Potential towing mishap

[Black-Forest]

Need some insight on what could potentially happen to the driveline by towing a 06' X5 4.8is 30-40 feet with the front wheels on the ground. Anyone been down this road?

[andrewwynn]

If there aren't any broken parts it won't be a problem.

I'm not sure if front drive shaft is disconnected when not running but it won't matter. It will turn the dif and front drive shaft.

If the drive shaft is engaged it'll turn the transfer case output and make TC Turn. With engine not running there will not be a connection thru the transmission so It stops there.

[upallnight]

Originally Posted by Black-Forest

Need some insight on what could potentially happen to the driveline by towing a 06' X5 4.8is 30-40 feet with the front wheels on the ground. Anyone been down this road?

Depends.

Was the transmission in Park or Neutral?

If it was in park you might have damaged the park pawl in the trans.

If it was in neutral, probably no damage occurred.

[Zulu95]

If this is asking before hand then be aware that good tow companies are equipped for the problem. We had to have the '13 towed out of our garage when the CAS got bricked. Tow driver inserted wheeled wedges under the rear of the wheels and towed the beast out with his winch. The wheels moved up onto the wedges and prevented any breakages in the drivetrain.

[Black-Forest]

Thanks for the insight guys! I guess the issue I'm experiencing is after dealing with the loose power connection at the rear junction box I took her out for a drive and had some vibration for about a mile or so. This was followed by a what I could describe best as a bearing noise thats present at very low speeds or when I get on it. Noise is more prevalent when she's cold and abruptly ends so its not linear. Noise is consistent going in a straight line or turning a corner. I can feel it a bit in the floor and coming from the right side (I hear it more in the right ear than left). The X was in neutral while being moved by the tow operator. I have experience with wheel bearing noise and how to pinpoint what side etc. I just have never heard such a noise as Im getting now.. I know BMW states the allowable distance to move a X with 2 wheels down is 0. I guess my main objective is to try to narrow down what could be causing this what I classify as a bearing noise. Thanks again for posting and look forward to further insight.

[andrewwynn]

Audio recording of the sound would be helpful. If you hear but don't feel it, there's is a chance it's just rust that got between rotor and dirt guard. That happened to me.

[Black-Forest]

I could try to post some audio but admittedly I'm not very computer savvy.. I will check the backing plate - good tip. I do actually feel it in the floorboards and as things warm up noise happens as I roll on the throttle again at lower speeds. Sure sounds like a bearing. I checked the transfer case fluid as well. Fluid was surprisingly clean and no metal shavings.

[ahlem]

Sounds similar to the issues when the flex disk/guibo goes bad on e30 models.
I have one on the 2001 x5 3.0. Can you inspect yours to be sure it didn't get torn up?

[Black-Forest]

I could definitely check it.

[andrewwynn]

Guibo or the front drive shaft center bearing can be a shake like described


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