Had a ticking under the Jeep that I traced to a rear u-joint. Got that fixed but still had a ticking under the Jeep. It turns out the shift detent had been leaking and the fluid level in the NP231 was extremely low. I opened the fill plug and could not reach any fluid with my finger. I opened the drain plug and some very dark, smelly fluid ran out. Not a lot, mind you. I filled up the transfer case with fresh fluid and drove around the block. The ticking was gone but it leaked like crazy from the detent.

I drained the transfer case again, pulled the detent, cleaned it all up, applied some black RTV and reinserted it to finger tight, an hour later I tightened another 1/4 to 1/2 turn.

EDIT: The RTV did not work. Even without driving it since applying it, it is leaking fluid. Crap.

Double crap. It turns out the detent wasn't leaking after all. The housing above and behind the detent is cracked and that is the source of the fluid. Looks like I'll be shopping for a new (or new to me) transfer case. Any suggestions on where to get a stock reman unit? Don't really want to risk getting one from the bone yard.

 

Were there any metal shavings or particles of any kind in the fluid that actually came out? That'll be a good indicator whether or not any damage was done

 

I saw what might have been a few small bits. But does the transfer case not have a magnet in it somewhere? I thought I read that somewhere, but I could be mistaken.