My diff lock lever is stuck in the neutral position. It drives just as if it were in high and I can push it to the left or right but not forward or back. The position it's in right now sets the buzzer when I shift into neutral on the transmission. It still locks the diff when I go to the left and unlocks it when I go to the right. I haven't had any problems with it and have used it quite a few times in the last month. I installed a new heater core and had the console out... I thought maybe something was jamming up so I pulled the boot and it all looks normal. (1997 Disco, 145,000 miles)

Any ideas?

 

So, is your diff lock light on, can you shift into low range?
Mike

 

The diff lock lever is in the middle but the vehicle still drives like it's in high. I can shift it to the left to lock it and I get the dash light then I can shift it back to the right and the dash light goes out. So it will lock and unlock... it just won't shift from high to low. The weird part is... when I put the trans in neutral I get the buzzing sound like the diff is in neutral. I tried it with the parking brake on, I tried shifting from reverse to neutral to drive while pushing and pulling on the lever. Nothing seems to be working.

 

Without crawling under the truck, I would say you bent or broke a linkage for the shifter.
Mike

 

I guess I'll crawl under there today and see if I can seen anything weird going on. I would expect something like this if I had been doing some hard off roading. All I did was pull it in the garage... tear apart the dash and console to put in a heater core and put it back together. I'll let you know what I find.

 

How often do you shift your t/case, say going from high to high lock or low lock?
The linakge is a little fragile and prone to needing lots of use and grease or it will stick and bend or brake.
Mike

 

I have used it at about 6 times since I bought the truck at the end of July. I guess I should have opened it up and greased it while I had the console out. Maybe I'll just pull the console and grease it. I didn't have a chance to crawl under there today... I'll do it tomorrow. I'll tell you... it's sure annoying to hear the buzz every time I pass through neutral on the transmission!

 

Mike,

I rolled under there tonight and had my wife move the lever around. From below everything appears to be fine. I can't see anything bent or broken and is seems like it should be moving ok. However, I am thinking there may be more room to work from above with the console out and the rubber boot removed... the opening in the floor of the truck looks like it's a pretty good size. Am I correct? Will I be able to see down to where the linkage meets the transmission?

 

Yes, you should get a pretty good view of it. If nothing is bent, try WD40 and see if it will free up.
Let us know how it goes.
Mike

 

I opened it up and didn't see any sign of bent linkage. It moves to the left and right to lock and unlock without any problems. The problem is moving it forward and back to shift from low to high. I unhooked the linkage from the stick... without the linkage hooked up it moves freely in all directions. I'm thinking the shaft into the transmission might be bound up in some way but I have no way to get down there because it's such a tight fit. Is there anything electrical that could be causing this? I hate to stick a pry bar down there and try to pry it into low or high! What should I do at this point?