What was the out come, mine is doing something very similar. The lever feels real loos, I can hold it into 4x4 but the lever just drops back to 2x4 whenever I put in the clutch. is there a detent in there that locks it is or a pin or something?

 

The outcome was that I basically forced the lever into 4wd and I broke the stop which is a piece of cast aluminum. Some pieces were lost in the tranny so, they had RO disassemble the casing to get them. Better that then having a ball bearing trash the internals. Reassembly, new parts was about $1800. Ouch. Now, I engage 4wd very carefully and with no force. The lever on my tractor pulls up and down but it actuates a gear by sliding it horizontally. You have to shuffle the tractor slightly so the gears line up really well. I might be off on the repair cost. I can't remember because I had them do a couple other things too. It was alot more than I thought it would be though.

 

Thanks, for the update, I was hoping it was something common and simple, looks like no such luck!

 

You have a 1720 too?

 

Yes, I haven't had time to dig into it yet, it just happened on Sunday afternoon, I am hoping to find something simple, the 4x4 still works, I just have to hold the handle in the correct position.

 

When mine broke. Pieces sort of fell apart and they weren't all recoverable through the access panel. So, the case had to be taken apart. Hope you aren't in that position.

 

My father also has the same tractor and it won't stay in 4x4 the lever just pops out into 2x4...the current solution is to use your foot to hold the lever into 4x4.