Yellow Knob/4WD issues.....

[knac1234]

Hello,

Been meaning to post this for a little while......

When activating 4wd (hi or lo), I push down the yellow knob and it always works fine.

When releasing 4wd, I shift the transfer gear into neutral, at which time (I think) the yellow knob should pop up on it's own. It moves up a hair, but I have to pull it up to disengage it. No big deal, but I would be willing to hear solutions on that one.

What is odd is that sometimes, while driving (I think only in hi but maybe it is happening in lo that I use not often), the yellow knob engages itself into 4wd without me pushing it down. I usually notice this when the steering gets a tad heavy or I notice the lever sitting lower than normal.

Any ideas?

Thanks,
Julian

[Terrys]

Is your spring missing, broken, or improperly installed?

[knac1234]

I recall seeing it on the handle, but properly installed is another question.

That would just affect the release of the 4wd knob, right, or could it also affect the self-engaging issue?

Thanks Terry...
Julian

[mrdoiron]

I recall seeing it on the handle, but properly installed is another question.

That would just affect the release of the 4wd knob, right, or could it also affect the self-engaging issue?

Thanks Terry...
Julian

Push the transfer fully to low, it should pop up.

mike

[jac04]

... or could it also affect the self-engaging issue?

Yes, it could. The weight & vibration of the rod would cause it to slowly move down and engage 4WD. Pull up on the yellow knob/rod all the way, if the spring is loose then it should be tightened.

[lrdukdog]

yellow knob

It's easy to see the spring, just unscrew the y-knob and the spring will be there, should pop-up. If it's there and in good order (not warn out) you can spray with WD-40 and or another spray lubricant all around the area to get it working again.
Jim Wolf

[knac1234]

Thanks.....will check it out.

I know the spring is right below the yellow knob. It should be good as the prev owner mentionned replacing it not too long ago.

Can the spring be tightened/adjusted via the lock nut #19 in the RN link below? There are 2 lock nuts....a top and bottom....do I need to play with both of them?

That's good to know that if the spring is not tight enough, it could self-engage 4wd with vibration (what vibrations? ). Makes sense that a spring with more tension would help the lever pop up on its own.

Cheers,
Julian

[siii8873]

I was doing some maintenance on my SIII and had the tunnel cover off. I found out first hand that the spring is necessary. In my case this was not a smooth engagement it started grinding the gears. It took about a week for it to happen. As someone said the Hi/lo (red knob) shifter needs to be brought all the way to low position to disengage, not just neutral.

[knac1234]

Yes, I had been pulling the red lever all the way down to disengage that 4wd/yellow knob. I am hoping this spring and the nut will allow me to adjust it so it does not require me to manually pull it up.....probably won't get to that til Saturday, but will post any results.

Julian

[mongoswede]

Yes, I had been pulling the red lever all the way down to disengage that 4wd/yellow knob. I am hoping this spring and the nut will allow me to adjust it so it does not require me to manually pull it up.....probably won't get to that til Saturday, but will post any results.

Julian

That's the idea. Healthy setup....never have to pull the knob up....its should pop up when you move the red knob.

[Tim Smith]

If you are missing the lower spring catch (kind of like a cup for a spring) at the lower end of the spring then it could easily unspool it's self down tunnel hole and leave it's self without enough pressure to release.

[SafeAirOne]

Exxactly, Tim.

Just to clarify Tim's reply, if you disassemble the yellow lever, you should remove the knob, then a nut, then the spring, THEN A SMALL PIECE THAT LOOKS LIKE A FLARED PIECE OF BRAKE TUBING, EXCEPT LARGER.

This flared tubing nests in the hole in the transmission hump. The funnel-shaped flare keeps it from falling through the hole. The bottom of the spring rests in the funnel-shaped flare, preventing the spring from working its way down through the hole in the transmission tunel, reducing its effectiveness.

Not really shown on the RN online catalog as a separate part, but you can see it at the bottom of the spring in this diagram:

[mrdoiron]

Exxactly, Tim.

Just to clarify Tim's reply, if you disassemble the yellow lever, you should remove the knob, then a nut, then the spring, THEN A SMALL PIECE THAT LOOKS LIKE A FLARED PIECE OF BRAKE TUBING, EXCEPT LARGER.

This flared tubing nests in the hole in the transmission hump. The funnel-shaped flare keeps it from falling through the hole. The bottom of the spring rests in the funnel-shaped flare, preventing the spring from working its way down through the hole in the transmission tunel, reducing its effectiveness.

Not really shown on the RN online catalog as a separate part, but you can see it at the bottom of the spring in this diagram:

Exactly, it isn't that obvious from their parts pics...in fact when I got my first series, not only was there no spring, but the plate that mounts to the tunnel Mark mentions - that this flared piece rests on, was also not present - so make sure that is also there.

[knac1234]

Fixed!

Thanks all for your help!

So, I pulled off the yellow knob, and found issue #1-no upper lock nut!

Removed the spring, which was visible before, and found no flared spring catch piece....instead there were a few 1/4" washers there! This would have done the job, but, after using a 1/4-28 nut that I had leftover from my Hillman Imp resto, I felt that the spring itself might not be long enough.

Not knowing the proper length of the spring from the RN catalog, and not having the flared bit, I added some spacers in between the washers to raise the spring's height closer to the lock nut in order to compress it more.

Long story short, it pops up perfectly when moving the red knob to low range, then neutral (I tried pulling up on the yellow knob, and the lever cannot come up any more!). Due to the tension on the spring, I am willing to bet there is no way that lever can now move downwards with vibration to self-engage 4wd (but not yet tested)!

So, in addition to no flared bit and no lock nut, I guess when the DPO said he replaced the spring, it was probably with any old one from a hardware store. If I move forward with some light resto work on the Rover in the summer, I will order the right bits then!

Now off to try to put that back seat bench in!

Cheers,
Julian

[knac1234]

One more question.....is it true that when in lo range, you do not need to push the yellow knob down as it is already in 4wd??? The yellow knob is only for hi range??

72 Series III

Thanks,
Julian