Hey yall,

New to forum...finally got myself into a truck, been needing one for years...posted to the introductions (https://dodgeforum.com/forum/new-mem...zzuuuuppp.html) and ive been searching around hoping to find an answer but it could be I'm not that great at coming up with search words/phrases.

The truck runs and drives great but i cant seem to shift out of 2h. The trucks a 99 1500 sport 4x4 , 5.9L automatic

Ive read the manual over and over again about shifting into 4 wheel drive incase theres anything special to it as ive had many 4x4s but never a full size truck.

Ive laid down a good deal of steady force to pull it back to 4h but Im afraid to break something lol. It appears to be stuck in 2h

I took a look at the linkage and it is fairly corroded but all intact.

Any ideas on this would be greatly appreciated...its winter time in the north east and im going to have plenty of need for the 4 wheel drive. Thanks in advance.

 

Going to 4hi is a matter of just reaching down and pulling it back while moving. 4lo come to a complete stop and in neutral before ya try. If it doesn't go in don't try and force it. Something is wrong and ya gotta figure out what

 

^^^ How fast can one go to shift it to 4H safely while moving?

 

I think I remember reading 50mph.. I don't do it over 30.

 

The manual says you can go to 4h anywhere from 0 - 55 mph.....

I know i should be able to just pull it back while moving but thats what im sayin, it seems stuck...what could be the cause of this if it is stuck, would there be any other sypmtoms etc.??

 

If the lever won't go back to engage either your linkage is messed up or there is something going on inside the transfer case

 

I was reading other threads on the forum searching around last night and found a mention of an adjustment that needed to be made when body lifts were installed....would love a bit more insight into what to check there as i have a 3" body lift...not sure it could cause the stuck issue but still...knowledge is power.

 

With a body lift the shift linkage should be made longer for 4x4 to engage

 

are you saying that it needs to be longer in order to even hook up or is it possible that a linkage not extended would put pressure that would not allow for a shift into 4 wheel drive?

 

Not necessarily. It's dependent on the linkage. For my 2000, I did not have to increase the length. There is an adjustment nut to slide, but I ended up not really having to change it. Earlier years DID need lengthening.


It's about time you got on your knees to look from the driver side. It might be quite obvious by visual inspection. Another thing you can try is to disconnect the linkage and manually shift the tcase by hand. That will tell you if the problem is linkage, or tcase has a problem....