Shifting out of 4wd

mlr5250 · **Joined:** Tue Dec 19, 2006 12:29 pm **Posts:** 3

I just got a 2005 Liberty. Unfortunately, I did not get an owner's manual with it, so I can't refer to it. I pulled the lever up this morning and pulled it over into 4x4 lo and now can't get it back to 4x4 hi or 4x2 hi. Is there a trick to shift back to 4x2?

SavageUrge · **Posted:** Tue Dec 19, 2006 12:41 pm

Sometimes it helps the gears to mesh better if you are moving - slowly - as you push the lever back down. Sometimes you have to lean on it, especially if it hasn't been used much.

mlr5250 · **Joined:** Tue Dec 19, 2006 12:29 pm **Posts:** 3

I'll give that a try. Will I run into any problems backing out of my parking space in 4x4 lo? And do I need to shift the tranny to neutral?

2006KJSPORT4x4 · **Posted:** Tue Dec 19, 2006 12:57 pm

yes have the tranny in Neutral while moving about 2-5mph and you should be fine shifting from 4Lo to anything else...Congrats on the purchase too...

chefdab · **Posted:** Tue Dec 19, 2006 12:59 pm

Yes, tranny in neutral rolling very slowly and push the gear lever down. If you are going to fast it will not disengage, it will just grind.

mlr5250 · **Joined:** Tue Dec 19, 2006 12:29 pm **Posts:** 3

That's greatly appreciated! Thanks to all for their responses.

Jeger · **Posted:** Tue Dec 19, 2006 1:08 pm

Welcome to lost by the way!

Lots of helpful folks here for sure.

elephantrider · **Posted:** Tue Dec 19, 2006 1:15 pm

mine is hard to push back into 2 hi and i've used mine quite a bit.
seems the tolerances are pretty tight on the linkage maybe.. ?

Jeepjeepster · **Posted:** Tue Dec 19, 2006 1:30 pm

Just be sure you do not turn on black top or any other hard surface while in 4lo or parttime. If you have the full time option, you can use that on any road surface. :wink:

I was detailing a kj a few years ago and did the same thing you did. I had to move it to get it back into 2wd.. :wink:

jcphoto20 · **Joined:** Sun Nov 19, 2006 1:36 am **Posts:** 507

i had a problem before when putting it into 4wheel fulltime while turning and backing up, like in a parking lot. felt binding, a couple times it finally clunked i think after straightening out and going straight. i believe i had to yank it in and out a couple times before it felt right again.

RespectMyLibertay · **Posted:** Wed Dec 20, 2006 1:23 am

jcphoto20 wrote:

i had a problem before when putting it into 4wheel fulltime while turning and backing up, like in a parking lot. felt binding, a couple times it finally clunked i think after straightening out and going straight. i believe i had to yank it in and out a couple times before it felt right again.

That's the sort of thing I get in part-time on dirt surfaces. It will bind and I'll throw it into full-time and it runs fine. I think if you have part-time/full-time option, you should run full-time when you won't get much slippage, and part-time when you're expecting a lot of traction loss, like in snow and mud.
I have had a lot of weird things happen to my KJ in all modes of 4-wheel drive. I have the Select-Trac transfer case. I was at Eagle Rock with the LOST Rockies crew and my KJ's front wheels kept disengaging in 4-lo and in part-time. I took it into the dealer and the mechanic told me he pulled a bunch of hard mud out from around the transfer case and lever. Then he drove it around, tested 4-wheel drive on hill (where the front wheels tended to disengage), and said it was fine. I've had the same things happen since then. I've recently looked at how I shift into and out of the 4-wheel drive modes. I pulled someone out of a ditch recently, with my KJ on pavement. I put it into 4-lo to get some power and easily yanked the vehicle back onto the pavement. After we disconnected the recovery strap I backed up, then accelerated forward slowly and threw the tranny into Neutral and put the transfer case down to 2-wheel. Put the tranny back into Drive will still rolling slightly, but after a couple feet I turned and had major binding, obviously still in 4-lo. I straightened out then stopped, put it into N again and pulled the transfer case lever to N then back to 2-wheel, then the tranny back to D. I have a tricky transfer case. I still don't even know if I have a problem with it :roll:

Shifting out of 4wd

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