another NooB question

I have an 87 XJ 4.0, auto, 4x4
Recently bought it from someone who had the lousiest lift I have ever seen done to it. It had 4 screw in spacers and 2 rubber spacers per front coil and 3 inch blocks in the rear. Got it home and it wouldn't go into 4Hi, it was stuck in 2Hi. The guy says the truck did fine in 4wd before he put the lift on it, and even afterwards he tried it and it worked. I thought about it for days why it wouldn't work and tried reading all the threads posted here and no one seemed to answer my question yet. People have told me, and I figured it myself that if a 4x4 sits uneven front to back, which it did, there was about 1 1/2 inched of difference front to rear, the transfer case will tend to bind and not want to shift because of unequal driveshaft angles. I lowered the rear to a 2 inch block kit and haven't touched the front, bringing it more level. I adjusted the shift linkages like many people say to do. There is nothing hung in the console. If I pull back and over on the transfer case shifter the front shaft will turn with the rear one if I hold it there. Do I need to continue to fiddle with the adjustment until it gets right? Do I need to figure out where N is in the case and put it there then adjust it to get it into gear? This has been driving me nuts for a week. Any help is greatly appreciated.

You should be able to shift directly at the Tcase, if you can not do this. Your Tcase is probably messed up and if it is, it would be time to visit the junkyard for a replacement. Otherwise, you'll have to keep messing with the linkage until you get it right.

It will shift at the transfer case no problem. Have ya'll ever heard of an uneven lift causing this?

87xjpioneer757 said:

People have told me, and I figured it myself that if a 4x4 sits uneven front to back, which it did, there was about 1 1/2 inched of difference front to rear, the transfer case will tend to bind and not want to shift because of unequal driveshaft angles.

Click to expand...

This is an incorrect analysis.

Have you tried shifting with the vehicle rolling slowly and the transmission in neutral? Have you checked the condition of the T-case fluid? Does it have a transmission crossmember drop? If so this can cause the linkage to bind.

What are screw-in spacers, BTW? Sounds like the plumbing ACOS from awhile back.

Lawn Cher' said:

Sounds like the plumbing ACOS from awhile back.

Click to expand...

hey those things are bad a$$ plus you could get as many as you want

87xjpioneer757 said:

It will shift at the transfer case no problem. Have ya'll ever heard of an uneven lift causing this?

Click to expand...

An uneven lift, no. An uneven set of tires or radically different pressures in the tires, yes. Whoever told you that the problem is because of the differing height of the front and rear needs to go back to school and learn what u-joints are for...

Lawn Cher' said:

This is an incorrect analysis.

Have you tried shifting with the vehicle rolling slowly and the transmission in neutral? Have you checked the condition of the T-case fluid? Does it have a transmission crossmember drop? If so this can cause the linkage to bind.

What are screw-in spacers, BTW? Sounds like the plumbing ACOS from awhile back.

Click to expand...

They are kind of like 'reverse spring compressors' big item back in the late 60's to get the nose of ss396 Chevys up higher....the prevent the spring from compressing, I think Mr Gasket still sells them...

If Mr Gasket doesn't have them, I think VatoZone does...or Pep Boyz...you find some really interesting blingtastic crap in there!

Oh, I know what you are talking about now... usually in the same aisle as the aluminum lift blocks! Sounds like this guy's lift was all sourced from a single "bling shop" vendor.

Lawn Cher' said:

Oh, I know what you are talking about now... usually in the same aisle as the aluminum lift blocks! Sounds like this guy's lift was all sourced from a single "bling shop" vendor.

Click to expand...

i was thinking it was blinged together as the Goverment Pay(cough-cough)Checks came in.

My advise...yank it all out, through out all the useless stuff ( which sounds like most of it) and start from scratch.

Mazltov.

You could sell the crap parts on JU or ebay. I agree that you should start from scratch once you get your shifting problem sorted out.

I would ditch the front coils at least as they are probably already trashed from those crappy spacers. They screw with the spring rate and cause weak spots in the springs. I have seen a coil break from running those. You can find 3" lift coils for cheap. Check the linkage to see if it is binding, broken, or disconected.

I don't know if it applies, but my dads got a Rubicon that did almost the same thing on the trail a few weeks ago. The few times he managed to get it in 4w it would pop back out. It turned out that something in the linkage was seriously out of place.

Thanks, guys. I was planning on yanking all that crap out anyway and going with a 2 inch kit from Rusty's, it's just that's what's in it now, while I'm trying to sort out the problem. I have tried to shift it in neutral, while rolling, tried every thing I can think of, shifting while on jack stands included. Transfer case had no oil init when I bought it, but the plug didn't smell burnt like it would have if the case had gotten hot from running with no oil in it, apparently the guy drained it to change the oil and never filled it, and didn't run it in 4 after that, but I refilled it, no leaks. I really think I just need to play around with the shifter position vs the linkage position until i get it right. Thanks to all who replied, and to those who started the lift kit poll, it's been helpful too. If you all have any more advice, hit me.

87xjpioneer757 said:

Thanks, guys. I was planning on yanking all that crap out anyway and going with a 2 inch kit from Rusty's, it's just that's what's in it now, while I'm trying to sort out the problem. I have tried to shift it in neutral, while rolling, tried every thing I can think of, shifting while on jack stands included. Transfer case had no oil init when I bought it, but the plug didn't smell burnt like it would have if the case had gotten hot from running with no oil in it, apparently the guy drained it to change the oil and never filled it, and didn't run it in 4 after that, but I refilled it, no leaks. I really think I just need to play around with the shifter position vs the linkage position until i get it right. Thanks to all who replied, and to those who started the lift kit poll, it's been helpful too. If you all have any more advice, hit me.

Click to expand...

You say he didn't run it in 4, but did he run it at all? It needs fluid regardless of operating mode! Your case may need a rebuild.

87xjpioneer757 said:

Transfer case had no oil init when I bought it, but the plug didn't smell burnt like it would have if the case had gotten hot from running with no oil in it, apparently the guy drained it to change the oil and never filled it, and didn't run it in 4 after that, but I refilled it, no leaks.

Click to expand...

your telling us this now.




lawn cher' is right on, it will toast the tcase in 2wd, 4wd hi, 4wd low, possibly neutral if you were coasting down hill! hehe...

Yikes! The tcase still turns in 2wd. Where do you think you rear driveshaft is connected to? You might have serious case problems if it was driven with no fluid. I would pull it and do a complete rebuild.

I say screw the rebuild, run it until it really blows. But of course start searching for a replacement. The only way you can really mess with your linkage, is if the guy put a Tcase drop between the fram and crossmember. This will put the linkages out of alignment.

I know of a number of guys who had run there Tcases dry, did they last no, but 231's and 241's are a dime a dozen! I sure you can find one cheap at a half off sale.

ChuckD said:

I say screw the rebuild, run it until it really blows. But of course start searching for a replacement. The only way you can really mess with your linkage, is if the guy put a Tcase drop between the fram and crossmember. This will put the linkages out of alignment.

I know of a number of guys who had run there Tcases dry, did they last no, but 231's and 241's are a dime a dozen! I sure you can find one cheap at a half off sale.

Click to expand...

If it won't go into 4wheel then it's not very usefull is it?

ChuckD said:

I say screw the rebuild, run it until it really blows. But of course start searching for a replacement. The only way you can really mess with your linkage, is if the guy put a Tcase drop between the fram and crossmember. This will put the linkages out of alignment.

I know of a number of guys who had run there Tcases dry, did they last no, but 231's and 241's are a dime a dozen! I sure you can find one cheap at a half off sale.

Click to expand...

I had a wrangler once that broke a tranny mount and let the Tcase fall on the skid. It wore a hole through the aluminum of the tcase and when I was driving down the road the torque of the moter would cause the tcase to lift off the skid and it drained all the oil out. When I stopped it would sit on the skid and seal up(no lie!!) It would get noisy and I would fill it...It would run out of oil get noisy and I would fill it. This went on for a few weeks till I finaly grew a brain and figured out what the problem was. Since my dad was a drivetrain mechanic we took the case down because we figured it was shot. Guess what...Nothing wrong...not a burnt baring,scored seal nothing. We put it back together and 100,000 miles later its still going.
I know this won't happen to everyone but to me it made me a beliver in 231s