Cherokee help

[nubie]

1043159

I'm trying to understand a drive-train problem my very elderly father is having with a 1993 (Grand?) Cherokee.



Unfortunately he lives alone on the other side of the continent from me and has never let me drive his Jeep, so I don't have a lot of first-hand experience with it.



He is also not the most reliable witness to events, given his age.



He says he was backing out of a parking space, when his Jeep came to a sudden halt with a loud noise and the automatic transmission shifter would no longer move. He also says that the plastic bag he had sitting on the transfer case lever -- don't ask me why -- blew off at that time.



Eventually he messed with the transfer case lever and the automatic transmission lever and was able to drive home -- a few blocks away.



It is quite possible that he had been driving in four-wheel drive when the problem occurred. He is not really on top what what is going on with his Jeep.



My questions are these:



1. How do you put this jeep into 2-wheel drive?

2. Are there a Hi and a Lo range of 4-wheel drive?

3. What could have caused the problem in the parking lot?

4. When the transfer case lever is in the middle position between forward and back, is that 2-wheel drive?

5. Should the lever be wiggling loosely in that position?

6. Does the transfer case lever move in a straight line, or do you have to push it sideways to move it back or forwards?



Thanks for your patience with a newbie and any help you can provide.[addsig]

 

[dingus]

1043160

hey thats a great question. i can answer PART of it. the 4wd shift lever looks like this:



-2HI (green)

-4PartTime (orange)

-4Fulltime (green)

-Neutral (orange)

-4Low (orange)



you don't have to stop or be in any particular selection of the shifter (park neutral reverse drive) to change the 4wd selector, so it can change easily. the orange coded selections are for LOOSE ROAD SURFACES ONLY and i believe they lock the front diff. if you have one of those selected and you drive on asphalt you will experience some hopping and grinding and resistence from the front axle when you turn sharply.



as far as the rest of your question, i have no idea. hope that'll help you get started. i'd ask him what selection he was in.[addsig]

 

[nubie]

1043161

My father seems to have difficulty moving the transfer case lever forward of the neutral position. Is there a special technique involved, like moving the lever sideways first? Does the engine have to be running? Is Park adequate for performing this shift?



And thanks very much for the shift diagram.[addsig]

 

[XJNick]

1043163

The transfer case Dingus described came in some Cherokees (called Selec-Trac) while a different transfer case (called Command-Trac) that was configured as follows came in others:



-2 HI



-4 HI

-Neutral

-4 LO



The engine must be running to change positions (Vacuum shifted). Note the "4 Lo" is offset. This transfer case requires you to pull the lever right and back to get from Neutral to 4wd Low. This transfer case has only PART TIME 4 wheel drive. 4 LO should only be driven at very slow speeds. A light in the dash will say your in "PART TIME".



Hope this helps

-Nick[addsig]

 

[nubie]

1043164

Could the problem my father had in the parking lot be explained by his accidentally moving the automatic transmission level from reverse into park while backing up? Are there protections against doing this? (I don't know if this happened, but would it explain the symptoms of his automatic transmission lever locking up?) What would be the future consequences of having done that?



Also, regardless of what kind of transfer case, is he just supposed to be able to push the level straight forward from neutral to 2W-Hi? Assuming the car is in park and the engine running. How much force should this take and should there be any "gear grinding" noises when doing so?



A different question: my father says that he recently received a recall notice about his transfer case. Is he just making this up, or have recall notices recently been sent to 1993 Cherokee owners? It struck me as a highly unlikely co-incidence that the notice would arrive the day after he had this trouble. At his age he has trouble with date sequencing, and sometimes combines into one story things that happened at different times.



Again, many thanks for your patience and feedback. If you don't have an elderly parent, just wait and you will understand what I am going through.[addsig]

 

[Jeeper84]

1043165

No offense, but if you're afraid that your father shifted from reverse to park and doesn't know the gear settings which are labeled on the shifter...should he really be driving? I don't mean to offend...just concerned for his and others' safety. -Mike[addsig]

 

[XJNick]

1043168

The force required to shift the transfer case is about same as the force it takes to put a standard transmission into gear, and yes you just push. Depending on the condition of your T-case and vacuum source, it could take a few seconds before it engages after pushing the lever and you may or may not hear a clunk when it engages. Grinding sounds are never good and shouldn't be heard. Good luck[addsig]