4 high not staying locked in

chris

chris

cltdba
Moderator
Joined
Sep 28, 2009
Location
Concord, NC
Having a problem with the 91 XJ where 4 high does not stay locked in. It is fine if I'm going easy but the moment I hit the skinny pedal it pops and grinds. Am I not getting it in gear properly? 4 low works without issue. I have tried shifting it on the fly and stopping putting and neutral and engaging 4 high.

And speaking of 4 hi/lo, what do you guys wheel in most of the time? Obviously I'm using 4 low. With 355 gears it allows me to crawl, but I was wondering if maybe that's not a good idea.
 
Do you have a body lift? If so that could be the issue. Your linkage maybe binding up and not allowing it to get into gear all the way, I am not an XJ expert but TJs have this issue all the time.

As far as using 4 low, its fine to use it, I use it all the time due to a 4 banger and lack of power.
 
burrellsjeep said:
Do you have a body lift? If so that could be the issue. Your linkage maybe binding up and not allowing it to get into gear all the way, I am not an XJ expert but TJs have this issue all the time.
As far as using 4 low, its fine to use it, I use it all the time due to a 4 banger and lack of power.
Click to expand...

You can't body lift an XJ. It's a uni-body.
 
If the linkage is not binding (Mike is right that is the 1st thing Id check) then you have a shift rail that needs replacing....later new process cases were notorious for using aluminum shift rails against nodular iron bars
 
TapouT said:
You can't body lift an XJ. It's a uni-body.
Click to expand...


X2. I'd still check the linkage though to make sure it's fully engaging. if not, it could be your case. those things are chain driven and over time wear out and cause popping and grinding when in 4 wheel drive. my case went out on the RML at Uwharrie when I still had my XJ (have moved on to bigger and better things now: Toyota!) and it was doing the same exact thing.
 
Supposedly, this tcase has been rebuilt. It does appear that it has since there's orange RTV all around the thing. I'm hoping and betting that I somehow damaged the linkage. I do remember pulling a branch out that had gotten wedged up beside the tcase.

Thanks for all of the advice.
 
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