Chevrolet Repair: grinding in 2 wheel drive, output shaft, snap ring

Question
I pulled my boat the other day and when I was done I had a gear grinding noise under load.When I drive My 1996 tahoe in 4 wheel drive I don't get the grinding.I checked the drive line and seems to be OK.I did notice some oil on the rear end but didn't have any trace of oil on the drive way were I park it.Could it be a bad rear end?

Answer
Hi Amy, This is a broken snap ring in the transfer case and can be repaired without removing the transfer case from the truck. The snap ring holds the output shaft in the rear of the transfer case. When this snap ring breaks it causes the shaft to move and loose gear contact making the grinding noise. This shouldn't cost much to repair as long as the guy doing the job knows whats he is doing.

Have a Great Day                     Mark