Help: locked center diff? ('85 4ksq)

[Bob H.]

I'm looking for some help diagnosing a problem, and from what I've read in
the archives, I think the center differential is stuck locked.

For the first time since I bought the car, I engaged the center
differential lock today just to see if it worked (yeah, yeah, I know).  We
got some snow and the roads were pretty icy, so I figured it was a good
time to try.  I turned the dial in the center console to "1", and after 50
feet or so, the green light came on indicating a locked center diff.  So
far, so good.

I get to the grocery store, and turn into a parking spot.  The car
shudders and nearly stalls as I force it into the spot.  It feels as if
the hand brake is engaged and dragging (it's not).  I immediately suspect
the locked center diff since I've never used it before.

As luck would have it, I am able to leave my parking spot and travel
straight across a few parking lot lanes, and I turn the knob back to the
unlocked position.  By the time I have to turn to leave the parking lot,
the light in the console goes out, indicating that the diff is now
unlocked.

However, the same symptom prevails, even as I turn into my driveway at
home.  Sharp turns at low speeds make the car shudder and want to stall.

Does this sound like the diff is staying locked?  If so, how do I go about
unlocking it (and preferably fixing it so that I can lock and unlock it at
will since winter is fast approaching)??

Thanks in advance for any insight.

-Bob Hodgeman
 '85 4ksq (winter beater)

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Bob Hodgeman
97 Talon TSi AWD
WOR SoloII #75 SM
http://www.hodgeman.org

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