So, as my dad pointed out, my new Dakota likely has a bad transfercase, and that's why the front driveshaft was removed. I'm not completely sure this is the case, but I'm betting it is. I'm fairly sure it's the NP231D transfercase and I was wondering, is the NP231J interchangeable or is there something that may need to be custom fitted or just swapped out? I'm heading to my local junkyard soon to dissect a 1st gen 4x4 Dakota (assuming I find one) because I'll also need a front driveshaft, and a few other small parts.

Any help is greatly appreciated