I just remounted a transfer case onto the Disco - 1998 4.0L. I cannot get this thing into gear. I have jacked up the front tire and while shifting, had the tire spin until it went into gear and the tire locked up - it was not, in fact, in gear as I had suspected. I also did this to the rear tire, but since the front was put into gear, the rear would not spin.

I have been trying to get the t-case into gear and be able to move the vehicle. Nothing - there is no engagement with the t-case.

I have removed the solenoid and I also pulled out the 2/4 switch that sends the message to the dashboard which gear I am in. The 2/4 switch (just to the front of where the solenoid was) is functioning and I can move the gears into 2/4. The dashboard is not lit - whereas prior to lifting the wheel, spinning & shifting, I had a solid red light with all four wheels lit up. If I do shift the t-case, not changes to the lighting - which I would have thought I should be getting something showing me that I am in either 2 or 4, maybe even High or Low.

One thing, since I have the panel out and am playing with the shifters, I have played with the front portion of the shifting where the H/N/L portion is. I have noticed that even though I have shifted the gears all the way to the right or left, sometimes there is a little play left. I do not necessarily think that amounts to anything. Also, I will reach down and manually push the tab all the way with no additional effect.

Any suggestions as to what may be a trick I can use to get this thing into gear beyond the typical trick of lifting a wheel would be awesome - thanks in advance.

 

Maybe lift all four wheels?

 

Now that the transfer case is engaged with the gears locked in, that would just spin the wheels. I'm thinking this is internal that there is something not engaging inside that is not engaging the transfer case.

The transmission is working, so I do not believe that is the issue - the wheels are not locking in and moving once the transmission is put into gear.

 

There is no 2 or 4 wheel drive selection. All 4 wheels are driven all the time, from the centre diff, which can be locked. So you have High (lever back) and Low (lever forewards), and the centre diff can be locked in either one (lever to the left), plus neutral in the middle of the back and forth plane.

Diff lock is only for use on slippery or loose surfaces and not for road use (the wheels have to be able to slip when turning, so it doesn't bind up internally)

With the engine off and the trans in Park, parking brake off; any one wheel lifted will not turn if the Transfer case is in High or Low. Transfer case in neutral, it will turn, or if the transmission is in a gear other than park, it's possible too.

If you were turning a front wheel and engaged high, causing the front wheel to stop turning, then it should be in gear. Your first paragraph sounds exactly like it the transfer case was in gear.

What happens when you try to move the car?

 

I dropped the transfer case to open it up, spin the input shafts and output shafts to see if everything appears to be operating as normal. There is nothing out of the ordinary that jumps out at you when looking at the internals. I popped the transfer case back up onto the Disco. I shifted into gear, but still nothing. However, I tried playing around with the shifter to see if I could move into other gears. Now, the shifter appears to be jammed and unable to move into gear - I might be able to jack a tire and roll it allowing me to shift more easily.

Thing is, the engine if fine. The transmission appears to sound fine when I shift. With the vehicle running, shifting into reverse, park, neutral, D, 1, 2, or 3, you get the noise out of the engine that you would expect. The weight of the transmission operating on the engine sounds as it should. Throwing the vehicle into neutral and the RPMs drop as they would. But, there is no movement whatsoever. I seriously doubt this is a transmission issue. When they go, you usually have at least one gear, or some kind of movement that you realize is a transmission issue. There is zero movement. That tells me the t-case is in neutral despite moving through the gears. If I am moving through the gears, but getting zero movement, then the t-case must have something going on that is not sending rotation to the output shafts.

The zero movement continually tells me transfer case. I have pushed and pulled the gears in every direction possible, but nothing.

Just to get back on the road, I am thinking I will send Ashcroft a few dollars and get a newly rebuilt transfer case. The video they have is impressive and I would be able to rely upon that for years to come. If, after getting the t-case, and I STILL cannot shift into gear, then it actually was a transmission issue, and Ashcroft gets some more money. Then, there would be zero issues for many, many years and miles to come.

 

And you’re sure it’s not something like a sheared axle shaft?

 

Making assumptions is going to send you in some expensive, time-consuming circles.

The EFI varies the idle speed, depending on whether it's in P/N or in a gear. The idle reduces just by putting it in gear, regardless of load on the engine. My 3.9 idles at 700 in P or N, and 625 in gear not because of the load, because the specified idle speed in the EFI changes to those figures and it moved the idle valve to achieve it. I can see the specified idle speed change in the diagnostics tool. Even with my transfer case in neutral, the in-gear idle is still 625; with no load on it.

In the same vein, if your transfer case was stuck in neutral, there wouldn't be enough load on the trans to drop the engine speed, if it worked how you suggest.

Either way, that's an incorrect assumption and you need to check what is actually happening.

Same with assuming you'll still have at least one gear f the transmission fails - not always the case - there are a number of failures that lead to no drive, but very limited ones that leave you only one gear (which is usually only reverse, or only drive when you select "1").

It's much easier and cheaper to just check the basics. and it's REALLY easy.

Auto in Park, transfer in H or L, parking brake off, does the car roll? It should only move a tiny bit as the load goes on the transmission park pawl if the Transfer case is working. It should rock back and forth a bit, but not roll along.
Auto in neutral, transfer in H or L, parking brake off, does the car roll? It should roll now.

if both those work, the transfer case is in gear.

Then if you don't believe the results from that, why not remove the rear (PTO) cover on the transfer case and see if the input shaft/gear spins when you put it in D?
Or when you do the previous tests - roll it back and forth and see which parts move.

If you've bolted the input shaft onto the trans output shaft, and it's NOT turning, the Auto isn't driving. If it IS turning, the transfer is still in neutral, or broken.

 

I finally got a chance to play with the vehicle and do these test - I am only generally free on weekends. I removed the main plate to the transfer case as I know that the PTO needs to be torqued to a specific number. I did not have the gear oil in yet, so that was easy.

The transfer case is in gear. The transmission is not engaging and the input gear on the transfer case, nor any gear for that matter, moved. This means it is a transmission issue and I can move forward trying to figure that out. I am going to start a new thread for this. Thanks for your help on this diagnosis and any future assistance.