'97 TJ - 2.5l, 231 transfer case, SYE, 4 inch lift (no t-case drop), 1" body lift, shifter bracket that attaches to the t-case.
The shifter will not stay in gear. Currently linkage adjustment is extended all of the way(nothing past the adjuster). Shifter stays in 4-lo but comes out of 4-high. If I move the adjustment rod so just a little (3/4 to 1") past the adjuster, it will stay in h-hi but come out of 4-lo. The shifter is not hitting the console.

Any ideas? It has been doing this for over a year. I have tried it with and without the t-case drop. I added the new bracket hoping to fix it but it hasn't made any difference.

well, it sounds like you have already narrowed it down to the linkage. if your still not sure its just the linkage, unbolt it and manually place it in the different positions that you wish. if this works you ruled out the case. with this being done, its in the shifter linkage adjustment.

you mentioned you moved it to adjust just a little, (3/4 to 1 inch). when i was getting mine right, i was moving it a little too, (1/8 to a 1/4 inch at a time)

if not, you could have some wear in the shift forks requiring a little more play than the little sping loaded dentent wants it to have, causing you to need to pull it a little further into the next postion before it fully engages into the last. if all else fails with the shifter linkage (which i bet is the problem) crack the case, i know that might sound horrible if you have never done it, but its really not so hard, i rebuild my first one without even having a manual. just need snap ring pliers and a real basic tool kit and some silicone.

-Humper

when i lifted mine i had to grind the housing inside the counsole a little to allow the shifter to fully engage

Get rid of the boot underneath the shifter boot

Could be that you have worn bushings in the shift linkage. I had that exact problem. Adjusting the linkage helped, but I had to replace the bushings as well.

I don't know to much about TJ's but i have seen a shifter bracket made by Skyjacker. Sense the stock shifter mouts to part of the body and you say you have a one inch body lift that might be part of your problem. This bracket eliminates the attaching point to the body and makes it solid to the transfer case.

Skyjacker part# 57722

about $59.99 in 4wheel drive hardware :goofball: