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Stuck between 2WD and 4WD???

41K views 22 replies 16 participants last post by  3JKs1H1 
#1 ·
Heres the story, had it in 4WD on my way home from work today because of snow. Get home, pull in the garage, push the 4WD lever back into 2WD...4WD light goes off. I put Jeep in reverse to back up a little and GRINDING NOISE!! Hmmm....start messing with 2/4 wd drive lever again wondering if light went off but I'm still in between them....I'm having a hell of a time getting it back into 2wd...I managed to force it back to 4WD but cant seem to get it back to 2wd drive. If I push it out of 4WD and the light goes off and I put my Jeep in gear...GRINDING noise.

Help! I dont know whats going on. :confused:
 
#2 ·
On my XJ I noticed it didn't always kick out of 4WD when I moved the lever and I chalked it up to some loading on the gear teeth that wasn't allowing them to fully disengage. Because of that, I always made the change while moving slowly, and often times did a quick back-up, then forwards to allow the drive train to find that sweet spot that took the pressure off and allowed everything to disengage. I've done the same thing in my JK and had no problems.

I would suggest backing out in 4WD and while moving, kick it back in 2WD before coming to a stop. Then move forward a little to ensure it's kicked out of gear.
 
#3 ·
I would suggest backing out in 4WD and while moving, kick it back in 2WD before coming to a stop. Then move forward a little to ensure it's kicked out of gear.
X2. it will only shift perfectly when you are moving. it might do it when you are stopped but you arent guaranteed itll shift also itll shift into 4x4 better if you are moving straight as all the wheels will be turning at the exact same rate
 
#4 ·
Thanks for the info! From now on I'll just make sure I'm moving when going between 2WD and 4WD. I've only had the Jeep since end of October and due to the lack of snow this winter, I haven't really had to use 4WD much yet...just once or twice for fun to test it out. Todays the first day I "needed" it.
 
#6 ·
Rmeeks said:
Never heard of having to be moving to shift into 4WD any of my old cars would do it....Maybe the Jeep will not but that does not seem like an improvement
Im not saying it won't shift when stopped. It can do it, especially in neutral, but every once in a while, maybe 5% of the time, the gears won't be able to mesh themselves and you will need to back up or drive forward a few inches
 
#7 ·
Just don't throw it in low when your moving. The transfer case is made to be able to shift from 2h to 4h while moving but not into 4L. It's common for it to be hard putting it back into 2H. If your stopped its best to be on an incline so you can roll it back or forward to get it into gear.
Good luck
 
#9 ·
Charles2012 said:
Just don't throw it in low when your moving. The transfer case is made to be able to shift from 2h to 4h while moving but not into 4L. It's common for it to be hard putting it back into 2H. If your stopped its best to be on an incline so you can roll it back or forward to get it into gear.
Good luck
It has to be moving to go into 4lo. When you shift into 4lo don't pause at 4hi.
 
#13 ·
Every 4WD I have owned required me to at least drive forward a few feet after changing from 2WD to 4WD or vice versa before going in reverse. Not sure if the Jeep is the same as I have not needed to use 4WD yet. Regardless I back it in just in case I wake up in the morning to a lot of snow.

That being said put it back in 4WD and back out of your driveway. Then put it in 2WD and drive into your driveway. I'm willing to bet you can now go in reverse without the grinding noise.
 
#19 ·
Something similar happened to me once: conincidentally or not, the first time I attempted to shift my Jeep back in 2WH from 4WH, it would not go. I tried a couple of time, and pushed fairly hard, but not quite hard enough to break the shifter off. I then, out of some strange intuition, put the auto tranny in Neutral, and then the T/C shifted right into 2WH as easy as pie. The since then, I shifted the T/C between 2WH and 4WH about ten times without needing to do that. But, if you can't shift in 2WH, you might try putting the tranny in Neutral.
 
#22 ·
I was told when switching from 2WH to 4WH I needed to be at a complete stop put into neutral and then switch from 2 to 4 or vice versa. My jeep is a 2010 auto. Is this true? Excuse the hijack and ignorant question.

JD

False, you can shift from 2wd hi to 4wd hi on the fly, meaning at any speed between 0 and, I think it is 50 or something. not sure what the speed is on JK's.

For 4lo, you need to be coast slow. What I do is stop, tap the throttle, then do all the shifting procedure. you can do it stopped (aka when your stuck and can't move) but if you can even move a little it will help.

As for the OP, I was gona ask, you did put in in N before shifting back to 2hi, correct? because otherwise you just jammed the lever forward and going in reversehas to go through N, so you could have just mashed the teeth together and caused some grinding. Other wise I wouldnt worry too much.
 
#23 ·
Easiest to do rolling with no load on the drivetrain, gears mesh easier.

Neutral works well. Worst case, put in neutral shut engine off and move lever without jamming it (and breaking coupling), gears won't grind that way. Once you get it, go down the street (straight) about 20mph and shift in and out of 4wd a few times to get the hang of it.
 
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