Help with T-Case questions Please!

So I've been having vibes in my front end this last week, progressively getting worse...on the highway, headed to the shop to change my front brake rotors to see if that will fix it (they're pretty grooved and need to be changed before too long anyway) and my speed is around 70 mph and the vibes are really bad.....then I hear a pop and the vibes disappear. Wierd. I get to my exit, slow to a stop. Start driving again when light turns green and I hear a horrible racket. Pull over, look underneath. Liquid draining from bottom of transfer case. Upon closer inspection, the entire left (drivers side) of the transfer case (the part where the front driveline comes in) has cracked loose. We limped it in to the shop, racked it, removed 2 bolts, the chain inside the t-case, and then the front driveshaft. Covered the hole, for now, with foil tape. I now have a 2WD Jeep Cherokee and half a t-case. Fun! I have 3 questions. First, anyone have any idea what could have caused this? A friend of mine, a mechanic, said ofte the chain can loosen, stretch a bit, then break, breaking the case. When I took the thing apart, the chain was intact and looked fine. We had to remove the link to get it out. 2nd, is this going to hurt anything in the open t-case? Obviously there's no lubricant inside now...but can I still drive it, just to work, until I can get another NP 231? And finally, what does a used NP 231 cost most places?
Thanks!
DF7

You haven't been driving it in 4wd on dry hardpack surfaces have you? I won't say that you can't drive the NP231 with no chain, lube or front output but I think it's a less-than-good idea. Of course, it's not going to hurt your t-case at this point since that's already beyond feeling any pain...

I haven't even had the rig in 4wd in several weeks....and DEFINATELY never spent any extended time running in 4wd, lo or hi, on asphalt, concrete, or anything hard packed. Is itt possible for something to maybe not fully disengage when going from 4wd->2wd? My light on the dash never warned I was in 4wd on the road, and it works. Any other ideas? Could something in the front have gone bad? I got another NP231 last nite, it's going on tomorrow nite...I don't want to destroy it. Anything I need to do to it? Is there a rebuild kit that I should use just in case?
Thanks!
DF7

darkfire07 said:

Any other ideas?

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Did you check the trunnion lock bolt on the selector rod? If it is lose you might not be engaging/disengaging the t-case completely even when your shift level is seated properly.