Bought a completely rust free 2000 Disco with rebuilt engine and pretty low miles. Amazingly enough all seats windows and all electronics work. Even sunroof (no leaks) and seat heaters work. Test drove it ran great and bought it. Before leaving I tested out the hi/lo gear shift just out of curiosity. It went forward into low range and is now stuck. I tried muscling it somewhat (didnt want to break as I am a large strong man) and it wont budge. The vehicle wont shift out of 3rd now gear so I limped it home at 35 on the highway. Problem was not there during test drive. 2 questions:

Would it being in low range restrict it from shfiting into 4th or do I have another problem that amazingly manifested itself only after I messed with the Hi/Lo shifter?

Did I possibly screw anything up having it in low range on the road? I know the AWD system is different than a part time 4wd but still a bit worried. Ran fine and even at sustained high rpms temp never got above 190 so happy about that.

I got it real cheap becasue the soccer mom owner was mad at having to pay for an engine rebuild after the years of other wallet draining repairs she had to do. My guess is she probably never used the lwo range so it makes sense it would get stuck as I hear this is common when not used. Since I got it so cheap I am happy to fix a few things.

This is my 1st LR and I'm new to the forum so excuse me for any ignorance.

 

get the truck rolling a little and shift to neutral and then try moving lever back to high...they don't like to shift while stationary most of the time in my experience. I'm unsure about 4th gear in low and should not have any issues with the truck in low on the road.

 

I did that for about an hour with no luck. Thinking its the t case interlock solenoid considering they do apparently seize when not used. I didnt think it would casue damge. Probbaly the same as running a suburaru or audi in 3rd gear. Just hard on the motor and drinks fuel.

 

First - Congrats on the Disco.

Second - don't drive it on the pavement in Low any more please... no bueno. Although you're probably fine if you didn't go too far too fast. But stop driving on the roads in low range please!

Sounds like your transfer case shifter cable mechanism is screwed up/frozen -- OR the solenoid that prevents shifting from H to N to L on the transfer case is either non functional or has an electrical problem.

Read this --> Post from 2017 with good info

I wouldn't worry about your transmission btw, this is a transfer case issue. I don't know specifics but the shift maps are totally different in Low Range than in high. I'd bet it won't go into 4th btw although not sure.

Also you need the RAVE (that's what Land Rover basically calls the service manual for these) and the vehicle electrical manuals (2 of them). Here are all 3... this link expires 12/31/21 btw Dropbox link I made for you

Download them, keep them. Really a big help.

 

Beleive me I did not want to drive it in low range. I was an hour from home in an area with no cell service so a tow truck was a no go and I dont have a car trailer. I kept it below 40 and it seemed fine. For what I paid for it if I have to put a transfer case in it Im okay with that. Hell, considering the perfect body and frame im happy to go ahead and swap in an LS and 6L80E if the Rover drivetrain decides to crap out. Great torture test for the engine and it passed with flying colors though.

I figured the ECU would change the trans map in low range and it went into 4th fine on the test drive so Im hopeful that the low range issue is the reason for it not shifting into OD.

Thanks for the manuals. That is really awesome. You are a true gentleman. I actually have access to all data through a friend. How is that comapred to RAVE in your opinion?

Thanks again.

 

@kida4q 40 is a wee bit fast, but that transfer case is pretty durable. Low range on pavements is fine as long as the CDL is out. But you really need to keep it to very low speeds 5 mph or less, and yes we all tend to go faster than that offroad but the rated speed is about 5 MPH.

You may want to change the transfer case fluid, probably should anyway as it may not have been done in ages.

 

Slide underneath and lube the living daylights out of CDL cable, both ends, but especially transfer case end. The little metal pin/clip freezes up on lever. If you slide in on passengers side, you'll be able to see cable end easier, look between front transfer nose cone and transmission and you get a good eyeball on cable end.

 

I’m not following the max speed in Lo Range at 5mph reasoning. I believe that to be the max speed to shift in or out of Lo. I’m not sure why you can’t drive it in Lo at any speed up to a reasonable engine RPM. Obviously CDL Not engaged. Please enlighten me if this is incorrect as I routinely drive in Lo at much higher speeds than you guys are suggesting.

 

That too is how I interpret things.

 

@whowa004 @Harvlr I read it somewhere, but it is also on the little sticker in front of the shift lever. But I routinely go 10-20 mph for short stretches of road, maybe 20-30 minutes.