I pulled the whole transfer case as it also had a leaking seal. That gets a little involved, but was probably 4 hours work my first time.

There are threads here where people describe what I mentioned. The TC is held to the rear of the transmission by 6-8 etorx bolts. You can reach them all with a little creativity. I am not sure if people doing this remove the cross member that supports the rear of the Transmission and XC.

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David.X5
2001 X5 4.4i Sport
SOLD! at 160k miles