I've had a very similar truck for a little under a year now, a '93 XL with the big six and a 5 speed. Regular cab, nothing fancy. Rear tank leaks like a sieve and exhaust needs work(resonance at highway speeds) but otherwise a pretty good truck.

So the 1993 XLT with the V8 and E4OD auto, 4x4, extended cab(still 2dr) goes up for sale a mile or so from my house. Got a look at it and took it for a short drive. Has every option, everything works. Cruise, PW/PL, A/C, all the lights. Sticker said $2200, but I haggled a little to the "final offer" of $1800. Engine runs smooth and starts easy, tranny shifts smooth and on time. Interior is in great shape. The PO also installed a remote car starter, which I don't particularly care about(I've always thought those things were goofy) but a neat bonus. Has a class 3 hitch, which I kinda need. I don't totally trust the bumper on my current truck.

Only thing I'm concerned about is the mileage. Owner claimed he would get maybe 15mpg straight highway, maybe 10 around town. This seem about right?

Other thing-Is there a "trick" to using the T-case shifter into 4 low? I could move it from 2wd to 4hi, but the handle wouldn't go any farther back. The **** says "push for neutral", but the **** doesn't push down. 2 to 4hi was on-the-fly and didn't require a stop, but what does 4lo require? My father's old Jeep required you to get rolling slowly, shift to neutral, and then pull the t-case handle to 4 low. Is this similar?

Oh-and my truck is now on eBay, just in case anyone's interested.

 

Yes, the truck has to be in neutral(trannie) and stopped, and just go from 4h to 4l, don't pause in neutral(that would be the t. case natural)

 

Don't try to shift it again until you get under there, clean, & lube the t-case shifter. They're easy to break & expen$ive to fix. There's an active thread on FSB right now about a guy trying to find the parts to fix his.

Then follow the directions in the owner's manual or on the driver's visor to shift. It usually helps to be rolling under 5mph so the gears will align more easily.

 

You said it has a V8, but is that the 5.0 or the 5.8? I have the 5.8 and get about 13 mpg on highway and in town. To shift the transfer case, tranny in Neutral, from 4hi push down and back. If it still doesnt' shift, put her back in drive, roll a bit and try again. Sometimes things just don't line up.

 

I'm not totally sure, I forgot to get the codes off the door sticker. It seemed to have quite a bit more pickup than my 4.9L six though, granted it is an automatic whereas my truck is a manual.

I'm still kinda in a toss-up here between the two trucks. I prefer manuals, but it seems silly to pass up a great truck at a great price just because it's a auto.

 

Well, I'm picking up the truck in a few minutes. My current truck sold for $1127 which is dandy by me.

When you engage either 4hi or 4lo, does the front axel lock? The two front hubcaps say "automatic 4x4", the owner said they engage when you shift to 4x4 mode, and don't disengage until it's back in 2wd and you back up a few feet. I'll have to get the axle code to see if the rear end is a limited-slip, I would assume so because it's a 4x4, right?

Okay, picked it up and got to really drive it a bit. Nothing serious wrong, but a couple of little issues I thought I would ask about:
1. There is a rythmic "shudder" when the motor is idling, regardless of what gear it's in. Figured this might be dirty injectors and plan to dump a cleaner in.
2. It kinda pulls to the right a bit. If you let go of the wheel, you'll be off the road in 3 or 4 seconds. I thought the I-beams never went out of alignment, so is this likely to be a bum wheel or tire?
3. The friggen T-case will not shift. I don't know how the owner does it. Even stopped, a little tug and it goes into 4hi and the dash light comes on. No matter how much I try, it won't budge, moving or stopped. I lubed up the linkage, no effect. If the 4x4 doesn't work, it's going back, that's the main reason I bought this thing. Is there some trick to this or what?
4. Idling in drive(or any forward speed), the truck doesn't move. Put it in reverse, and you're moving in no time with a good amount of power. This normal or indicative of a problem? As soon as you step on the gas you're off, but it seems a bit odd.
5. There is a high pitched whine if you set the HVAC to "off". Goes away on any other setting. Also, when set on "vent", the air is always warm. It gets hot if you turn the dial up, but even turned to max cool the air is still fairly warm.

My main concern is figuring out the knack to the t-case. Like do you have to push to the side, push down, what? It's so easy for him, but I tried pulling the handle every-which-way and it won't move an inch.

 

The axle never locks - but the hubs should after the front d'shaft makes a turn or 3. There should be instructions on the visor describing how to shift the t-case & work the hub locks. Every time you CHANGE direction in 4WD, the auto hub locks will unlock & then relock. That's one of several reasons most people who actually drive off-road don't like them. Another is that they commonly break when really used, and new ones are unbelievably expensive, IF you can even find them. It's still possible to find good used ones, but it's getting harder.

1. Pull the spark plugs & compare them to the inside back cover of Haynes. Then do a compression test while they're all out.

2. The TIB/TTB is one of the hardest suspensions to keep aligned, so if you can find a Firestone that offers a $100 lifetime alignment, jump on it. You'll still have to buy caster cams, but be SURE you demand that they return your old ones to you - that way, you might not have to buy them next time. You can also buy adjustable cams for about what Firestone charges for regular ones.

3. There are at least 3 styles of t-case shift lever: the oldest one moves straight; the middle one has to be pulled toward the driver's knee to get into N; the latest one should say "PUSH DOWN" on the ****.

. .

4. The forward clutches in the trans obviously wear more than the reverse, so as long as the fluid isn't burnt & the filter has been changed on schedule, I wouldn't worry about it not pulling at idle.

5. Check the white vacuum line under the R hood hinge. The sunlight that leaks into that side of the hood degrades it, and that's probably the source of the whistle. Slip some rubber vacuum hose over it to replace the degraded section.

 

The shifter looks like the third picture, looks like
2H
4H
PUSH
N
DOWN
4low

I won't be doing any true off-roading, but having some decent grip on grass and snow would be a definite plus for me. There is a sticker on the visor about the 4x4, but all it says is safety stuff about how you have to drive carefully, nothing about actual shifting.

I'll check the white vac line. It's not a particularly loud whistle, but loud enough to be annoying.

 

That type of shifter is known to seize up & break when not maintained properly (lubed & used). Lift the shifter boot & bezel off the floor & start adding penetrating oil inside the round rubber boot on the shift mechanism each day. After a few days it should start to move, but ONLY push straight down on it when it's in 4WD.

Once you get it moving up & down freely, use whatever the owner's manual says to lube it, and see if you can get anything to drip out the bottom round seal. Try to rinse any rust or trash out into a catch pan.

 

Thanks for the tip, I'll start doing that. PB Blaster be fine? I find that works a lot better than WD40. I did finally get it to shift into 4hi, but I had to really heave on the thing. Once it did though, it worked fine, though it was equally hard to cram it back into 2wd. Like I said, the previous owner said he had never used 4lo(this quite possibly has NEVER been used in the life of the truck), and only 4hi once or twice in like 5 years.

Figured out the pulling to the right was caused by one hub not disengaging and thus cranking the front axle/driveshaft around causing a lot of drag on that wheel. A nice long back-up unlocked it and the pulling vanished.

A little sealant on a piece of duck tape over that white vac line(rotted right at the body/hood gap) fixed the whistling. A "band-aid" fix I know, I'll replace the line later.

A bottle of Lucas FI cleaner dramatically reduced the shuddering at idle, but it is still there just a lot less noticeable. The P.O replaced the plugs at a major engine service about 10k miles ago(as well as a total valve job).

 

Go easy on that shifter.

Pull the plugs & compare them to the inside back cover of the Haynes manual. Then put some new PLAIN-OLD AutoLites in from Wal-Mart. Don't try to go fancy or expensive - these trucks don't like that.

You should lock the hubs, shift back to 2H, and then drive forward for at least 50 miles. If you back up at any time, you'll have to re-lock the hubs. That should lube everything up & wear-in the front diff. For more info, read the "Motoring Torque" TSB in my signature link.

 

I tried to take the grommet and boot of the t-case shifter off, but there was so much crap buried into the screw holes that I couldn't get a good connection with the screwdriver. Instead I crawled under it and sprayed the linkage and "barrel" thing, trying to get it in the top so the PB would work it's way down. Already the shifter is easier to move, though it still won't "push down" for N or 4lo. 2hi-4hi is fairly easy now, I can move it with one hand now, though not before the **** popped off and I punched myself in the face.

The p.o replaced the plugs when he took the heads off and did a valve job about 20k miles ago (just over 100k miles), though I don't know if they were OEM replacements. I'll try to check later.

So just start driving, put it in 4wd, then cram it back into 2wd? Sounds simple enough, and I do remember hearing somewhere that the front axle does need a fair amount of usage to keep in working order. It's not that one hub is broken, it just takes a little longer to disengage than the other when backing up, lack of lube I suppose?

 

The front-to-back movement on the shifter is done at the large upper bolt, which has a nylon bushing. That's totally separate from the "Push Down" movement, which is inside the barrel & those 2 rubber boots.

Did you read that TSB yet? It explains all of the hub lock issue in more detail.

 

--double post--