I went to look at an 88 pickup today. v6 3.0, 5-speed manual, 4x4. Engine does not run due to electrical problem, IE: no spark. Transmission shifter shifts through all the gears smoothly. Xfer case shifter seems to be stuck in 4-Low. Front hubs are in Free position. I unbolted the front driveshaft from the differential. When we went to push it and turn it around, this is what happens. If I put it in gear, forward or reverse and crank the engine, the truck would move as you would expect. With the xmission in neutral, and trying to push the vehicle by hand, it won't move. Lying underneath and watching the front driveshaft when others rock the vehicle, the driveshaft is rotating. Front 3rd member rotates by hand and the CV's rotate by hand. I assume the problem is probably in the Xfer case. Is that a good assumption? With these symptoms, what would the likely cause be? I'm interested in buying it, but want to know what I am likely to have to repair/replace before offering a price.

 

You may need to rock the vehicle around a bit to get the transfer case to budge out of 4whl. Get someone to rock the truck back and forth while you try to pop the shifter out. And, give it some gumption. They can get sticky.

 

And, hold the clutch in.

 

Believe me, we "gumped" the crap out of it, both with and without the clutch in. The xfer case shifter will not move a fraction of an inch.
Irregardless, even with the xfer case in 4 low, it should still move with the xmission in neutral. I don't see why it moves by cranking the engine but not by pushing. Is the 88 xfer case chain or gear driven?

 

If the drivetrain is bound up (as can happen in a part-time 4WD system), you won't be able to move the t-case shifter very easily until the binding is released. And it can be hard to move even with the tranny in neutral since you have the front and rear driveshafts tied together and with things bound up it is almost like having the brakes on. The 3.0 engine would have a chain driven t-case.

The other thing it may be is that someone had the t-case shifter out at one time and put it back into the case incorrectly. There are about 3 ways to stab the end of the shifter into the shift rails and only one of them work.

 

Couldn't tell you right offhand. I'd have to look that up in the FSM.

Whatever's fudged up in there, if it is, the engine is stronger than you and you're helpers. So, that my explain it.

Will the rear shaft move by hand when the rear is jacked up?

 

I will check into the shifter installation problem. I found one of your old posts saying how you do it.


In this case, it's only the starter that's turning, not the engine. I unbolted the front driveshaft, but not the rear. Got tired of laying in a red ant hill. Let me try the shifter possibility first and go from there.

 

Okie-doke. Keep us posted.

 

Dropped rear drive shaft (now both disconnected) and couldn't turn end of xfer case shaft with xmission in neutral. Truck rolls easily by hand so rear end is ok. Owner wouldn't let me pull the shifter off so I passed on the vehicle. If it had been a 22re I would have taken it anyway, but the 3.0 + xfer case problem was too much for the money.
Thanks for the replies and suggestions along the way.