Transfer case removal pictures...

[dville]

I made some pretty good progress tonite:

Tight spaces when I am working at night with the garage door closed.


Borrowed a deep 36mm socket from a friend.


Got off the nut from the flange, then used a 3 jaw puller to get the flange off


Case is still together very tight, so I got out my favorite Harbor Freight tool, the gear puller set:


The rod threads fit perfectly into the threads in the case


Finally, after being ever so gentle with it, I heard a slight pop sound....




Some kind of device to prevent the chain from hitting the case/prevent falling off?


Transfer case details


Planetary gears transmission input


This is how loose the chain was




Needle bearings in the cover over the back of the front output shaft


Needle bearings in the cover for the trans/rear shaft


Chain was making contact with the pad


Took the planetary gears off




The spacer and needle bearings in the top left corner of this next pic came out while I slid the bigger gear off the shaft.




Had to remove the pad to get the chain off the smaller gear


Chain comparison:
New (lighter colored)chain is so tight it doesn't bend as much as the old (darker)one






Transmission input shaft taken out to put on new chain


New chain is so tight, the big gear is hard to go back in (without removing the smaller one)


Since I want to remove as little as possible, I 'help' it a little


In and nice and tight


Planetary back on.


Need some sealant like what was on there before, some grey stuff....this maybe?




DAMMMMmmmmm, the sealant is dried up, so close yet so far....anyway, I feel good about getting into the case and getting the chain on.
I was so anxious to get the case back together I started getting Krazy!!@#$


OK, just kidding....I will call it a night for now.

P.S.
I found out from RealOEM.com Online BMW Parts Catalog that I can buy the exhaust stud as a dealer part ($2.50 from PelicanParts.com), so I will use a socket and a C clamp to try and get the broken one out.

(They also have all the shaft seals for the transfer case, just in case...)

[Dannyell]

Great work...I am replacing the transfer case myself on an ML 430

[X_5]

Dville how many miles do you have on your X5?

[jst2878]

what were the symptoms leading to your belief in changing the transfer belt

[dville]

Originally Posted by X_5

Dville how many miles do you have on your X5?

111,000 miles. Former certified pre-owned.

[dville]

Originally Posted by jst2878

what were the symptoms leading to your belief in changing the transfer belt

From a standing start, floor the pedal, and you would hear a cracking noise from drivetrain. Sounded like either driveshaft splines were slipping or similar. I verified the shaft was not slipping, so the only "slippable" part left was transfer case. When i found out a chain was inside, that seemed to be the culprit.
From a standing start, take off gently, and you won't notice any problem.

More weight in car, or uphill, it will happen easier.

[dville]

Got the right stuff...






I even followed the instructions on the sealer to squish out wet sealer, then wait one hour to tighten.


Hammered on the rear output flange


Gasket sealer looks like the factory grey stuff now.


Greased up the front splines


Trying to get the broken stud out


Tightening the output flange....with my $69 impact wrench


Moving the air conditioner condensate drain line from above the front driveshaft










Transfer case is installed back unto transmission, back to the broken stud...forget the clamp, a hammer and socket extension worked best.


Out, you cursed bolt...

[Icer006]

Nice. If you weren't taking pictures, I'm sure the job would have been a lot quicker.

[X5Bill]

Dude you are my hero!
Excellent write up and pictures, I can't wait to see the finish!

[Icer006]

You don't "see" the finish. This isn't a bling "mod."