I've noticed that the shift lever to the transfer case has gotten pretty hard to operate recently. Perhaps it's because I don't shift into 4WD often and it's gotten stiff from lack of use. The other day I had occasion to use 4WD (low) and attempted to pull the lever back to 2WD. It took a lot of pulling to get it to work. I thought I would bust the lever doing so. Does the linkage need to be lubed? I'm going to have the local dealer look at it since I'm getting close to the 36,000 mile mark but I'd still like to get some opinions from you guys. Thanks...

 

Did you put into neutral first. I used to shut mine down with the shifter in netural and then put into 2wd but this is olny from 4wl. 2wd to 4wdh should be no problem but from 4wl it will be hard to move and will grind some if you don't shut it down.

 

I never heard of having to shut down the engine in order to shift from 4LO to 2HI. Anyway, I had the dealer look at it and it appears to be OK. I now believe that when I had difficulty shifting the lever the truck was still attached to the trailer and the wheels turned all the way. That may have put excess pressure on the drivetrain, thus making it almost impossible to shift. Just a guess...

 

That may not be all you issue, but it is a large part of it. If you don't use 4WD much, the linkage can get stiff- it gets grime and junk on it. But, if you have been in 4WD, and don't move in the opposite direction to "unload" the drivetrain, naturally it will be very difficult to shift. Worse, you may get it shifted, but because of the pressure imposed, it may not disengage internally, and you can do serious damage if you proceed onto a hard surface. Reverse your direction 8 or 10 feet, shift out, and make sure it is disengaged. Either spin a tire to see, or you can steer sharp in one direction or another- you will load up the drivetrain and feel the resistance if it is still in 4WD.

 

Thanks for the info, Hodge....