Question with a NP231

Guys, I am doing a SYE kit in my 231 and have it all back together but notice that when the transfer case is in neutral both output shafts are still locked together but are neutral, (spin freely) to the input shaft. I don't know if this is normal or not. Its a pretty straight forward install and you can't really get anything in wrong. I just didn't bother to check this function before disassembly. I am rebuilding everything under the jeep from bumper to bumper except the engine and am on the home stretch and don't want to put the transfer case back in if neutral is not correct.
Thanks, Wes.

That is normal. That is why you shouldn't tow an XJ on a tow dolly without disconnecting the driveshaft.

Thanks Old Man, I thought it might be since the lever is in between 4 low and 4 hi when its in neutral.
Wes.

At some point in the model run this changed. Some time ago there was a fairly heated discussion on this, in which some contended that the two ends were locked in neutral, and others that they are not. It turned out both were right. I'm not sure just when the change occurred, but I have an 89 TC that definitely couples both ends in neutral, and, (since I checked it and had to eat a nice big dish of crow in that other thread,) I can say that my 95 just as definitely does not.