SERIES 3: no 4 wheel drive in low ratio

The obvious thing that you're missing is that selecting low ratio (pulling the RED lever back) on a Series III automatically puts you into 4WD without having to depress any other (YELLOW) knobs. The yellow knob is only to enable you to engage 4WD in high ratio (which is normally only a RWD ratio). If you *really* aren't getting 4WD in low ratio then check that you haven't got free-wheel hubs selected to "free" or "4x2" mode. Oh yes, you could also check that you do actually have a front prop-shaft attached!

Try not to confuse the position of the controls with the actual

2/4 wd condition, it sounds as though the controls are behaving perfectly normally.

Don't have free wheel hubs by any chance?

Nick

hehe fwhubs pop to mind but seems thats been covered. On my series 3 when u push the yellow lever down 4wd High ratio engages. When u move the red lever towards you 4wd Low ratio Engages AND the yellow lever Pops Back up. This dosnt mean that its not in 4wd just because the yellow lever is not down..

Hope this helps. Guesss the only way to check for sure is to go on some mud and see which axles spin ..hehe

To check what's happening, put it in 4wd and jack up one of the front wheels. If it won't turn (much) the 4wd is engaged.

If it does turn, look and see if the prop shaft is turning or not. If it isn't the problem is in the front axle, could be diff, half shafts, driving flanges ot free wheel hubs.

If the prop shaft is turning, the problen is in the gearbox.

Nick

Have you engaged the free wheeling hubs ???

Correct. Pull the red lever back, through neutral into low, which is also 4wd.

How do you know it was in 2wd? What happened?

Correct, in that the yellow button will not lock down Thats for 4WD Hi.

How do you know it works fine? What happens?

Hi all

Thanks all for the advice so far. Just to clarify, it does not have free wheelie hubs so that shouldn't be the problems

Colonel Tupperware - in answer to your points - when I was attempting the hill climb in low ratio, it would get half way up the back wheels would start spinning and I would lose all forward momentum. Front wheels were doing nothing.

The 4 wheel drive in high ratio does appear to work as got suck in some mud in 2 wheel drive, then put it in high ration with the yellow lever locked down, and it pulled itself out of the mud in two seconds...plus it had no problems with hill climbs in high ratio with the yellow lever down, only with low ration selected.

I am going to be jacking it up today to check for diff, half shaft, gearbox probs - thanks Nick

I'll let you know

OK. You have 4wd in hi, but not lo.

Looks like a transfer box problem. The dif, halfshafts and prop are all ok as it works in 4wd hi. The transfer box is where 4wd is made to happen so it must be at fault.

I have never had a series III transfer box apart so I dont know any more than that, although I suspect it might just be a linkage problem, albeit an internal box linkage.

Suposition: There must be a linkage in the transfer box that engages the front prop when the red lever is pulled, the same bit wil also lock out the yellow button, so part of it is working but the actual engaement bit isnt. SWK will be along in a minute.

There are three parallel selection shafts in the extension in the front of the transfer case. It sounds a bit as if the pivoting link between these has lost one of its bolts, or it may have one of the springs in the mechanism broken. Or the shafts are just sticking. JD