http://vimeo.com/26524296
This one was a warranty replacement with 40k miles on it. The original lasted nearly 100k miles before failing at the same spot. In my opinion, this sort of failure should be one in a million. Of course, chassis attachment points for subframes should last forever as well but we all know how those turn out.
It took us 4 hours to pull the truck into place on a sloped driveway, jack it up, pull/remove everything that was in the way, drop the transfer case, and open it up on the bench. We will probably replace the chain and all the bearings and seals while we are in there.
Picture of the front drive shaft and its failed spline
http://teamdfl.com/bmw/x5/transfercase/IMG_0322.JPG
X5 transfer case woes
I recently did a new chain/seals on the TC on my 3.0 manual (168k on the old chain, which was starting to sag). Some aftermarket shafts are an extra 1/2" or so longer to get a better connection and reduce the spline issue.
Good luck with the rebuild.
Good luck with the rebuild.
2002 X5 3.0M
1992 325i
2005 Volvo V50 T5 AWD
Past BMW's (gone but not forgotten):
1976 2002
1979 320i
1986 735i
1990 325iC
1996 Z3
1992 325i
2005 Volvo V50 T5 AWD
Past BMW's (gone but not forgotten):
1976 2002
1979 320i
1986 735i
1990 325iC
1996 Z3
Yep, we are going for the shaft with the longer splines. I've read about a theory that the AC drain line might drip onto the spline. We will relocate the drain a bit but the minor misting from that drain during a humid day is probably nothing compared to the salty road spray that gets into there on a wet winter day. I'm going to see if I can fab up a simple dust shield to keep a direct flow of water from splashing into the spline from the left front wheel. I'll also pack the socket with grease to keep the nasties out.
The front output shaft splines are still mostly there compared to the drive shaft splines. If the rebuild was a general cleanup, it would be easy to miss the fact that the splines were worn. Since New Process was traded around like an unwanted Bob Uecker baseball card (New Process, then New Venture, then Chrysler, then who knows what) I don't think BMW had access to the greatest quality rebuilds from the manufacturer. Combine Chrysler with Daimler in the mid 2000's and you get a recipe for craptastic rebuilds.
There were a bunch of issues with the warranty transfer case replacement labor as well. Several fasteners were loose, as in the fasteners backed out a 1/4" or more, including transmission to transfer case bolts and exhaust downpipe copper nuts. The difficult to reach transfer case to transmission bolts were loose, probably because they require a box end E-Torx wrench due to limited clearance and I bet the tech didn't bother looking for a tool. Also, the transfer case drain plug was very loose to the point of dripping. I have never had a drain plug loosen up across ~13 BMWs worth of diffs, transmissions, and oil pans. The dealership basically did a really crappy job. I'll spare them the public thrashing because one bad job from one tech is a data point, not a trend.
The front output shaft splines are still mostly there compared to the drive shaft splines. If the rebuild was a general cleanup, it would be easy to miss the fact that the splines were worn. Since New Process was traded around like an unwanted Bob Uecker baseball card (New Process, then New Venture, then Chrysler, then who knows what) I don't think BMW had access to the greatest quality rebuilds from the manufacturer. Combine Chrysler with Daimler in the mid 2000's and you get a recipe for craptastic rebuilds.
There were a bunch of issues with the warranty transfer case replacement labor as well. Several fasteners were loose, as in the fasteners backed out a 1/4" or more, including transmission to transfer case bolts and exhaust downpipe copper nuts. The difficult to reach transfer case to transmission bolts were loose, probably because they require a box end E-Torx wrench due to limited clearance and I bet the tech didn't bother looking for a tool. Also, the transfer case drain plug was very loose to the point of dripping. I have never had a drain plug loosen up across ~13 BMWs worth of diffs, transmissions, and oil pans. The dealership basically did a really crappy job. I'll spare them the public thrashing because one bad job from one tech is a data point, not a trend.
