I have an oil leak in the front diff, and output shaft play in the NP246 transfer case. When drive selector is in Auto 4WD there is a high pitched grinding sound not present when in 2 HI. It appears a replacement case is just over $1000 and a master rebuild kit about $250. Adding in labor it's probably cheaper to replace entire unit. However I can make it w/o 4WD, but the oil leak in the front is of immediate concern. My auto tech friend informed me that it is a very involved job to replace this simple oil seal. I believe he said it was the inner left stub shaft seal. Any thoughts?

 

i would look for a wrecked truck with that case in it,or place an add like on craigslist or something like that ...that seal is indeed a pain in the a**




red

 

I replaced the lubricant with AutoTrac II, and the "locking" issue is resolved. The only issue left is a noise when Auto 4WD mode is engaged. This noise does not exist in the 2 Hi mode.