Hey guys, recently picked up an 04, which needs head gaskets and other misc repairs that im working on now.

One of the issues is the car appears to have the center lock warning light on at all times on the dash. The lock lever will freely change from hi-n-lo gear but will not engage the CDL at all, it is locked out somehow. the lock does not appear to actually be on though, as again the stick is in the furthest right position, as well as the fact that with the car in the air, I am not getting front/rear wheel movement together.

Anything common? Stuck cable? Stuck solenoid?

 

 

Yup, car drives under its own power with no issue. I drove the vehicle around the neighborhood it came from when I got it and in/out of my shop 10 times since then and the light still remains.

I did test it in lo and hi range during my test drive, and no change in the light being on.

Is the CDL switch similar to the D1 switch where the plunger can become sticky/stuck needs to be backed out to free it up? Does the cable for the CDL sometimes rust up/become frozen? Car has been sitting in very rainy climate for about 1.5 years

 

Does it not engage or not move to the left. These levers generally take a good firm push to get into gear if it moves really easy you could have a broken cable.

But try simple 1st

1. with the lever to the lower right
2. engine running
3. Foot on the brake and go through all the gears
4. Then into reverse for a second or 2 and then neutral
5. Move the CDL lever to the far left

It may take a bit of a firm hand to move it if it does not go then, I would suspect a linkage issue.

As Best4X4 noted sometimes it just will not go, I found the alternate procedure works better sometimes

1. moving slow, literally slower than a walk
2. pop into neutral
3. move the CDL lever to the left to engage
4. pop back into drive

If this works and you can move do 8 or 9 times it seems to free things up - it is wierd but it works

Missed your reply but yes the cable can get rusted or broken

If you can not move just pop back to neutral and move the lever right

 

The lever will not move left, the car is also about to be torn down for the heads this weekend so the rolling test will have to wait til next week! Good tip though

hi-n-lo movement is very nice and a lot less notchy or stiff than my D1

It feels very similar to my D1 when it had a frozen CDL housing when I first got it

 

If it won't move left, I would suspect the cable, or something is seriously wrong inside the front output housing. Having just rebuilt a transfer case... the diff lock fork does not rely on the front output shaft gears being in position, all it does is compress a spring. It does not actually engage any gears when you move the lever. Then, when the gears align (e.g. the wheels turn at different speeds, i.e. turning), the spring tension automatically engages or dis-engages the diff lock accordingly. In other words, it is not like the hi-low shifting where moving the lever actually changes the gear.

Easiest test is to crawl under, remove the linkage, and use a 10mm spanner to try and engage the diff lock

 

Having the same problem with an 04 DII. I suspect the PO never engaged the CDL in her 14 years of ownership and it's frozen, I doubt it's a mechanical issue. The high/lo selector is stiff as hell too. Jeff do you have any pics of the linkage and the 10mm bolt/nut I should be attempting to manipulate? What parts get lubed to achieve smoother movement with this lever? It may be evident when I crawl under there, I'm a fine mechanic, I just have zero experience with automatics, AWD or Rovers and would be grateful for some pointers.

 

You can lube some of it from underneath, you need a good light source and a can of spray lube with a straw.

Get under your disco from the driver side and look up and just behind where the transmission and engine meet.
You will see a linkage and cable, at the top near the floor/ transmission tunnel
It is tight but you can direct lube up there, once you do start up pop into neutral and the lever should be a lot easier to move

I can try for a picture later today, but it is pretty obvious.

 

Found this in the Rave and figured I would add the info for future reference. Looks like quite a few places where linkage could freeze up.

 

Those pins that hold the linkage onto the selector and tcase have a tendency to rust/weld into the clevis. Happened on my lever. Had to drill it out. You really just gotta open her up and investigate it... I drilled out the rivets holding the selector plate onto the trans tunnel and replaced them with rivet nuts. Access is going to be a lot easier with the plate off, but its worth looking at the front output housing on the transfer case first, where the CDL nipple is. Should be pretty obvious if you follow the cable.

I dont see how being in neutral could have any effect on engaging or disengaging CDL. The cdl selector is free to move anytime, whether the car is on or not. For hi/low, you wanna be in neutral, rolling slowly, and gently move the lever

My CDL is sticking locked occasionally, but I think I just need to adjust the cable as per RAVE