I have a squeak. It is quite faint and almost sounds more rubbery than metallic, but I could be wrong. It occurs when my XJ is rolling very slowly. It happens when it is running and in gear, not running and in neutral, and any combination in between. It happens in 2wd, 4wd, and xfer case neutral.
Just rotating my front driveshaft back and forth by hand in the tiny amount of rotational play that it has when parked can produce the noise. As far as my ears and stethoscoping can tell, it is NOT my front driveshaft U-joints or centering ball but is actually coming from inside my NP231 by the front driveshaft yoke.

After the XJ sits and cools off for awhile, I can no longer reproduce the squeak, but a short drive (a few blocks) later, the squeak will be back.

Video attached.

A tranny fluid leak from my transmissions output seal was fixed not too long ago by a local shop, but I have a tranny fluid leak coming from between my trans and xfer case again. This xfer case has maybe a few thousand miles on it since being rebuilt.

Trans fluid level is good in both trans and xfer case.

Video link:

 

Has the seal been done transmission side?

 

Yes, the transmission's output seal is what was done recently. Regarding the fluid leak between trans and xfer case, that's just going back to the guys to did the seal replacement in the event they f'd something up or the seal they used failed prematurely. I'm interested in this mystery squeak from the front output of the xfer case. There is no leaking from the front output of the xfer case.

 

Well either the trans seal is shot or the input shaft seal is shot.

There are two that need to be changed. Its the only place is can leak.

 

Please take the time to re-read my post. You'll see that the leak and the squeak are two separate issues, that I'm aware they are two separate issues, that I only mention the leak because it my be related to the squeak (and so that people don't see the drops of fluid and think they're from the front output area), and that I am only interested in advice relating to the front output area of the transfer case. I'm interested in neither the transmission output nor the transfer case input. Reading comprehension, please. By responding the way you have, I fear you've given others the wrong idea and may have even derailed my request for assistance.

 

sounds like the output shaft seal on the transfer case.

 

Try spraying some lube up where the seal is. Like a good penetrant.

 

To be clear: this is a diagnostic suggestion, right? Not a fix? Regardless, I should have thought of this for the purposes of diagnosing, but I guess I was too agitated. Thanks, Cruiser. I mean, I can't wrap my head around how this noise could be anything except that seal, but since I can't explain how/why it is happening exactly, I'm not about to start gambling.

When I installed my sye this year, I used this case which was a rebuilt case that I had on hand (since this xjs original case was very used and had an unknown history).... But I had gotten it a few years ago and had been letting it sit dry in my garage. I'll own that as a stupid mistake. We couldn't see anything wrong with it, but maybe this is at least karma if not a direct result of that negligence.

 

It sounds to me like the seal is dry because of no t/case fluid. Have you checked the level?

 

Years ago at the AMC/Jeep/Renault dealer I worked at, we had an old guy who lived a mile or so from the dealership. His 79 AMC Concord would make a squealing noise for the first mile or so of driving. we couldn't figure it out. we tried all sorts of things to find it. One of the techs decided to spray the output seal of the trans at the slip yoke and the sound was gone forever.......

 

Weird story, cruiser. Hopefully I'm that lucky.

Previous poster, yes, fluid le velsin both trans and xfer case are fine. I checked them both to make sure that leak hadn't emptied either one out.