Transfer case 1998

Hi again

My apologies for all the questions, but I am kind of new to this (as in never had a car with this many problems before...)

A while ago the transfer case of my 1998 automatic transmission started slipping. If I ease up on the gas I can fully avoid it slipping, but with more than 2 people in the car it is not that great...

I already asked the garage to look for a new t-case, but I am a bit afraid it will be (again) costly. What they tell me is that these parts are hard to come by, thus expensive. Now the question is, is there the possibility of getting a new chain (I could only find one for the pushbutton t-case)? Or is it possible to fit a newer electric t-case? Even the gear sets to refurbish the t-case/lower the gear ratio that I found do not seem to have the chain, which seems a bit weird to me (having had road bikes for years, where you always change chains and gears at the same time).

When I apply torque I hear a series of loud "bangs" and I can feel the car stutter. This also happens when going uphill.

yep thats transfer box chain going. often described as a machine gun noise.

You should be able to get a used transfer box, though the automatic ones are less common. Try James Priestly (member j999pre on here), or CAM suzuki (ebay usually).

Failing that a new chain will be much cheaper than a new transfer box, though it may have other damage inside your box from the existing chain slipping.

SJ boxes are gear driven, but all Jimnys are chain as far as i know. This is why the SJ boxes are always considered stronger, or so I am lead to believe

Perfectly amenable to be corrected on this however!