how to engage 4wd

silly question but I was having a heck of a time engaging 4wd and the front hubs. I am sure there is a way to do it. I have the T90A tranny, Dana 18 Tcase, warn OD and power locks up front and in the rear (57 CJ5). Well I could not turn the hubs fully to lock. then I played with the T case and I think it must have been in neutral cause all of a sudden they could be engaged. Is there a procedure somewhere?
1) does the tranny have to be out of gear or does it matter?
2) does the Tcase need to be in OUT to engage the hubs?
3) does the Tcase have to be in neutral to engage the hubs or can it be in LOW or HIGH?
4) when driving without 4wd, does the tcase have to be in high or can it be in neutral even if the tcase is out?
5) one can still use the OD in 4wd right?

Thanks,
Paul

 

it was probrobly just at a spot where it woudnt mesh up. sometimes youve got to roll a bit and try again. theres really no special procedure

 

The hubs are greased inside and moving them back and forth helps to spread that grease out. Sometimes driveline lash can cause them to be hard to disengage or sometimes they're just stiff. If that's the case try rolling the jeep a little to alleviate some of that and to make sure all the gears can mesh up. I'll bet once you do it a few times it'll get easier, the hubs expecially

 

didn't there used to be a manual on this site? Can't seem to find it.

 

The hubs were rebuilt and greased up. The did turn nicely before they were in stalled. Does having power locks change them?

 

What lockout hubs do you have?
for me it works best to lock the hubs in 2wheel drive then put er in 4wheel with a slow turn so the t-case splines can mesh,
i think the posi makes it harder to lock some hubs
tranny and overdrive does not matter but a stock tcase will not allow 2wheel drive low, so shift to 4 wheel in high or neutral and then go low.
so:
1) tranny does not matter
2) out works with all hubs, some hubs are spring loaded and will mesh once the splines are aligned if the t-case is in
3)tcase range does not matter to lock the hubs, only matters when you go to low. t-case out is best
4) out = hi or neutral stock
5) I just used a lot of overdrive 4wheel drive today high and low

 

I find it easier to put the T/case in neutral to remove any possible bind and then lock the hubs. You have to have the T/case in either high or low to drive the jeep in 2 or 4WD. The Overdrive works in any gear and 2 or 4 WD depending on whether it is IN or OUT. HTH

 

did you grease the hubs urself? and if so how much too much can be a problem if you load it full of grease. it will make it hydralic. ( i think thats what they call it)

 

managed to engage the 4wd and lock the hubs. I pulled my friends trucks out of the snow and up a hill in ice, in 4 lo. less than 400 miles on the jeep, and the BFG KM2s. no slippage on my part. my first time engaging the 4wd and using it. wife was not too excited. I guess it is a man thing. I did not grease them myself so I can't comment on how much grease was used.

 

I've got a Powerlock front diff & with the early style Warn hubs, it can be a b***h to engage or disengage the hubs if the splines aren't lined up perfectly. I switched to the newer style Warns with the spring loaded inner slider for just this reason. I could usually get 'em locked in OK, but I'd have to drive in a circle a couple of times to get the front end unbound when I wanted to unlock the hubs.

 

...boy, what a timely question - with snow falling right now, I was trying to figure out the same thing with my 'new' 65 CJ5. Question "I" had... was:

When trying to move engage my 4W Drive this newbie got confused real quick! First - appears my Jeep's t-case was in low (stick was all the forward). When I physically try and shift to 4WD High, my Jeep can't go faster than 5mph in 1st, 10mph in 2nd, etc.... that to me sounds like 4WD Low (even though I'm shifting all the way towards the rear of the Jeep).

Now -- for the stooopid question: When I move the stick on the t-case, is it supposed to go right or left, or just forwad and back? I really confused... my Jeep slides all over the road when I have the t-case stick all the way forward, but have nothing but RPMs when it's all the way back???

Thanks as always....

 

I have the twin stick dana 18 Tcase. the sticks only go forward and back. first one is out (fwd) and in (back) The second one is lo (fw)/neutral/high (back). not sure why you are having this issue but it sounds like there is a problem with the Tcase engaging. If the lo/high shifter is in neutral then you will get nothing but rpms. from my understanding the Txase needs to be either in lo or high to drive even if the tcase is in the out position. If in neutral you will only get rpms.

 

if you've got a single stick shifter, all the way forward is 2wd, 1 notch back is 4 high, then neutral, the 4 low.

 

sounds like what is happening is that the anti rattle springs are loose, and the shaft that the shift levers ride on is worn out. This will cause the levers to pop out and not engage how they are supposed to. With the dual stick, forward is low, middle is nuetral, back is high.

 

T90/T86/T14A – Spicer 18 Twin Stick Shifter., early CJ5, CJ6

http://www.bearcreeksurvey.com/ForumOnly.htm

 

OK - that makes sense... after some effort to get the gears lined up, sure seemed like I locked on onto the 4 high this morning.

Thanks!

 

when I went to unlock my hubs, the driver side unlocked no problem. The passenger side would only turn a little. I then put the tcase in neutral and out..then turned the pass. side hub to free without a problem.. I think that is what I am going to have to do for now on.. is there a lockout mechanism to explain this issue? I had the powerlocks installed recently and before that I never put it in 4wd since I had it restored... weird...