LT230 on ZF auto - pops out of Hi

As above on my very recently converted 3.5 auto 90.
Knocked the Hi-Lo lever into neutral whilst cleaning the cab.
Put it back into Hi but it pops back into neutral as soon as power is applied or when it changes up. Fine in Lo - that's the only way I can drive it now.
I believe this could be a control linkage adjustment problem but wondering what else it could be, hope the LT230 isn't the issue.
Any thoughts much appreciated... the garage that did the conversion know but they're about 40 miles away! Perhaps something I could do if I knew exactly what and how!
Cheers.

capo said:

As above on my very recently converted 3.5 auto 90.
Knocked the Hi-Lo lever into neutral whilst cleaning the cab.
Put it back into Hi but it pops back into neutral as soon as power is applied or when it changes up. Fine in Lo - that's the only way I can drive it now.
I believe this could be a control linkage adjustment problem but wondering what else it could be, hope the LT230 isn't the issue.
Any thoughts much appreciated... the garage that did the conversion know but they're about 40 miles away! Perhaps something I could do if I knew exactly what and how!
Cheers.

Click to expand...

either worn box ie too much play in bearings /dog teeth worn etc or most likely the linkage needs adjusting,there are 2 13mm spanner sized nuts that fine adjustment can be made by or you remove cam ring from selector housing and move round a spline or so

capo said:

As above on my very recently converted 3.5 auto 90.
Knocked the Hi-Lo lever into neutral whilst cleaning the cab.
Put it back into Hi but it pops back into neutral as soon as power is applied or when it changes up. Fine in Lo - that's the only way I can drive it now.
I believe this could be a control linkage adjustment problem but wondering what else it could be, hope the LT230 isn't the issue.
Any thoughts much appreciated... the garage that did the conversion know but they're about 40 miles away! Perhaps something I could do if I knew exactly what and how!
Cheers.

Click to expand...

either worn box ie too much play in bearings /dog teeth worn etc or most likely the linkage needs adjusting,there are 2 13mm spanner sized nuts that fine adjustment can be made by or you remove cam ring from selector housing and move round a spline or so

!!

Thanks @jamesmartin
The box is off the 2.5 and didn't show any problems whilst on the LT77.
Done about 150 miles since the conversion and absolutely no problem, only started when I knocked the lever into neutral yesterday.
Fingers crossed it just the linkage that needs adjusting.

capo said:

Thanks @jamesmartin
The box is off the 2.5 and didn't show any problems whilst on the LT77.
Done about 150 miles since the conversion and absolutely no problem, only started when I knocked the lever into neutral yesterday.
Fingers crossed it just the linkage that needs adjusting.

Click to expand...

thats very likely if its just been fitted

The forum is really playing up; can't search, upload, add smileys and keeps double posting !

The forum is really playing up; can't search, upload, add smileys and keeps double posting !

Problem fixed for now....

After a couple of hours underneath and in the cab adjusting difficult to access nuts, we noticed that the clevis pin securing the lower linkage was loose and protruding....

and the upper clevis pin was snagging on a bolt head on the transfer box...

Had to slacken off the clamp that holds the cam ring in the selector housing at little to give enough play for the link to slide back fully, past the bolt head, to engage Hi. Went for drive pumping through the gears without a problem but didn't move from Hi just in case.
Put the top back together and secured the lever position with a bungee cord and will drive over to Chichester (hopefully) for it to be fixed properly.
Fingers crossed.

All of the above was fixed last year but yesterday I accidentally knocked the Hi-Lo lever into N and couldn't get it back into Hi, only Lo. This is a repeat of a problem I thought I had solved....a clevis pin on the linkages fouling the casing,and after the last service it was working ok.
I know roughly what to do now, so took the gaiter and turret off and turned the actuator round by a spline on the shaft. It's damn fiddly having to drift the actuator out and fiddle about with only finger room. Reassembled enough to work but this time had Lo but going to Hi made grinding noises. Disassemble agin and move another spline.....great got Hi and N but no Lo! Decided for the time being that will do as I'm unlikely to need Lo box for a while. But there does seems to be quite a lot of play in the linkages which makes adjustment tricky. Having another pre-MoT check up next month so the lads at Chichester can sort it.
A few spins around the block to check and then a 30 mile round trip to our daughter's place to take the dogs for a walk in the woods, with no problems........ (knocking on wood etc.)

Update Dec 2019.

Following more issues with the hi-lo lever not engaging or sticking I took the 90 back to Chichester 4x4 where they replaced the transfer box with a nice shiny refurbished 1.4 LT230 with a cross drilled input shaft from Ashcroft. There was obvious wear in the fork selector and shaft selector inside the transfer box, loads of slack in the lever on the box rather than in the linkages, and the the input shaft was badly scored. Now have hi and lo and diff lock again without it popping out or getting stuck in one or the other. Selects firmly and positively now. No backlash now even when selecting reverse and I do believe it's quieter, at speed the whine has gone .
Merry Xmas!