99 Jeep Grand Cherokee Stuck in Four Wheel Drive

[tnc112105]

Lately we've been getting a lot of snow here in New York, and so when we needed to go out, my husband and I put the truck in 4WD. We haven't needed to use the truck lately, so it's been sitting for a few days since the storm. Unfortunately, after needing to use it this afternoon, I realized that it may still be stuck in 4WD and no matter how hard or how many times I try, it just won't seem to disengage. While rolling, I've tried putting it into neutral, shifting back to 4WD, then shifting into 2WD, putting it in Drive, stopping, going in reverse etc and it still won't pop out. I'm beginning to wonder if the transfer case is bad??? And if so, how do I know for sure, and how difficult is it to change? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[casm]

Lately we've been getting a lot of snow here in New York, and so when we needed to go out, my husband and I put the truck in 4WD. We haven't needed to use the truck lately, so it's been sitting for a few days since the storm. Unfortunately, after needing to use it this afternoon, I realized that it may still be stuck in 4WD and no matter how hard or how many times I try, it just won't seem to disengage. While rolling, I've tried putting it into neutral, shifting back to 4WD, then shifting into 2WD, putting it in Drive, stopping, going in reverse etc and it still won't pop out. I'm beginning to wonder if the transfer case is bad??? And if so, how do I know for sure, and how difficult is it to change? Any help is greatly appreciated.

A few things first:

It sounds like you have a WJ (Grand Cherokee), not an XJ ('regular' Cherokee). We can try to help, but you might be better-off asking over at NAGCA since they're dealing directly with the Grands. Having said that:

OK, it's a '99. What's the spec? Engine, transmission, and transfer case all come into play here. Having this info will affect getting useful help.

 

[joe_peters]

x2 on casm's recommendation for NAGCA.

I think you have the NP249 transfer case, but I'm not sure. The NP249 wasn't used in the XJ Cherokee.

 

[tnc112105]

Sorry. Thanks for the link. I will post again there. The truck is a 6 cylinder 4.0 L. Automatic Trans, appx. 102k miles.

 

[GoSlowGetStuck]

All V8 ZJs (93-98) had the NP249. V8 WJs (99-04) had the NP247. Both are primary RWD, auto-engaging FWD T-cases (for sure the 249 is and I'm pretty certain the 247 is).

Since you have a 4.0 and you're talking about actually going into 4WD, I'll assume you have a 231 or 242 T-case.

I had this exact problem with my '98 ZJ (4.0L NP242). Whenever I went into a 4WD mode and came back out into 2WD, it would stay engaged and I could feel it binding. I never did find a permanent solution, but if you put it into 2WD and have a floor or bottle jack, pick up one corner of the vehicle, the diff will unwind and in turn so will the T-case, and it will be back in 2WD.

Also, if it's snowing out, you should be able to stand on the brakes on snow or ice and the loss of traction will let everything unwind and disengage.

Sorry I don't have a better solution, but it worked for me to get through a winter, if you have the 242 I'd just put it in FT4x4 and leave it that way.