Quote:
Originally Posted by Aidzer0
When I pull fuse #46 to get it to rwd or 2wd, the sound and vibrations are gone, to pull the front drive shaft I need to remove the t-case since its the electric t-case (xdrive) with the shorter drive shaft, I did read some information about removing the guibo then the shaft, but that was for the pre-facelift models, currently I couldn't do that until summer anyways due to -30 degree weather.
Good point on the vibration causing the axle to pop out! It entirely could have been, we have owned the car for 6 -7 months and the sound/vibration only started 3 days ago. I do believe the axle popped out before the sound started though, I dont daily drive it so I couldn't say for sure.
From what you said though, it may seem that it is the t-case, it's a good point that driving it in rwd mode and the sound stops, which it does, technically the axles are still spinning the diff and crown ring, just not the pinion and drive shaft, therefore the only non moving part would be the t-case, the front driveshaft and or diff pinion, right?
Without removing the t-case/drive shaft what would be a good way to diagnose further?
Thank you for your input!
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Ok, so it sounds like you drove it in 2wd mode after you pulled the fuse. Forgive my post-facelift/non M62 ignorance...and the fact that I should have read your original post more closely! I know post face-lift T-case's are different (limited slip?) and I think the front diff is different in some respect. I'm not sure if they are different internally, but I do see reference to "cast iron" front diffs on older E53 x5s.
I'd say that whatever stops rotating/operating (in the Tcase?) when you pull that fuse is a prime candidate to look at, and the splines too.
If it does look overwhelmingly like the driveshaft splines, I'd just cut your old driveshaft at the spline weld (Tcase side) and work it out. Then get the Everbuilt lengthened front driveshaft spline kit off of Amazon. Assuming the driveshaft and tcase side splines are identical to the pre-facelift models, I can tell you that you'll be able to get significantly more splines in the tcase without pulling it.
The Tcase end is quite deep, but the OEM spline and shaft design don't allow for the shaft to sink very deep into the Tcase for removal. The Everbuilt fix can be set where you want it and will go much deeper into the transfer case to allow for installation. The new splines are longer, as is the part that fits into the driveshaft, which allows you to cut the driveshaft back a bit further, giving you additional play to install it. The dinky dust cover may sit a bit further away from the tcase, but you can trial and error it before cutting too much, or find a different dust cover solution.
I was able to get an extra roughly .5" of splines into the case without removing it, and could have done more but the fit of the splines into the shaft was very tight and I gave up trying to work it back out after overshooting a bit. I had 20 years of splines not failing on the old shaft (although they were looking a bit rough in spots, so I figured an extra .5" on the new splines would way outlast the rest of the car at this point.
This is all assuming you luck out and it is the splines on the shaft. If your AC condensate line drips on your tcase/driveshaft I'd seriously suspect the splines.
Have you looked at the right axle? I wonder if it could be out of whack somehow enough to cause the vibrations and the left axle to pop out? A long shot but maybe worth a look.