How do I get out of my 1997 Pathfinder 4x4 mode? I accidently put it in 4x4 by putting neutral and shofting gear but cannot get it out of 4x4 mode. I put it on neutral lower the gear 4x4 and boom. But now cannot get out please let me know how to deactivate it

The 4x4 lever should be all the way forward (toward the dash) for 2wd (normal driving). From 4HI to N you need to press the lever down then pull rearward. Going back to 2wd is the opposite you really shouldn't need to pull upward on the lever.
If it feels like it's binding you want to put the transmission in N and roll the car forward or backward a couple of feet to free up the transfer case. The green light may take a few seconds to go out after you travel forward a bit.

I was able to notice that it makes a grinding sound when I switch the gears it is like stick shift when the gears do not want to go in. What can it be?

That's normal....to a point. It's the gears syncing..or trying to. It can be finicky at times but they should mesh eventually. Try driving backwards and try it.

I get kinda panic when I hear the grinding sound, it kinda reminds me of the tree trimmer when they throw in the trunks to get the grinded into small pieces. Is there any way I can prevent them from grinding? I can feel the knob kinda shake, I also see the Red light come out as ATP if I remember correctly.

Just to be sure, you are doing all of the following?

1. At a stop, foot on brake
2. Tranmission in Neutral
3. Pushing transfer case shift-lever down (i.e., pushing into the floor) and sliding upward in a smooth, quick-ish motion (complete in about 1s) from 4L through N into 4H.

As mentioned, a brief grind may occur. If you haven't engaged in that 1s, then do as suggested: ease off the shift-lever, allow the truck to roll a little, come to a stop, then retry.

If that still fails, check your fluid levels and the shift-lever linkage on the driver's side of the t-case.

(To cover all bases, you do have the shift-lever only, and not an Auto-Mode t-case? An older variant of the Auto t-case had both a dial-knob and shift-lever)

Hawairish wrote:Just to be sure, you are doing all of the following?

1. At a stop, foot on brake
2. Tranmission in Neutral
3. Pushing transfer case shift-lever down (i.e., pushing into the floor) and sliding upward in a smooth, quick-ish motion (complete in about 1s) from 4L through N into 4H.

As mentioned, a brief grind may occur. If you haven't engaged in that 1s, then do as suggested: ease off the shift-lever, allow the truck to roll a little, come to a stop, then retry.

If that still fails, check your fluid levels and the shift-lever linkage on the driver's side of the t-case.

(To cover all bases, you do have the shift-lever only, and not an Auto-Mode t-case? An older variant of the Auto t-case had both a dial-knob and shift-lever)

The fluids are good, did notice that the grinding sound stop after a while just did not like that it sounds pretty bad. Around how long should the grinding sound last for??

Ideally, there's no grinding. If it does grind during shift, it's very short because it eventually should engage quickly after. But if it just grinds constantly, then something else is up. The 1-2-3 steps checked out okay?

jetstream87 wrote:

Hawairish wrote:Just to be sure, you are doing all of the following?

1. At a stop, foot on brake
2. Tranmission in Neutral
3. Pushing transfer case shift-lever down (i.e., pushing into the floor) and sliding upward in a smooth, quick-ish motion (complete in about 1s) from 4L through N into 4H.

As mentioned, a brief grind may occur. If you haven't engaged in that 1s, then do as suggested: ease off the shift-lever, allow the truck to roll a little, come to a stop, then retry.

If that still fails, check your fluid levels and the shift-lever linkage on the driver's side of the t-case.

(To cover all bases, you do have the shift-lever only, and not an Auto-Mode t-case? An older variant of the Auto t-case had both a dial-knob and shift-lever)

The fluids are good, did notice that the grinding sound stop after a while just did not like that it sounds pretty bad. Around how long should the grinding sound last for??

Yeah the first three steps do check out right, it kinda freaks me out that the grinding sound and I believe I can feel the lever somewhat shake. If I recall correctly the ATP or some red light came out.

The ATP light illuminates when the transfer case is not in gear (i.e., in neutral) and the transmission is in park. It's to let you know that your vehicle can roll because it's not really parked; it's a safety indicator.

Are you positive that you're attempting to shift the transfer lever out of 4H when the transmission is in neutral and stopped? There is a park/neutral position sensor that could be to blame for the light, but it wouldn't cause the grinding.