My wife called me today to tell me that the car is stuck in 4x4 LO but she doesn't know how it engaged as its a lever action setup.

 

It's been 7 years since I owned a Loyal and I simply don't remember how to engage or disengage the transmission.

 

Can someone send a quick rundown that I can send to my wife so she can get it moving and do more then 30mph in 4th? LOL

Just push down on the 4WD lever. HARD. If it won't come out of 4WD, then drive in a straight line till it will.

 

One notch up is 4WD High, and two is 4WD Low.

 

There is actually an "in-between" setting where neither are engaged. It will put the tranmission effectively in neutral so if you have no power in first gear, then the 4WD selector may be between High and Low.

 

GD

my gl has been stuck before,after siting a while. I just pushed hard and it finaly went back to fwd.I havent had any trouble since.

LO is the front lever that sticks up by the bellhousing

4wd is the rod that slides in - out at the rear

you may need to drive in circles until it comes free

 

 

why isn't she doing 60+ in 5 low??

If that is the worst that she ever calls you, you must be doing something right

tire mis match will make it stick. i had my wagon stick on me but i had a bigger tire on the rear.

Try reversing with the wheel turned a little while pushing down on the lever. Essentially does the same thing as driving straight until it pops out... but slightly quicker.

try driving it to a dirt road if you can. my 86 gl dual range had a hard time shifting out of 4x4 before i got all the same new tires, it would only shift out on dirt or snow. just not dry pavement

He lives in Alaska. He doesn't need a dirt road this time of the year.

Just push down on the 4WD lever. HARD. If it won't come out of 4WD, then drive in a straight line till it will.

 

 

GD

 

 

I'd vary that to say "gently" rather than HARD. It'll go out of 4X if you press it down gently whle driving in a straight line. Goose the gas just a little while doing it.

 

If all of the above suggestions fail, just jack up one side off of the ground. The wheels will unbind.

 

Tell her next to only drive it in 4X when NOT on paved surfaces.

I had to push mine real hard as GD said.And I've never had an issue since.But shortly after that I put new tires on.So that may be an issue too. Also I put it in N and not drive.You may want to try that if you havent already fixed it.Not sure if it matters or not though.

I had one that went bad. Got stuck in low. I thought it was just stuck, being stubborn. I pushed hard, and drove around forward and back this and that. It wouldn't budge. So I pushed on it reeaal hard, and it moved. Something broke and it just was grinding in "neutral", but 4 lo still worked. I Pulled the rear axles and drove like that for a while. Not really an option in Alaska.

 

In retrospect, I think it was the shift collar on the hi/lo gear shift had broken. Hard to fix, and I didn't know what I was doing so much back then (14 years, sheesh)

 

Point is, don't try to force it out of LO. Perhaps the best thing, would be to disconnect the balljoint from the shifter arm on the side of the front diff, driverside. Then try to move the lever back(rearward) to the HI range, Perhaps with the front wheels off the ground. Check the rest of the linkage for any binding before reassembly.

1) it's not a LoyalE if it's got high/low unless it was retrofitted

 

2) I've had good luck getting it up to ~25 or so, and then pushing the clutch in and pushing down on the lever (Not too hard, but not too gently eather) You don't want to force it... Could it possibly be the switch? IIRC, the GLs have a switch on the trans and a switch on the four wheel drive lever, one turns on the 4WD light and the other turns on the LO light. (Although mine doesn't have a LO light since it's turbo and was originally a pushbutton tranny)

 

GLoyale - You ever come into John and Phil's? I work there, drive a white SVX...

1)

GLoyale - You ever come into John and Phil's? I work there, drive a white SVX...

 

All the time. I used to work alot with Gina and Bob back in the day, now it' Brian. Ask about the Wisconsin guy, who does all the EA82 stuff, at the part counter and they know me, and my buddy Gemini.

All the time. I used to work alot with Gina and Bob back in the day, now it' Brian. Ask about the Wisconsin guy, who does all the EA82 stuff, at the part counter and they know me, and my buddy Gemini.

 

Next time you come in, say hi :-P I work all week except wednesdays, and saturdays, and I'm the only other guy in the shop with the Subaru uniform besides Don lol, and I'm sure you know him.

umm. loyales dont have a "lo"

I just did a d/r swap in my gl-10. It is very hard to get out of 4x on dry pavement. Im just looking for somthing more on the fly. Does it grind or do anything weird, to shift to 2wd while moving forward w/ clutch in?

 

What causes the hard shifting of the lever? Too much binding on dry pavement?

 

-So far, what works for me-

 

Put it in 4low, back up to about 10-15ish, push in clutch and smoothly go all the way to 2wd.

 

Or if you face your car up hill or back down a hill (even dry pavement) and push in the clutch, it should smoothly go to 2wd. ( I found this tip from a search on the forum)

 

Or if you just gently hold down on the 4wd lever and bump the clutch in reverse a few times. You will eventually feel the groove and it will go into 2wd.

 

Im just looking for somthing more on the fly. Does it grind or do anything weird, to shift to 2wd while moving forward w/ clutch in?

 

What causes the hard shifting of the lever? Too much binding on drypavement?

 

Jess

I shift mine while out of gear,with the clutch in.That works great for me(but mines a gl).If your trying to shift while in 1st or reverse, that might be your issue.Try it in N with the clutch in.Then let us know how that worked for your car.Also is 4 wheel hard or just 4low?

I just did a d/r swap in my gl-10. It is very hard to get out of 4x on dry pavement. Im just looking for somthing more on the fly. Does it grind or do anything weird, to shift to 2wd while moving forward w/ clutch in?

 

What causes the hard shifting of the lever? Too much binding on dry pavement?

 

locked center differential. It is 4 wheel drive, not all wheel drive. You can't drive it in 4x4 on dry pavement. You should also make sure that all four tires are a matching set, same size and tread left, or you can experience issues.

 

Some EA82s came with limited slip center differentials, (AWD) but those were mostly XT6s and RXs, if I am not mistaken.