sheepdog

My jeep has a np231 transfer case and manuel transmission, and is a 1993. When in 2wd, drives fine, no issues whatsoever. In 4hi AND 4lo, to me it sounds like the chain is skipping teeth on a sprocket or something, it started out only doing it under a load, ie, climbing a steep muddy trail in 4lo and giving it some throttle to keep it going, it would sound like it skipped a tooth a few times, like a loud catching sound. After that day, I didn't use my 4wd, and went on a 600 mile trip. Went to use the 4wd again to show my dad what it was doing, and it was making the tooth skipping sound like crazy, even at nearly an idle, like a sprocket was stripped or something. It got way worse when I was on a long trip not using the 4wd. I want to have a vague idea of what Im getting into before I pull my transfer case apart, so I know if it would be better to try to rebuild, go to the junkyard and get one there, pull the one off of our 89 cherokee with an automatic and 289,000 miles, if it would bolt up, or just buy a used remanufactured transfer case for 400-600 bucks. Anyone who has an idea of what problem this is, and where it rates on the pain in the a$$ scale, I would greatly appreciate your input and any suggestions. thanks

OleBlue

Transfer cases are very simple inside. There isnt a lot of parts to them really. My guess is your chain is stretched, and that long trip made it worse, thats why it is slipping so much now. Or the teeth on the shaft are screwed.

Pull it out of the jeep and put it on the bench, pull it apart and take a look. The hardest thing about these tcases is reconnecting the oil pickup tube, and its not hard with the case on the bench.

Your tcase from the older jeep would work, but you would have to open them both up and swap the input shafts as they are a different spline. Also you would need to use your tailcone and speed sensor.

Get a pair of snap ring pliers and check it out. Look up SYE installs on youtube and you will see just how simple the tcase is.

sheepdog

Alright, thats kinda what I figured. Jus gotta get around to doin it. Thought I was done with my tools and hanes manuel for a while...just replaced hubs, brake pads, front axleshaft u joints, rebuilt my front driveshaft cv joint and u joints while I was at it, my thermostat, water pump, alternator, and valve cover gasket. why not throw transfercase problems in there to. arg lol