Dana 24 Transfer Case shifter immovable

[njs]

I have my Uncles '71 F250 w/35000 miles. I know very little about this truck--so far--but what might cause the shifter not to move in either direction? Please bear with me here as I venture into unknown areas and do not want to mess it up. I have not even checked fluid levels yet if that has anything to do with the TC shifting.
Thanks.
Jeff

[fordman]

is it sitting on hill? if so rock it back and forth until the shifter moves. check the linkages to see if they are bound up. start the truck and putit in gear and see what happens maybe it will kick it into a gear or out of a gear.

[njs]

fordman,
Although at first I did not understand what you were recommending, after some thought about what you said I put the front hubs into the "Locked" position and tried to move the Transfer Case shifter. SUCCESS! It had been in 4L and I could not figure out why all the gears were so slow. Now it is in 2H and feels right for gear speed. Thanks for your reponse!

[sideoilerfe]

I hope you unlocked the hubs afterwards. You don't need them locked when driving in 2wd. For future reference, you can also reach under the truck and try turning the front drive shaft next time something like that happens. In 2wd with hubs unlocked, it should spin freely. if it does not, and the hubs are in fact unlocked, then check transfer case shifter position as it might be in 4Hi.

Sometimes the transfer case can bind and the truck needs to be rolled back and forth or hubs unlocked and then spin front drive line to free it up. Also try backing up sometimes helps to.

[njs]

sideoilerfe,

Yes, and thanks for your concern.

I see you have 3 trucks. This '71 is a "basic" truck, not even a radio but tough I think.

Brakes review is my next step plan.

[sideoilerfe]

Welcome to the forum! A lot of very knowledgeable people here. I have 3 trucks and my '70 hi boy is probably just like yours. Mine is a 6800 GVWR but I put a bigger front end in it 11 years ago. It had been beat pretty good during it's life so it's not a show truck that's for sure.