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I recently purchased a 1998 Land Rover Discovery I that needed a little work. Everything had been going great until my drive home today. I was stopped at a light started to accelerate and then I heard a small clunk and then no more power was getting to the wheels. I was driving around with the differential in Neutral, and was able to get moving again in 4Hi. So now it only moves in 4HI, and 4LO, Neutral does nothing and I can't get it over to the Lock side.
I'm new to Rovers.
You couldn't be driving around with the diff in neutral. Discoverys have full time four wheel drive. You go in either 4 HI or 4LO. Putting the diff shifter to lock takes it out of differential and into straight gearing, putting 50% torque to front and 50% torque to rear axles
In order to shifter the transfer case you should have the transmission in neutral while stopped. Rolling forward or back (while transmission in neutral) no more than 5mph may help the gears align for a smoother shift
First things first....DO NOT DRIVE FOR MORE THAN 500 FT WITH THE CDL (cneter diff lock) IN 4HI OR 4LO UNLESS YOU ARE ON A SLIPPERY SURFACE (sand, snow, gravel, dirt, wet grass, etc). You risk blowing up your CDL.
The CDL has 5 settings.
Neutral - No power to any of the drive shafts. Your power is disconnected from you wheels.
2HI - The most often used setting. Allows the CDL to send power to a combination of the front AND rear driveshaft depending on torque loads allowing for differences between speeds of the front and rear axles when cornering.
2LO - See above but with a higher gear ration for more low end torque. Not used very often at all.
4HI - The CDL sends equal power to both the front and rear drive shaft. You must be on a slippery surface so that your wheels can spin in order to make up for the difference in speed of the front and rear axles when cornering. Used for snow, dirt, sand, etc.
4LO - See above. Again with the higher gear ration to provide more low end torque. "Boat launch ramp mode".
The mechanism of the CDL lever often becomes corroded as these vehicles age and the mechanism is not lubed or used very often. There are good threads in this forum describing the tear down and overhaul of the units. It is not difficult but will take some time, patience, and a bunch of PB blaster and grease to get it in shape.
If there is any confusion regarding the position of the lever as it controls the CDL, the lever in this picture has the CDL in 2HI, ("down and right") which positions the lever the right (passenger side) of the vehicle and away from the engine.
When I purchased the Land Rover the Differential was in the Neutral position. When I bought it I tired it out in 4LO which was a huge struggle to put it in, it worked fine once I got it there. Then I tried it out in 4HI which also was a huge struggle to get it into. After that I put it back in the middle Neutral position because I thought this was standard operating position, because that's how it was when I bought it. I can only assume that it was only partially engaging 4HI when I was driving around, which hopefully didn't cause any damage. After the clunk it has been really easy to shift it into 4LO and 4HI now.
This weekend I plan on draining the transfer case, opening it up and checking for damage.
It's 4HI Locked, 4HI Unlocked, 4LO Locked, 4LO Unlocked. Stick to the right is Locked, stick to the left is Unlocked. I'm pretty sure there isn't an issue here with the sun gear welding itself in a large mass since the OP said it was in 4HI and came out of gear into transfer case Neutral. It's happened with mine when playing and the shifter block and linkage just needs a little TLC'ing which is as common as breathing.
Just for the record you can switch between 4HI Unlocked to 4HI Locked and vice-versa at just about any speed the Disco can go. I do it all the time in the winter depending on the roadway conditions. It can be done on loose terrain as well. LO is the only time your required to be at a very reduced speed, tranny in neutral (to reduce internal spin) as it relates to the rotational speed of the low speed gear set lining up enough to make the change.
Yeah, my description of "2" vs unlocked was less than perfect.
Originally Posted by ihscouts
Stick to the right is Locked, stick to the left is Unlocked.
I'm pretty sure this is backwards. Pushing the lever toward the left (driver's) side of the truck locks the transfer case.
Down (rear) and right (passenger) is the 'default'.... High and unlocked.
Originally Posted by ihscouts
Just for the record you can switch between 4HI Unlocked to 4HI Locked and vice-versa at just about any speed the Disco can go. I do it all the time in the winter depending on the roadway conditions. It can be done on loose terrain as well. LO is the only time your required to be at a very reduced speed, tranny in neutral (to reduce internal spin) as it relates to the rotational speed of the low speed gear set lining up enough to make the change.
Yep, exactly.
Lock <--> Unlock... at any speed (but should be loose road surface)
My 96 did this one time. Turned out the lever had moved slightly and was in neutral even though it didn't look like it. Pulled back on it and I had gears again.
Land Rover Discovery I transmission issues
