Replacing transfer case shift actuator?

Be careful once the transfer case is manually placed in Neutral. The transmission’s Park position will no longer prevent the Jeep from rolling so make sure the parking brake is on. Is the car in level ground, if not I would start there, that way the transfer case will shift more easily without tension on it. Another thing you can try is to remove the old actuator and then plug the new one in and move the switch to 4wd, this will move the locating pin into the correct position so the actuator can be reinstalled. Please upload a short video in your response of the problem, so I can see what's going on

Here are some images to help as well.

How do I manually grt it into neutral though?

You will need to park the truck on level ground you then move the internal part of the transfer case so the new actuator will be easy to install, or follow what I said above and plug the actuator in and command it to 4wd. Can you please upload an image/video of what you are dealing with so I can see?

Thank you for all of your responses. I want to clarify I'm understanding correctly.

The new motor we bought is in the neutral position. The video showing how to replace the part starts off with putting the vehicle parking break on, start the vehicle, put vehicle in neutral and then engage the neutral position on the 4wd. When the tiny button is pressed to engage 4wd neutral the light should flash and then steady but it does neither. The vehicle is currently in the 'auto' position and will not engage any of the 4wd positions. If we remove the old actuator and then plug the new one in, will it automatically set the new part to the 'auto' position or will the actuator switch be functional and we can move its position?

No the actuator will not be adjustable once the power is turned on and even before you will not be able to move it. The best bet is to move the transferase side, if you can upload an image of the actuator removed and what it looks like and the transfer case side I can help more.

If I move the transfer case side how will I know once its in the right position? I don't currently have the old actuator taken off at the moment to take a picture.

That will be trail and error, once the old actuator is off we can look and see what needs to be moved.

Here's some photos of the transfer case with the actuator off and a side by side of the old and new actuator.

The photos won't upload. I've tried resizing them but that's not working.

I tested the image upload and it works? Can you try again?

Switched to my apple phone that seems to have worked.

Nice work, okay you can see that the new actuator is "timed" differently than the old one. So we need to move the internal part of the transferase to match it or, plug the new actuator in and turn the car one, (do not start the engine) and work the 4wd controls so it matches the old unit then install it. Let m know how it goes.

We're going to try plugging in the new actuator and working the 4wd controls. Does the vehicle need to be in neutral when doing this? Also, can you be more detailed about working the 4wd controls? Which order to go in while doing this? Which buttons to push? Once the correct position is found can the vehicle be turned off?

Yes, observe the actuator and then turn the car on with the parking brake set on level ground. Then plug the actuator in and then push the 4wd button and watch the actuator. If it is not lined up correctly keep working the control until it is aligned. Then turn the car off and you should be good to reinstall it. Let me know.

We removed the old actuator and plugged the new actuator in while it was off the transfer case. When we turned the ignition to RUN, the new actuator rotated, but its drive position still doesn't match the old actuator. We tried Auto/Snow/Sand and the new actuator doesn't visibly move when changing those modes. Which specific control do you want us to use to command the actuator to the old actuator's position? Do you mean to engage 4wd low? And if so, what do you mean by "keep working the control until it is aligned"?

Yes, the idea is to have the new actuator to line up with the transfer case/old actuator so you can install it. So try working the controls until you achieve this, then install the actuator.

When you say work the controls do you mean putting in and out of 4lo repeatedly until it lines up? I just want to make sure I'm understanding because I don't want to mess up the timing.

Yep, that is what I mean work the controls until the actuator lines up.