So I have a mild issue with my 2004 Discovery. I can't get the CDL lever to move over to the left to engage the CDL. The lever was stiff when I got the vehicle but I was able to work H/L and it is working great now. I figure the CDL is having the same issue that the H/L did.

I know for a fact it has a CDL, it's a 2004, has the sticker, has the "DIFF LOCK" on the lever, and unlocked the lever is towards the passenger side. I had the truck in Neutral and stationary when I tried.

What steps should I take to loosen up the lever? I figured I would start by crawling under the truck and spray everything down with penetrating oil and by trying to turn the nut with a wrench (can I if the linkage is there?). With the cable style linkage in the 2004 what/where can I grease the linkage?

 

This is serious... you should remove the whole transfer case and linkage.. ship it off to me so I can install it in my truck to get it working.

hahaha you have the right idea to start. I will from time to time once running and allowing the engine to warm up will run through the transfer case positions. just to keep the linkage from binding up.

 

get under there with PB blaster!

 

Looks like I'm joining the caravan here cause my CDL shifter wont budge at on! Ill start with liquid wrench seeing how I have a whole can left from my recent brake job.....

 

I have the same issue only I can get it to engage but it is stiff as hell.
Have you resolved yours?

 

work it baby work it, oh and use lots of lube

 

Almost all of them are. Pretty much everyone on this forum has a used vehicle, and it's very likely that the mother in the wealthy suburb that owned it before you had no idea what that little lever did, let alone that it moved in two planes. The more you work the thing, the easier it seems to work. You can spray it with PB Blaster or something similarly agressive, or try pulling the cable out and freeing it up on the bench.

 

Pretty much this. I crawled under the truck once I got home and looked everything over. Didn't spray anything, just looked at the mechanism to figure it out. I then got in the truck and tried putting it in High-Locked and whadda know, it slid right in. Stiff, but worked. Since then I'll play with it once a week during my weekly checks and it works better every time. I guess my truck was having one of those days. (I have locked the CDL a good handful of times since then, haven't had a problem)

On the 2004 its a cable shifter so there's nothing that can bind up and break (that I could see). If you have an earlier style shifter I would say go the extra step and lube, lube, lube.

 

(Can a mod mark this thread NSFW... Lol)