4wd Floor Shift Hard To Operate

[chevydriver37]

The floor shift to engage the 4WD on my '07 NBS is getting harder and harder to pull back into 4-hi.

 

At a standstill, it moves in and out with ease. I'm not a 4wd expert by any means, but if it's shift-on-the-fly, shouldn't this work at any reasonable speed? I'm not trying to engage it at 75mph, but more like 20 or under. And at that speed I still have to really crank back and forth on it. So much in fact, that I'm not gonna use it 'till I have it looked it.

 

Getting it into 4 lo is another story. That's like trying to get the wife to stop nagging. It ain't happenin'

 

Is there a lube point or something that needs to be adjusted? Not worried, at 6K miles it'd be fixed by the dealer..

 

Thanks

[jsn0801]

Mine seems to depend how the gears are lined up, some times it's easy sometimes it's not. When it is acting difficult I pop the transmission in neutral and it usually slides right in. This has been the case on every floor shift 4x4 I've owned.

[shedberg]

It's harder to shift when the truck is cold. As it warms up, the shift gets easier.

 

I just put my truck in 4WD when I park it, in case it gets icy overnight. It shifts out of 4WD smoothly warm or cold.

[chevydriver37]

It's harder to shift when the truck is cold. As it warms up, the shift gets easier.

 

I just put my truck in 4WD when I park it, in case it gets icy overnight. It shifts out of 4WD smoothly warm or cold.

 

Hmmmmm. Never owning a 4x4 in the past, I don't know how it "should" be. The '01 I'm driving around seems to work rather nicely. Push the button, it engages. Push another, it disengages. I''ve heard the stories about how these need service all the time, and figured since they went back to the floor shift it'd be better. Oh well. I'll take it in and see what they say about it.

Thanks the replies...

Rick

[asilverblazer]

Are you doing it exactly like the manual says? Pulling it in one swift firm motion? No pausing between gears.

[pm26]

I had a '95 Nissan 4X4 V6 truck for 10 years. Placing the transfer case lever in any position was very easy and butter smooth whether cold or hot. Never had any problems. Then, few years ago I happened to test drive a new 2003(?) Chevy Silverado Z71 with a floor mounted transfer case lever. Shifting was very difficult and I even asked the salesman if there was anything wrong with it. It really was extremely stiff and difficult to move. So, based on this limited experience I would dare say that these manual transfer case levers on late Silverado trucks are not the most user friendly design. Perhaps there is a certain way you need to move the lever. I used to drive a 1976 full size Blazer and do not remember any issues with the transfer case lever. It worked smooth.

 

My present truck has the lazyman's pushbutton transfer case - no difficulty there - yet.