Transfer Case not allowing N or 4L

[Me78569]

For some time now I have not been able to switch the Transfer case into N and therefore no 4l either.  I have 2wd and 4h.

 

This happened due to my dumbness.  Last year when I swapped my tranny I caused this.  I had the truck up on jack stands and the truck was idling and I was going between P R N D to make sure the tranny was working.  Now I made the mistake of testing the transfer case with the wheels off the ground so even in P the rear wheels were moving slowly. 

 

once I kicked it out of N iin the transfer case It grinded but finally went into 4l.  I then tried to go back to N in the Tcase and it grinded again and when into N.

 

After that I put the rear of the truck back down and it shifted into 2wd and 4 high fine, but no longer into n or 4 low. 

 

My question is how badly did I screw the transfer case up?  It is possible for the tcase to "out of sync" and therefore not sync?

 

Think it is possible to R&R the case or should I start looking for a new one at some point?

 

nick

[War Eagle]

I was using my gen 2 truck last week when we had the heavy snow here in Idaho and I could not get it to go into 4l or 4h.

 

I stopped the engine, shifted the transmission into N and tried with the trans in D and nothing I could do would allow the transfer case to go into 4l or 4h.

 

Found a vacuum leak and once I repaired that it worked just fine.  I was very surprised that was my issue but was also very glad it was nothing more serious.

[Me78569]

Yea I am %100 sure it isn't a vacuum leak.  It is a phyical issue in the transfer case not allowing me to move into N

[TFaoro]

The transfer case is really easy to tear apart... I did it twice in one day because it didn't seal up the first time. I don't think it could have damaged anything very bad though. Just like grinding the gears on a manual trans it isn't good but I doubt you broke anything major

[Me78569]

Yea that was my thought.  Just seems odd to me that I can't push the shifter into N.  There is no grinding, it just won't go.  It's almost "blocked"

[mopartechnician]

Va

[Me78569]

huh?

[MnTom]

Is your shifter in the same place as it normally supposed to be? Linkage could have slipped, or something in the case has moved. If you need to pull the case apart make sure you replace the plastic wear pads on the mode and range forks. Here is a diagram of the 241 DHD case and the DLD is the same inside: http://www.manualtransmissionpart.com/mm5/graphics/pdf/np241dhd-2012.pdfOne question I have is why was the rear wheels spinning if your transmission was in park? That should be physicaly impossible.

[Yankneck696]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHDdqubE7zQ

 

Ed

[Me78569]

Sorry N not park is when the wheels were spinning.  it's been a long time so my memory is a little fuzzy.

 

Shifter is in the right spot.  I am guessing the range selector section is screwed up.

Edited November 20, 2014 by me78569

[MnTom]

Sorry N not park is when the wheels were spinning.  it's been a long time so my memory is a little fuzzy.

 

Shifter is in the right spot.  I am guessing the range selector section is screwed up.

Well, that makes a difference. Sounds like it is time to pull the case apart. They are pretty easy to repair. You can even leave the case bolted to the transmission while you repair it.

[Me78569]

I was wondering if I could just split the housing with the transfer case attached to the tranny. 

 

Not sure I want to do this during the winter though, I might wait until spring haha.  looking at a 241dhd iI am guessing my issue is in the range selector collar, I think I screwed something up there.

[mopartechnician]

Its just easier to pull the t-case. And they are super simple to tear apart.

[Me78569]

Alright thanks.  I will pick a weekend that is supposed to be nice and pull it down and see what I find. 

[diesel4life]

For future reference, you can not shift the transfer case into neutral with an automatic trans before going into 4lo. You have to go straight from the high side to the low side without pausing in neutral. If you do stop in neutral, your have to shut the truck off and then shift to prevent gear clash. Both auto trucks I have owned have been finicky going into 4lo and the smoothest transistion is rolling at 2-3 mph, throw trans in neutral and shift directly from high to low side.. If I am stationary and it doesn't want to go, I'll shut the truck off and shift into 4low (trans in neutral) and restart. The key is to avoid that gear clash.