Transfer case exploded

[jackndelphine]

After about a week of listening and trying to figure out where the grinding and popping noises were coming from on my truck I finally figured it out. My wife called me at about 930 this morning and while she was bringing the baby to the doctor she said that the truck was banging and grinding and stopping by itself and she was leaving it on the side of the road. Well I got home and put it up and the trailor and brought it home. I jacked the back wheels up and I had a friend watch as I put the truck in Drive and he says, hey are you gonna put it in drive? I said it is, so I hit the gas cause the back wheels werent spinning and I heard a loud BANG!! and the wheels were spinning just fine with no noise, so I put it in reverse and let off the brake and the thing Banged so loud the truck moved and my friend said, hey I found the problem, and there was fluid all over the driveway along with parts that looked like pieces of a clutch. So now for my question, what the heck happened!!! It looks like something blew a hole in the top of the transfer case. I am dropping it tomorrow but now I have to find another T Case. Does anyone know the going rate for a T Case for a 96 XLT 4.0, and has anyone ever heard of this happening before, any info would be appreciated, oh and great forum, this is my first post here.

Thanks in advance, Jack