Ok, so in the difflock fix for lazy people thread, I was complaining about ratcheting and grinding, and my CDL not being fully engaged. Well, tonight, I bit the bullet, and checked the linkage the redneck, tear sh*t up way. I took the center console out, and cut the rubber membrane out. I looked, and the linkage was all rusted up. I sprayed it with copious amounts of liquid wrench, but it had an unintended consequence. Here is a video explaining it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YUDHClOqqr0

Is it supposed to do that?!?!

 

One of us is confused.

By transfer case did you mean the gear selector?

Because the center differential locker IS the transfer case.

So if you meant the gear selector had to be in neutral. No it doesn't You can shift between locked and unlocked without selecting neutral in the gear selector.

 

This is a terminology mix-up more than anything

Having only dealt with part time 4wd vehicles before, I think of the transfer case being the thing that switches between Hi-Low. In reality, it is technically called a center differential.

So whether the center differential be in Hi or Low, I SHOULD be able to lock the center diff WITHOUT selecting neutral first?

 

Yup

DO NOT however try to go from H to Low while moving [under 5mph] without using the neutral position

 

the transfercase lever or center diff lever, whatever you call it, can shift from left to right in any position even while the transmission is in gear. but can only be moved up and down while transmission is in neutral and you are rolling less than 5 mph. the lever will go any direction around the "figure 8" you want it to, as long as when you go up and down you follow the previous rule, and when you go side to side your wheels aren't slipping. if you are slipping just stop moving engage the cdl and continue having a good time. I hope this clears up this subject maybe I can make a vid to put in the tech section to help newbies to rovers understand how this works, it seems to come up a lot. I know when I got mine I was totally confused, even after I had rode with my father in law who had one, I found out later he didn't know how to do it properly either.

 

Tornado,

Why in the world did you cut the rubber membrane out??????
The correct way to remove it is to drill out the rivets that hold it in place, lift off and sit aside for reinstallation.....All it takes to reinstall is a pop rivet gun and some aluminum pop rivets.

Now that you carved it up, how do you plan to reseal it? Are you just going to leave it open to the outside?


Also, the thing to realize is that the shift lever is merely that, a lever. When you move it side to side, if it is working and not all bound up, it rotates a triangular piece at the bottom of the linkage, this is what mechanically engages and disengages the center differential locking the output to front and rear differentials at 50/50. To get mine to physically move the first time,I had to put a socket on a speedhandle with an extension from above and rotate the nut. I was actually trying to loosen it to remove it when it rotated and shifted. Moving the shift lever at the top rotates the piece at the bottom.

There is also an electrical switch that has a spring loaded plunger inside it. I had to replace mine as well to get the CDL functional again. Here's a pic of the pivot point I mentioned.

 

are you refering to the solinoid that prevents you from shifting from high to low without putting the trans into neutral

 

Because I wanted to?

 

Tornado, the gods are smiling on you,

As stated, The xfer case shifter does two functions (should be a decal in front of shifter on console)

Forward = 4wd low(35mph top speed)
Center = xfer case neutral (you ain't goin' anywhere)
back = 4wd hi (normal driving)

If you accidently move to xfer neutral while trans is in gear, it'll start spinning the gears in xfer case - causing RACKET and potential damage (no panic, tho') - Flip the trans into neutral and shut off the engine if poss, then put the xfer in hi or lo and restart.

To select hi or low, be less than 5mph, flip transmission to neutral and select hi or lo on xfer, then put trans back in gear.

The xfer lock (side to side) can be moved at any speed, in any gear, however AVOID turning on paved, good traction surfaces. Sometimes, it may stick in lock after you unlock it as you're driving, it'll probably unlock as you come to a stop

To the right = unlocked center diff (inside xfer case)
To the left = locked center diff (light on on dash)

Below in my signature you can download the Rave cd, which includes the owner's manual

luck,greg

 

Got it figured out. Thanks for the help.

RAVE is already in my bookmarks.

The rubber membrane is replaced with corrugated plastic until I can get my hands on another one (Both the gearshift and the CDL selector are both sealed)