Went to look at an '88 GL wagon today with D/R; it's almost completely rust-free and no major body damage but the interior is pretty chewed (literally....pit bull puppies are hyperactive lol) and there are some other deficiencies but overall it runs great and all the mechanicals appear to have been well maintained.

My question is, how can I be certain the 4wd works before I decide to pay for it? I didn't feel or hear anything noticeably different while driving it around the owners property and shifting thru 2wd/4hi/4lo, all I got to indicate anything was the "LO" light on the dash cluster. Since the wagon would require a long visit to the beauty salon, the only thing that is keeping me interested in paying is if all the mechanicals do indeed work.

I'm a noob at the selectable 4wd thing, previous (briefly owned) old Sube was an RX with the full-time dual range.

Easiest way is to take it on some mud or dirt and see if you have power to the back wheels (2wd is front wheels only)... if that's not possible, then you can put it in 4wd, and make turns (on gravel if at all possible). If it hops and gets very unhappy and scurfs the tires, it's in four wheel drive. That's not a very nice thing to do with the car... they should generally never be put in four wheel drive on solid surfaces because they don't have the center differential that newer cars have. For testing low range, just stick it in low, and see if it goes slower... it's pretty easy to tell. Often, the indicator lights will get out of synch with the shift lever, so you usually learn to feel the detents in the shift lever for exactly where 2wd, 4wd, and 4lo is, on certain cars, rather than relying on the dash indicator.