I had my 87 GL wagon in 4x4HI when I made a U-turn..Heard a load clunk and attempted to put back in AWD and reverse...No luck. Only drives in 4x4HI & 4x4LO...Any attempt to drive otherwise does nothing..There is some play/wiggle in the lever..Any advice on what to check is appreciated... CHEERS

Broken CV, or a stripped hub on the front would be good first places to investigate. 

 

Dan

Put in FWD, chock the rear wheels, jack up one front wheel only, and with park brake off try to spin the wheel in the air by hand.

It should have a little bit of play, but otherwise should lock up.

 

If it doesn't, get someone to spin the wheel while you look along the front driveline. At some point, something will be moving while the next piece isn't. eg wheel spins but driveshaft doesn't, or driveshaft moves but CV joint doesn't.

Agree with dan..... look on right side first striped hub or axle

I had the same thing happen to me in my 80 Brat. Thought the transmission went out. Took it to a tranny shop, the first thing the guy did was jack up the front end so both tires were off the ground, and held the cv axle with one hand and spun the tire. The tire spun but the axle didn't. Broken cv. Another time, my friend's axle nut loosened up enough that it stripped all the splines on the hub. Got a new hub and it worked fine.