4wd not engaging

[riz]

ive recently bought a 1991 nh lwb pajero 2.6 to take my dog to the beach and camp in.

everytime we drive it on soft sand we get bogged and it seems that the 4wd isnt engaging as the front wheels seem to not have any power to them when we are trying to get out. this is my first 4wd so im not sure what it is supposed to look like..... also is the dash lights supposed to show all wheels lit up when it is engaged because at the moment it isnt..

HELP!!!

[flapyheaded canadian]

a couple of things im going to ask starting from the very basic, are you moving the 4wd lever into 4wd? if you are are you reveresing about a meter then driving forward, this engages the front hubs, since your lights dont come on i think your not putting it into 4wd properly, if all this still doesnt fix it then you will have to take alook at your linkage under the vehicle at the transfercase and see if it is all connected and moving smoothly, check to see if the front diveshaft is spinning when in 4wd you will need someone to look while you slowly drive forward, if it moves the chances are your hubs arent engaging and could be stripped.

[-Scott-]

Does your vehicle have Super Select? Does the transfer lever have both 4H and 4HLc? I didn't think non-Super Select vehicles had the dash display showing 4 wheels. Have you tried low range? Have you ever had an orange light indicating a locked centre diff?

Super Select doesn't use free wheeling hubs, it has a disconnect on the right side of the front diff. If that has jammed in the disconnected position then you won't get 4wd.

[riz]

it has manual locking hubs and is a 5sp manual im not even sure what super select is.....ummm we never tried reversing it.. as i said its my first ever 4wd...i will definatly try that ... thankyou!!!

[OZBMX]

I'm assuming you are turning the hubs to lock?
Super select is for auto hubs for on the fly shift into 4wd I gather you don't have it if you have manual hubs.

[riz]

just gota call back from mechanics apparently it is supposed to have auto locking hubs and the idiot has installed manual ones incorrectly .... good news is its only gonna cost $80 to fix ..... again i know basically nothing about 4wd's so can anyone explain the difference for me it would be handy to know for future reference....and if anyone knows where i can get a good service manual so i can learn some more about this model.
thankyou