Does 4LO cause a change in gear ratio like you would expect for LO range? If not, your encode may be broken inside. This is primarily why I suggested manually engaging the transfer case...

You may also want to disconnect the front driveshaft and see if you can turn the front wheels after manually engaging the front axle with a vice grip on the cable at the actuator under the battery.

 

when I switch to 4lo it does gear down. When I put the jimmy in reverse the engine just bogs down from the front wheels being locked up but when I put it in drive you can actually hear the transfer case spinning but the drive shaft does not. Today I was fully with it some more and the buttons will light up to suggest it is in 2wd, 4wd, or 4lo. I will remove front drive shaft tomorrow and see if that frees up the front wheels if it does what does that suggest the problem is. I will also disconnect the encoder motor to make sure it is in 2wd. If it is in 2wd will it be OK to drive without front drive shaft. Also do you have any Idea what that hose could be for that Y's after it comes out of the transfer case like I said it doesn't seem long enough to reach the actuator and doesn't look like it is cut off on the end it has same end the other ones do. My heat and air conditioning both work which leads me to believe that it is for the 4wd but I can't figure out where it would connect to.
Thanks Joe

 

ok it was stuck in 4lo today disconnected encoder motor and could not turn transfer case with a crescent wrench. I am assuming that the transfer case is locked up. is this the right assumption? how hard is the transfer case to turn? I removed transfer case and still could not manually engage the different 4wd s

 

If it won't move with a cresent wrench even while turning the front and/or rear driveshaft, then there most likely is a problem inside the transfer case.

 

Ok thanks thats what I was figuring so I will go out and get a transfer case tomorrow hopefully that works.

Thanks Joe

 

Ok I did need a transfer case got that on and cycles through 2hi 4hi 4lo but the front end does not engage. The Actuator is working and pulling the cable but I have read that it should be about a 1/2 in it doesn't look like it is pulling that far. It is sucked in all the way. So where do I go from here now.

again Thank you for your help

 

If you help it, will it pull further?

 

No I could not pull it even a little bit.

 

Disconnect it at the front diff (3 bolts) and see if you can get it to move more. If you can, then the cable is free and the problem is in the front axle. I have posted exploded views as well as actual pictures of a disassembled front axle engagement mechanism in the past so they are out there.