Can't shift into 4-lo

I searched a little, and came up with several things that could be wrong, but I want to know what you think.

97 4.0, aw4, 231.

got stuck in the snow the other day, tried to shift into 4-lo, wouldn't go into it.- haven't used 4-lo in about 6 months, it worked fine in june pulling a boat.

2wd and 4 Hi work fine, shifts quickly between 4hi and 2wd, but the lever will not go into 4 lo. lots of rust on moving parts, but everything seems to be in place.

I changed the fluid, it was clean, less than 15K on it, still no 4-lo

any ideas?

B

your linkage is probably out of whack under there. crawl under it and have someone move it into and out of 4x4 and notice how it move's. you should be able to adjust it so 4-low work's properly. should only be a 13 or 14 mm nut holding it in place on the slide...

Either the linkage as said, or just pull the handle harder, it usually has to roll into place. Shift into and out of gear and try it while barely moving.

Problem solved:


It seems the previous owner had a tire pressure gauge on a key chain clipped around the lever- it slid down and was keeping the lever from reaching 4-lo.

everything seems to work now- and I have another tire gauge.

thanks for the help.

B