[ew0001]

You are right... it is a New Venture 246. I got a little further on my problem. The sound was originating from the tailshaft area. I pulled the driveshaft and looked into the case through the rear seal and I noticed that all the ball bearings on the rear bearing are shifted to one side, or there are some missing. I also noticed what looked like a plastic retainer ring (maybe a bearing cage) loose around the output shaft. I noticed that there is a replacement driveshaft on the vehicle, so I wonder if the previous owner was out 4 wheeling one day, landed on a large rock, bent the driveshaft and broke the rear bearing cage. Does anyone have a picture of what the bearing should look like or how many ball bearings it should have? The noise was definitely the bearings smacking around against each other. I guess in 4wd, there is enough thrust load to keep them from crashing into each other. I also found out there is just plain ATF in the case, not the Autotrac fluid. I hope the clutches are ok. My plan is to take the transfer case out, change the bearing, put fresh fluid it in and hope for the best. The clutches seem to be ok. The 4wd works, and I don't plan on using it much. Thanks for the advice.
-Ed