can't engage 4-wheel

4x linkage not right

Serious problem.
I can not get into 4 wheel drive.
The armature that allows the 4wheel lever to engage... is not sitting properly. The pin bushing is not going into the "hole" and there for it will not engage the 4-lo and rarely engages 4-hi.
Sean... can ya help explain this?
Wondering if anyone else has had this problem... what can be done about it??

mowlasley said:

I kinda (wow, great grammar) know what you are talking about. There are a few options for failure in these linkages. Where exactly did it come apart? In the shift console, or underneath in the tunnel?

There are a few places in the tunnel where it can come apart. The lever comes down to a rod that is the pivot which is captured in double shear with one end in a bracket on the side of the tranny tunnel and the other in a bracket on the transmission. If these brackets become horribly misaligned, I could see how that could come out, but you must have bent something up pretty badly to do that, so I doubt that is the problem. If it is, you probably have badly destroyed motor mounts and/or tranny mounts.

Click to expand...

This explains it a bit better and Yes... Pictures are on their way!

pics will help. waiting patiently

Picture

rnmedic said:

pics will help. waiting patiently

Click to expand...

The red oval shows the bushing in its correct position. On my XJ, I can not get my bushing set like this. And this is causing me not to be able to engage 4wheel drive.
hope this clears up the mess of a description i made earlier.

I had to replace the white plastic bushing that is on the transmission hump about 7 years ago on my '86 because the lever poped out of it and I couldn't engage 4wd unless I crawed under it and lock it in by hand. If you look at where the lever attaches to that rod that goes accross between the t-case and the body and see if it poped out or broke away. The part was like $5.00 from the stealership back in the day.

Ok.. its fixed.. for goos. no more crawling under on the trail and pushing it back into place.
Took the whole bracketry off and placed the bushing in the correct way and the remounted everything... works like a charm and I feel a whole lot better about the XJ now that i know I have 4-lo when I need it.
its easy project... just need an extension socket for the top nut on the TC mount bracket.. other then that.. nothing special.

Re- I can get in 4-lo now -Tread