Just scored a complete linkage off of eBay, but I have a concern. I was checking out the sweet shifter, and noticed I can move it up and down with ease;obviously, as it's just connected to the center shaft and no linkage attached. But isn't it supposed to move to the left to activate the diff? There is an open square box that "looks" like it should do that, but it does not matter if I have the stick all the way up, or down, it will not budge to the left at all.

Am I doing something obviously wrong, or is this shifter "seized". Is it repairable (and reliable), or should I contact the seller and try to return it?

Thanks everyone.

 

You have a problem it sound like, hope you can send it back.

 

Post a pic if you can

 

Ok, had a look at it in better luck. The CDL shaft part of the shifter looked dry and coated with rust, I had a small amount of play left-right, about 1-2mm. So I PB blasted the shaft that the shifter shaft connects to (if that makes sense), and worked the shifter back and forth left to right. Eventually it slowly thunked to the left.

Now I could work it back and forth as the dust/rust worked its way out and unsiezed the shaft.

Knowing that penetrant is a poor long-term lubrication, I used my lithium drive shaft grease and lubricated the entire shifter mechanism. Working it forward and back as well as left and right, the shifter eventually worked well and smooth.

Checking the D1 boards, it seems that shifter seizing is rather common on vehicles that rarely, if ever, engaged the CDL. If one does not soak in penetrant, the corrosion can be so bad it would even bend the shifter!

I don't know how a D1 owner would fix it without ripping out the console, removing the shifter, and doing what I just did. What a pain. Much easier just to engage the CDL at least once a month!

Should be fun to get the CDL installed. I think I am going to source some parts for 12V outlets and install some in the center console while ai have it apart.

 

You might pack the pivot with good grease, and you'll be fine.
Might also consider buy a used D1 Hi/Lo shifter plate so you don't have to bend the shift arm to fit which then leaves the shift handle laying way to the left when looking at in form the drivers seat instead of vertical.

 

Mine was way more stuck than yours. No question it would have bent the shifter if I'd just tried to force it. It took an hour with vicegrips and hammer to get mine moving freely.

Like I've said, if I could go back in time I'd just buy aftermarket.