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Disco 1 won't move in gear

14K views 16 replies 7 participants last post by  cornejogeorge 
#1 ·
Guys,

My son's '97 Disco I has a weird issue...he was coming home the other night, when all of a sudden it lost power to the wheels as he was cruising at highway speed. He coasted to a stop in a parking lot, and discovered that although the engine runs fine, when he put it in any gear, it would not move. He said it made no sound at all, just quit pulling suddenly.

I figured that it must be the transfer case/neutral lever causing the issue, because all the shafts are good, the trans fluid is red and at level, and the differentials seem to be okay. I know that when you put it in Park or Reverse, you can actually roll the truck, so I guess the TC is stuck in neutral somehow.

I removed the console to get at the linkage, and it all looks good; the TC shifter is all the way to the right and to the rear, as it should be, there are no pieces missing or hanging loose, but the truck still won't move. I don't know if the linkage is jammed, but I do know that when you run it through the selections, when it goes back into Park, I get this weird clacking/zipping sound (like a pawl not locking), just for an instant, and then it stops.

I made a quick video of it for you to hear; I am running it through R,N,D,1,2,3 and back to P, when you hear the zipping noise. I did it twice; the second time is the clearest to hear (sorry for the crappy phone cam---I was doing it one-handed, while I held the flashlight):

VIDEO0008.mp4 Video by ghostsoldier | Photobucket

Any ideas what might be causing this, and what I can do to diagnose and/or fix the problem?

Thanks,
Rob
 
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#5 ·
First just engage the centre diff lock. That is, push the transfer case lever to the left. If it starts to drive it means that you have broken something in the drive train. To determine which end is broken, disengage the centre diff lock (lever to the right) and get someone to look at the prop shafts (don't get under the vehicle, look from the side). What ever prop shaft is turning is the end that something is broken in.
 
#6 ·
Start the truck, put it in drive while someone is watching both drive shafts. If the truck doesn't move but one shaft is turning then you will need to be looking at both diffs to see which one has failed as in a blown gear or possible front cv joint.
 
#8 ·
I've pushed the TC lever all the way to the right, and back to the left, and the truck will not move. I looked under it while my wife ran through the gears, and neither of the two shafts are moving.

You can hear the engine making a small 'under load' kind of noise, each time it goes into D, 1,2 or 3, and an 'unloaded' noise in Neutral.

When she put it back in Park, I get the gear-mesh, grinding noise.

Rob
 
#9 ·
At least you now know that the issue is in the transfer case. So try both high and low range to see if it makes any difference. After that it is a matter of starting to pull the access plates off the transfer case and having a look inside to see what has gone wrong.
 
#12 ·
I had a chance to monkey around with the truck today, and I wanted to pass on what I've found.

Never being one to stand on niceties, and since I have big mitts (and am I'm tired of scraping my knuckles off on this @#&%!! truck), I decided to pull the carpet and insulation back, and cut a rectangular hole in the tunnel for ease....I'll cover it with a panel and some screws later, and call it an "user-defined access panel", lol.

Having done so, here's what I see:



The Hi/Low lever on the TC. It looks okay, but here's deal: It won't move. To any position. Period. As you can see, I've disconnected the linkage by removing the clip and pin, but no matter what I do (i.e., pry bar, hammer, channel locks, Vice Grips, etc.), the lever will not budge. No detent and ball action whatsoever, like it's frozen or jammed, and even oil won't loosen it.

I also thought that maybe the trans should be in Neutral for it to move, but no dice with that, either.

The Lock/Unlock linkage works fine, BTW.

Any ideas of why it's not shifting, and if this could be part of the problem?

Rob
 
#13 ·
Guys,

Here's an update...I pulled the fill and drain plug on the TC, and only about 3 tablespoons of gear oil came out. I checked it for metal, and it seems to be okay, but there's absolutely NO oil in that case. I'm assuming that might be the problem....at any rate, I need to refill it, so it's off to the auto parts store.

Rob
 
#17 ·
Well, Bob, what did you find. the reason I'm asking is that I too have the same problem with my 2001 range rover...I reversed and when I put in in drive...nothing...had to have vehicle towed... curious to find out what you found, or if you fixed the problem. Thanks.


Note. I know its been a while since you lasted posted...just curious if you fixed it...or if anybody has a solution...please share.
 
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