Recently purchased an '83 wagon and noticed the 4wd light was flashing on and off so figured it was the switch. However upon further inspection I realized that the manual shifter is actually trying to move up as if it's trying to engage itself while driving. I can get the light to go off by pushing down on the lever but it starts to imediately move back up and the light starts flashing. If left alone the light will eventually be full on and I can hear a rattle as if it actually trying to engage. Any suggestions as to what could cause this or how to fix it? Thanks

is it lifted ?

I know the OP. The car is not lifted. He had the rims trued... Brand new tires.

Anybody else had this problem with the 4wd shifter wanting to engage on it's own accord?

Is the linkage securely fastened to the vehicle body? If the nut holding the linkages gets loose, it can allow the lever to hit the body, and it will try to engage(or in my case, I couldn't figure out why I couldn't disengage it before).

transmission/motor mounts good? I know my custom linkage is "tight" and when I accelerate hard it tries to go into 4wd.

Thanks for the advice. Haven't had access to my PC since I posted. I'll check the linkage bolts, motor/transmissing mounts, etc. See what I find!