242 Tcase.
4hi was dropping out.

Because of any drop, crossmember, tranny mount, etc. the Tcase linkage needs to be re-adjusted.
Took me 15 minutes with a couple trial and errors.
If i remember correctly here's what i did.

Put the Tcase shifter in 4lo and keep it there with a bungee, helper or what ever works.

Loosen the trunnion bolt that holds the linkage shift rod. Lube the shaft with a little penetrating oil if it won't slide freely. It needs to slide freely.

With the linkage shaft loose now and with a pliers on the actual Tcase shift arm, make sure the Tcase is indeed in 4lo. Could be i was lucky as i heard it click into 4lo.

Tighten the trunnion shift rod bolt.
Thats all i did and still working great.

Mine was the linkage - adjusted it like twice a week till I finally got the Boostwerks kit.

Shifts perfectly now. Might not be the same issue - I could get mine in 4-lo but if I didnt hold it there it would eventually pop out and make a really bad noise

finally got it worked out, had to take it to a pro. see in my first post, i had a hard time putting the cross member back in? i managed to put it in backwards. no wonder it was so hard to put it back in.

anyway, i have 4 low again. i thought i'd share.

Lol, I marked mine with an L and an R before I ever removed it for the first time, made it easy

now they tell me. :)