yellow knob wont stay down!

[Dr Love]

hi all, just putting my recently acquired series 3 back on the road after it being in semi retirement for 6 years

everything works except the fact that yellow knob will not stay down. ...................................

is this a common problem? does anyone know what may be causing it?

any thoughts will be gratefully accepted

cheers, Tom 

[Panda]

Is the red knob forward?? As i know 4wheel drive high wont engage if your in 4wheel low....just a thought

[NiteMare]

yellow knob is only pushed down when you want to engage 4wheel drive in high ratio ...

you automatically go into 4wd when you pull the red knob back into low ratio (and the yellow knob pops up then)

[Panda]

yellow knob is only pushed down when you want to engage 4wheel drive in high ratio ...

you automatically go into 4wd when you pull the red knob back into low ratio (and the yellow knob pops up then)

Which is why i asked what position the red knob was in

[craigderby]

Check the yellow knob isn't on too tightly.  I had the same once and it just turned out the knob had been overtightened and was making the spring become fully compressed before the actual lever was all the way down.

[Lucy1978]

It's quite likely that the shaft in teh transfer box that is supposed to spring forward when the pin is removed (by pressing the yellow knob down) has seized up a bit through lack of use, quite a common problem especially on vehicles with FWH's.

Try what was said about the yellow know being screwed down to tight first, 'cause otherwise I think you need to take the front of the transfer box off and clean up the shafts in there.

[Dr Love]

yeah, its with the red nob forwards. it just feels like it dosent locat into anything when you press the nob down........

ill have a look in the transfer box later....... got to get her M.O.T'd first.  :->

[Amma]

If it feels like there is no resistance other than the spring on the shaft itself when you press it down, have you checked the point where it pivots?

I had problems with mine and I found that this had broken and effectively it wasn't lifting the pin to let 4WD engage. Fitted a nut and bolt and it was fine for a while. It then decided to make a horrendous noise a few months later when I was driving down the motorway and tried to engage the front prop when the FWH were turned off. I found out that the bolt had come out so when I re-fitted it I put an extra nut on to lock the first one into place.

 ;)

[Dr Love]

it just feels loose and springy. ill check the pivot point! i hope its a simple fix......... nothing else is proving to be haha

[Dr Love]

where the lever pivots is all connected as it should be........................... ive just had a thought though, the steering feels very heavy, im used to vehicles with no power steering, and it feels heavier than it normally should, so i have a feeling it is stuck in 4wd? the knob is up at the minute, so something must have broken somwhere. i have freewheeling hubs, so if i turn them anticlockwise, i have a feeling that the steering will be a bit lighter. im on holiday at the minute, so i cant try it for a while, but will keep you posted. thanks for the replies!  :D

[NiteMare]

heavy steering can be caused by under inflated tyres or ....

a common occurance with series landys that have been laid up is the steering relay dries out, take your grill off and pull 2 of the little bolts out of the top cover and top up with EP90 (i use a large syringe from the chemists for this job)...

if your motor was stuck in 4wheel drive you would most likely feel a knocking effect on the steering wheel when turning round on tarmac (i do on mine)

[Dr Love]

ah, ill give it a go! will hopefully sort her out............... cant wait to get her on the road and have a play!