Just had my 231 tailshaft conversion at a place locally, and there seems to be about 1/4" play in and out of the rear yoke of the 231.

this normal? wasn't there on the slip when I brought it in...seems odd.

Some of them do depending on the yoke(manufacturer)

the thing is that it's a homebrew by the local shop, and these conversions that are in rigs I know of are very worthy and have been in for like 3 years.

I am gonna ask 'em about it tomorrow, but I don't know what to expect.They are great guys and should give me a straight answer, but It just seems strange that it slides 1/4", and the front is fixed, as it should be...?

Aw shit. Sorry I read that wrong. I was thinking a little(not 1/4") bit of radial play(up and down) not in and out. I havent seen a conversion that moved like that. Shouldnt be that much play. Like you said I would go talk to them and see what they say.

Now the guy is saying to crank down on the yoke bolt on it after it's installed in the jeep. Saying it will pull in the yoke and make it seat right. It seems that the whole assembly moves in and out 1/4" though.

what gives here?

It sounds like the retaining ring behind the rear bearing was left out. The main shaft is held in place by the rear bearing, and the retaining ring. if the ring is left out, the shaft could move front to back. You may experience snapping or jerking out of the transfer case in high range, because if the main shaft moves back too far, the synchro will disengage and slip.

This is easy to check out. Pull the yoke off, and the bearing retainer housing. There should be snap ring around the main shaft, at the bearing.
If it is not there, I would suggest investing in a new slip yoke eliminator kit, such as an Atlas:D :p
R2

Many thanks, actually the bolt that holds the yoke in, snagged a bit on a thread and they assumed it was tight. I pulled it apart to discover that this was not the case.

threadlocked and tightened er up again, now there's no play.

My thanks to the board...