By David Dryden (David914) on Sunday, December 02, 2001 - 10:05 am: Edit

Ok, Ok, I know this is an old problem. The PO never used the thing and now it's stuck but good. I have crawled under my Disco ('97) and lubed and beat on the linkage 'till my arm (and my wife's!) was numb. The problem appears to be near the shift knob, not at the bottom near the transfer case. Does anyone have any pics of the top end of the lever mechanism? Any suggestions on how to free this up? I've already searched the site for archived info and could not find any detailed info or pictures. Thanks in advance!

By cartner on Sunday, December 02, 2001 - 12:21 pm: Edit

hmmm...try driving backwards for a little, let it get good and warmed up, and then it might pop out if your nice to it....mine gets stuck sometimes, and I just have to let it idle a while, and when its ready, it will slide right out and where I want it.
also, try momentarily shifting from neutral to D and then back, don't rush it, just two seconds in D to change the connection that little bit. seems to help.

By pjkbrit on Sunday, December 02, 2001 - 06:05 pm: Edit

Got the same prob. on my 94...cannotget my diff lock to engage...I can get underneath and engage it manually so it does work, but the linkage at the top of the T-case is completely frozen cos like yours the PO never used it. I CANNOT get the thing to budge...I have soaked it with PB Blaster etc....looks o me like a blow torch would be the next option but in that location I'd be calling my insurance agent. If your Diff lock is stuck IN...crawl under and manually twist the actautor on the T-case.
Pete

By David Dryden (David914) on Sunday, December 02, 2001 - 06:56 pm: Edit

Yeah, I haven't tried disconnecting the bottom linkage and moving it, although it feels like it's ok at that end. The problem seems to be up at the top near the shift lever. It's stuck un-locked (good thing). I tried this morning to put some muscle into it from the cockpit and was able to finally get it to move a little more, but the difflock light didn't come on (bulb is good), so I think it still has more to go. If I knew what the detail of the upper part of the mechanism looked like, I might have a better idea of what to do. I'm hoping to avoid tearing the console out to get the problem fixed, but it may come to that.

David

By cartner on Tuesday, December 04, 2001 - 07:03 pm: Edit

IF someone has a shop manual and a scanner (I have a manual, but not a scanner) they could scan that page and post it for you to show whats going on in there.

By Brad_N on Tuesday, December 11, 2001 - 08:04 pm: Edit

I had the same problem with the diff lock on my 96 discover. There was so much grease & grime that is solidified and made the shift lever stuck in place. Solution: Remove the entire center concole to access the top of hte shifter. clean out the junk. I worked for me. Hope it helps you.

By David Dryden (David914) on Tuesday, December 11, 2001 - 09:02 pm: Edit

Thanks for the suggestions! I think it will come down to removing the console to fix it. I just need to find the time to tackle it. Kinda tough this time of year with all that's going on. I'll let y'all know when I get it fixed. Thanks again!

David