I have a 2010 jku. The other day I was trying to shift into 4hi and I may have forced it a little too much. Now the shifter won't go into 4lo. I can get the shifter all the way into the most rear position but it's only into 4hi. When I pull the shifter back, I have to move it to the right and back before it will go into 4hi. Any ideas on what's wrong?

 

The stock shifter has a weak link. Literally. It has little plastic retainer clips that get brittle over time and eventually break. Then the cable just flops out of position and you can't get any leverage to shift the t-case.

I had mine break in the middle of a very technical stretch of trail. I tried to put the t-case in to low by crawling under but there was too much pressure on the drivetrain to get it to shift. I had to winch out to a reasonably flat spot to get it to shift back into 2wd so I could drive home.

The cheap fix is to get new replacement clips. That should set you back about $10 or so. I know people who buy an extra set and keep in their on-board repair kit.

The "right" fix is to replace the entire shifter cable that eliminate the plastic bits. Advance Adapters makes a very robust cable, but it's a bit pricey and a pain to install. I have one that I put in 2012 and it works flawlessly.

 

Thanks for the info. I've seen people talk about this situation before. But they said the 4wd shifter basically went "floppy". Mine feels fine and can shift from 2 to 4hi, it just won't shift far enough rearward.
when that happened to you, what was your shifter like? Was it just freely moving?

 

The cable housing goes up from the bottom into the bracket so you get a gravity assist when that goes. When the cable is out of the bracket slot it's just soft and no shift. If it stays in the slot it might have enough throw to shift from 4hi to 2hi as that shift is much easier than getting the t-case into 4lo.

It's easy enough to verify - just crawl under the jeep and give it a quick peek. If you want to be sure, have someone try the shifter while you are watching. If it's in place, you may have more serious t-case problems.

 

Awesome, I'll crawl under there tonight and check it out.