I have had the 4x4 lever stuck midway between positions more times than I have had hot dinners. I have changed the lever for anothe used one from same year, one with the plastic bushing in original one piece rather than like mine, with bits broken off
But the problem has not really gone away, sometimes its fine, then one day, usually in the most needed of places, the lever jams and I take it all apart and back together again, and its good for a while
Become quite proficient at taking this lever out and putting it back again.
But the last time this happened, I decided to take a closer look, trying to figure out what has happened, why would this plastic bushing break?
I noticed that the tip of this lever, the part that engages inside the box, is not symetrical, its slightly angled more on one side than the other
Just for an experiment, I reassembled this 4x4 lever the wrong way round, ie 180 degrees from where its meant to be
The result is
- it has never gone in and out of 4x4 as easily as it does now
- not once has the lever becomes stuck, and I have used it many times now
- the gear lever looks weird, its now angled closer to the main lever, and much further forward, so it hits the dash when fully in difflock 4x4
But this is a small price to pay for a gearlever that no longer gets stuck

I suspect there is a very very minor difference in symetry, and perhaps an entire batch of levers were fitted that were ground the wrong way around, which places undure forces on the plastic bushing and numerous owners have had problems, which Mitsubishi will not admit there is an issue

I have seen the forums, many write about this, and to change that little plastic bushing requires a new very expensive lever

I have my old lever, I am going to do a little more experimentation, grinding to match being installed 180 degrees out of position, then test with it installed the correct way around. I have now been using with lever the wrong way around for many months with plenty of 4x4 in and out, no problems at all

Will update on here if anyone is interested

Phil