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Difficulty with 4Lo

OddyNuff

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So i've driven a few Wranglers, a JKUR and JKUS as well as JL Sport. I've put them all in 4lo from a standstill with no issue. I took delivery of my new JLUR yesterday and have had nothing but issues trying to get into 4lo.

From a dead stop, trans in nuetral it's doesn't want to go into 4lo. Following the manual, moving 2-3mph, trans in nuetral and moving from 4hi into 4lo, it either grinds going in, or if I give it more force, it goes in without grinding, but is super clunky and kinda slaps or loudly clunks going in. Other times it just grinds going in. I don't know if something is up with this transfer case or what. I'm having it checked out soon, but i'm curious what everyone's experience is with getting into 4lo and also curious if you guys think i effed something up. I guess i'll know when i take her in, but what's your experiences?
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mine was pretty stiff for the first 20-30 times going into 4L. process is a little easier with the 6 spd as you only need to clutch to shift the transfer case in. i tend to roll about 5mph into 4h and out of 4h and 3-5 into and out of 4L
 
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OddyNuff

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Need to be at a slow roll to drop into 4 low easily. Shifting the tcase at a stand still is nearly impossible for me.
Thanks, that's what i've been doing, but it grinds sometimes or clunks/slaps hard when it goes in without grinding. How much noise is normal?
 

WreckEm711

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So i've driven a few Wranglers, a JKUR and JKUS as well as JL Sport. I've put them all in 4lo from a standstill with no issue. I took delivery of my new JLUR yesterday and have had nothing but issues trying to get into 4lo.

From a dead stop, trans in nuetral it's doesn't want to go into 4lo. Following the manual, moving 2-3mph, trans in nuetral and moving from 4hi into 4lo, it either grinds going in, or if I give it more force, it goes in without grinding, but is super clunky and kinda slaps or loudly clunks going in. Other times it just grinds going in. I don't know if something is up with this transfer case or what. I'm having it checked out soon, but i'm curious what everyone's experience is with getting into 4lo and also curious if you guys think i effed something up. I guess i'll know when i take her in, but what's your experiences?
As Overland_Texas mentioned, need to be in a slow roll. I'd add that mine was also INCREDIBLY stiff to shift in and out of straight out of the factory, and I'd recommend doing to an empty parking lot where you can roll around and shift it in and out of the different modes a bunch of "break it in." After I did that I can shift in and out with no issue!
 

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Thanks, that's what i've been doing, but it grinds sometimes or clunks/slaps hard when it goes in without grinding. How much noise is normal?
Yeah, I get that too. The conditions are never perfect. Always some pitch and roll happening and for sure some rocks. Take your time and use your best judgment.
 
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OddyNuff

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I'm going to try it out more in an empty lot today. Should i be worried about having grinded the thing about 2 dozen dang times?
 

beachbumm78

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The first several times I shifted into 4L was an act of God to get it in gear. Felt cluncky. Stiff. The more I did it the smoother it got and now it’s not a problem at all. I always shift into 4L at a complete stop. 4H is a smooth as butter shifting in and out of.
 

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I’d just go for, mine too was/is stiff/clunky going into 4L, seems the nature of the beast. It is getting smoother but still takes a lot of effort and is noisy going in
 

beachbumm78

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Wouldnt hurt to get checked out if for nothing else but peace of mind. At the beginning I did what others said. Try shifting slow. Stopped. Etc. my transfer case was determined to make it as difficult as possible. The final straw...off roading on a trail...in 4H and misjudged exactly how much I needed to get up this fairly steep hill and down and over a bump and rock. Imagine being there way back in the seat hanging up the side of this hill trying to put force behind shifting into 4L :angry::headbang: Was practically jumping on the shifter (mind you I have a manual)trying to get it to shift. Finally I got it! Ever since it’s ever been a problem. Smooth.
 

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I usually have to be moving like barely 1mph to get it to go in smoothly. Anything more than that and it sounds terrible. I would do it kind of like shifting gears and wait to put it in smooth when you feel it but the amount of effort it takes for me to move it stops that. How its been on 2 jeeps and 50k miles and lots of wheeling.
 

Dkretden

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Every single time I ”roll”, I grind.
every single time I stop and pull it into 4lo, it goes in smoothly. No grind. No issues.

Trying to shift while rolling on dirt and rocks at precisely the right speed it very tough for me ......
 

chevymitchell

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Find a weekend of spare time and take the synchronizer out of the transfer case. I'll be doing this with mine to prevent any issues where I may break the cable or the ball ends of the cable at an inconvenient time.

The cables/cable ends on the JL are a huge improvement over the JK design, but this seems like an easy modification to make to remove any accidental breakage.

This will likely only come into play if you run any one piece axle shaft on the passenger side. I didn't have any issues with Fat Ninja once I went with one piece RCV's, but I would've done this if I didn't sell the jeep to @mgroeger.

https://www.dynatrac.com/blog/jeep-wrangler-jl-transfer-case-modification/
 

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So i've driven a few Wranglers, a JKUR and JKUS as well as JL Sport. I've put them all in 4lo from a standstill with no issue. I took delivery of my new JLUR yesterday and have had nothing but issues trying to get into 4lo.

From a dead stop, trans in nuetral it's doesn't want to go into 4lo. Following the manual, moving 2-3mph, trans in nuetral and moving from 4hi into 4lo, it either grinds going in, or if I give it more force, it goes in without grinding, but is super clunky and kinda slaps or loudly clunks going in. Other times it just grinds going in. I don't know if something is up with this transfer case or what. I'm having it checked out soon, but i'm curious what everyone's experience is with getting into 4lo and also curious if you guys think i effed something up. I guess i'll know when i take her in, but what's your experiences?
It used to happen to me also for a good three months. Eventually the grinding stopped and it gets into 4LO easier now versus before. I think it has to be broken into the same way you break into a motor the first 1200 miles. Never had an issue with my Transfer Case the 14 months I have now owned by 2020 JLUR.
 
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OddyNuff

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Ok, so I went in and out of 4hi and 4lo a good 15 times or so, this time at 1mph and it has become like butter in comparison. No grinding, shift it with authority, but not slamming the selector while rolling in neutral seemed to be what she liked, so manual lied to me I guess. It stated 2-3mph being ideal, however i got violent, clunky engagement rolling that fast.

I learned that attempting to engage 4lo while moving any faster than 1mph resulted in clunking, increasing in intensity the faster i'd roll, up to 3mph. I haven't yet tried to engage from dead stop again, but each shift using this method became smoother each time and it literally feels more broken in now, virtually never grinds. I'm still gonna have them give it a once over for piece of mind, it did pop out of 4lo when i put it into drive a handful of times, but it may not have been fully engaged at the lever. Not sure, but i think it was a mix of operator error/learning curve of this particular Tcase and it just being stiff and new.
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