Hey guys, new to the forum, but have been lurking for a while. This is my first Wrangler, but not my first Jeep. Have owned two GC's and two Cherokees over the years. Learned a lot already and looking forward to being a member of the forum. Now on to my issue:

Bought a new 2013 Rubi last month, 6-speed tranny. I decided to test out the 4wd system and the Rubi's capabilities for the first time yesterday. Went to some nearby ORV trails, and my troubles started almost right away. I had one h*ll of a time getting the transfer case to engage 4lo. No matter what I tried, nothing seemed to work. Tried it by the book, e.g., rolling 2-3mph and clutch depressed, and also completely stopped. No matter what I tried it would grind horribly or only partially engage 4lo. I didn't roll but 10' and it popped into neutral. I was also stuck in neutral for a bit until I could get the Rubi to rock slightly, then she shifted into 4lo. That's how it went for most of the afternoon. After much experimenting, I found that it would go into 4lo easiest if I was going 1mph tops, almost coming to a stop. After about 30-35 shifts from 4hi to 4lo things finally started to loosen up a bit. So my question, is this typical of a brand new Rubi transfer case? That horrible grinding I was hearing can't be good for the case, should I be concerned about any long-term damage done? Thanks in advance!

 

Not sure I am an expert on this.. But my experience with my 2012 JKUR (auto) was similar. It took me a bit of trial and error to get things figured out and like you shifting to 4lo seemed best at very low speed, but not stopped. I would also say that over my 4 day jeepcasion this started to loosen up a bit and seemed much easier on day 3 & 4, or maybe the monkey behind the wheel was getting better.

I look forward to other comments on this subject.

 

Haha, my wife was with me and she kept insisting it had to be "operator error". Can't say I totally disagree with her, but damn if I didn't try every conceivable way and it still wouldn't engage 4lo

 

good lord I thought the same thing when I got my 12 rubicon but yes as long as its rolling it will go in if you shift in a steady downward shift pattern and yes they do get stuck sometimes but after a while you learn what to expect , so that being said treat it gingerly when shifting when it gets jammed don't force anything let out on clutch let it move a tad and try again generaly youl get better at it as time goes by remember let it roll just as you said about 1mph if that just barely move if you roll to fast it will get stuck so slow and stready and hardly movement at all some times no movement and your good too youl be fine try not to grind at all, grinding isn't good for anything lol besides burger

 

There shouldn't be any grinding. Usually only grinds if you're rolling too fast. Want to just barely be moving and don't jam it in, but don't be too timid.

 

Thanks guys, looks like I'm not the only one to experience some difficulty shifting into 4lo.

So I decided to go ahead and drain the transfer case fluid for my piece of mind. The color was nice and red as you would expect ATF with only 4K miles to look. I did notice some very fine metallic particles in the fluid, nothing scary looking thank god. Is it normal for a new transfer case to have metallic particles like say a new diff would have? I was surprised that the drain plug did not have a magnet, I thought that was pretty much standard

 

For me in my 2012 Rubi auto, I shift from 2hi to 4 hi on the fly and the I come to a complete stop put it in neutral and then shift to 4 low. This has never failed me in the 50+ shifts I've done with it. I've tried the roll at 1 or 2 mph and it just grinds.

 

Yeah 4hi is good to just shift in under 50 mph I believe. Don't know about an auto, but for me with 2 manual JK's (3 different transfercases) completely stopped and 4 lo works maybe 1 out of 4 times. Slow roll never fails. Again, auto maybe different, I have no idea

 

Was a little tight at 1st, but it loosens up and no issues now. Mine works fine at a stop.

 

I haven't had an issue with my 12 jkur but i did have a 2000 Cherokee that wouldn't shift into 4lo. Once I changed the fluid to amsoil +4 oil it shifted with ease