hi all, been scouring forum.. no luck

my 4h, 4hlc work great, but I can't engage 4llc (4 low). the t case shifter won't go into 4 lo... any suggestions?

the rear diff locker fires right up and rear will lock, but the 4lo doesnt engage and with winter coming i need to get that fixed.

thanks in advance

 

Everything that I read online said to engage 4hlc then put tranny in N "as normal" roll backwards about 5-10 ft then see if you can engage 4llc. Try it on a slight incline so you definitely get the roll backwards.


Hope this helps
Post back on what happens

 

yep, so I just tried rolling back...no luck. Does 4lo just slide right in on the t case lever for everyone else? I don't have the capability to remove the actual t case, and am hoping someone has been in a similar situation as me and been able to go at it from the lever side...

Anyone have experience disassembling t case from the top? from the interior of the car? Anyone ever tried spraying a lube in under the rubber bellows? I can get the lever to want to shift into the beginning of the 4 lo "groove" or "channel", but it just won't go the whole way forward to actually engage 4lo. I use the 4hloc daily to be able to back into my steep, narrow driveway. It works great and I don't want to damage the 4x4 system, but need to get 4low working with winter on the way. The previous owners used the Montero as a 7 seater minivan basically and it went 10+ years without the 4wd system ever being engaged. I changed the gear oil in the t case and both diffs first thing when I bought it. The front diff and t case had the nastiest fluid I've ever seen in any car. Looked like they had big chunks of "fat" in them, like when you ad water to hot bacon grease and then let it sit there all day.

so, yeah, I'm looking for a detailed description / illustration of taking apart the t case lever assembly, and then where exactly would I be looking for an obstruction in the 4 low "channel"....also, anything I might damage by spraying some silicon lube into the t case lever assembly?

thanks!

 

Is it a mechanical shift mechanism? What is the vehicle?

 

Im guessing he has a 2.5 gen, 97-99 SR with winter package since he has a rear diff lock. It is a mechanical shifter which is better in my opinion than a electronic shifter. Easier to fix when something goes wrong, and I just like levers better than selenoids. Too much can go wrong.

Should be fairly easy for you to get into the shift mechanism from above and inside the the truck. You will have to remove your center console to get to the shifter but after that I believe its just bolts to open the shift part of the t case. Heres a link to expo that might help you out http://expeditionportal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=128715

These guys were having a similar problem only the were stuck in 4llc.

 

http://expeditionportal.com/forum/sh...d.php?t=128715


Idk why the link didnt work in the last post

 

thanks! yep 99 montero with manual t case lever

 

Any updates?

 

I finally replaced my bad tps hoping for better mpg, and I took it out on some steep trails to try and really heat up the t case and tranny and see if shifting into 4lo would be easier. I stayed in 4h on the t case and low on the tranny and went up really really steep for several miles. The A/T light came on, but I was close to the top where I was going to stop and give shifting into 4lo a try, so I kept going. About 100 yards from the plateau up top, I noticed smoke and flames from under the hood. I pulled over and poured water over the flames, which caused the fire to slide down onto the ground. I put that out with my feet thank God. I let it cool off, and limped back home. It leaks oil, as do most of these. Plus, 15 years of pine needles and such had attached to the oil residue. I'm assuming the transmission overheated (a/t light) and caused the pine needles to ignite, which ignited the caked on oil. Lucky I caught it early and poured water all over it, which seems to have cleaned it off. It's running great, knock on wood. I've taken it for a 100 mile drive just to make sure. I now carry a fire extinguisher also!!!

So, no update on the t case not shifting into 4 lo. Been sidetracked... to say the least. Thanks for the link to expeditionportal, great pics and tech bulletin. I think I'm gonna go down to pick a part and disassemble a t case lever. Good practice before I tackle mine, and I'm assuming from everything I've read that I will also need a new lever ball and/or spring. Still, I'd also like to spray some silicone lube under the boot and see what happens. Any thoughts? Doesn't seem like there's much in there that could be damaged by it?

 

Holy shmidt! I was definitely not expecting that sort of update! Im sorry to hear that about your rig! I too park under pine trees and leak oil like crazy. I frekin hate pine trees now, both my cars constantly have sap spots and pine needles all over them.
Im glad you got your rig home safe.

Your welcome for the link to expo. Im over there alot more than here, mainly because of the support for our rigs. Theres quite a few active montero members as well as other 4x4 enthusiasts.

Im not to sure on spraying lubricant inside of the t case shifter. I dont see where it would hurt.