Ok so I just got word from my shop that my transfer case is going bad. For the past few months I have noticed a clicking/rattling sound coming from underneath and I thought it was some sort of bearing or seal. I use the 4wd very rarely, so when this thing finally takes a sh1t is it going to leave me on the side of the road or will I be ok? Should I try to find a junkyard t-case or just invest in a new xj? Its a '92, auto trans, with 247k miles.......

A new junkyard t-case would be a lot cheaper then a new jeep. Depending on what blows in the t-case you can keep driving with it... in 2wd... for a short period of time. If its the chain that goes, you can pull the case apart, remove the chain and any broken parts, put the case back together, and run it as long as the main shaft running through the case to the rear driveshaft is in good shape. If its a bearing thats gone out then you can probably replace it but its almost not worth the effort since np231 t-cases are easy to find and cheap.

I don't think it's the chain that's going bad. I used the sh1t out of the 4wd in the snowstorms. It's more of a rhythmic clicking sound when I'm moving, so therefore I'm thinking bearing, but its just finding time to tear it apart to check.

If it was a bearing it would be more of a wine or squeel then a click. The chain can be slowly falling apart and yet still work. Does it make the noise in both 2wd and 4wd? What t-case do you have, np231 or np242?

I have a friend with an 88xj that had a clicking noise coming from his t-case, 4wd still worked really well, but as he was driving home to ohio his t-case suddently exploded. One of the links in the chain had started to give out weeks before the entire chain let loose. One of the outer connectors, on one link, had broken loose and was slapping the gears as it passed the gears creating the clicking sound. From that point we think the pin had started to back out of that one link until the force of driving was just to much for it and the pin finally severed into pieces. After that link gave out the chain spun around, slapped the bottom and top of the front driveshaft side of the t-case and broke it completely off.

your not going to beleive this but these 1 on craiglist right now!
baltimore/auto parts!!
hope its the 1 ya need!!

!!!

231s r like dirt, there every where!

holy sh1t! that means i should get on this pronto. gonna start looking around craigslist and check crazy rays soon. I'm not sure what I've got though. I climbed under there and from what I can see the numbers in the side of the t-case is C-11619 K and the tag attached to the t-case says model no. 242 J So I'm guessing np242??

Yeah you got a np242..... an easier way to check is if you got full time 4wd then you got a 242