Has anyone removed the front axles to be rwd?

[Sundayjumper]

Originally Posted by JCL

avt007: No, you can't do that, as you have a pre-facelift model.

If you really wanted to go 2WD I'm sure you could somehow weld up the planetary gear in the transfer box so you still get drive to the rear.

[SlickGT1]

Originally Posted by JCL

Slick: Yes, you can do that since you have an x-drive (post 2004) version

avt007: No, you can't do that, as you have a pre-facelift model.

Ahhh, yes, I keep forgetting to check others years.

[Gurjit]

How to get rid of your X - Bimmerforums - The Ultimate BMW Forum

[avt007]

Ok I think I understand. I had the shaft out when I rebuilt my transmission, and since we don't need awd, I wondered what would happen if I left it out.

[Robert Platt Bell]

I thought about this as well, as the AWD seems to suck gas and the CV boots tend to tear in the front.

However, an entirely new axle assembly (both CV joints, shafts, etc) is about $75 a side, so I just went and overhauled the front end and was done with it. With new struts, control arms, ball joints, tie rods, sway bar links, etc., it came to about $600 in parts. It is a lot of hard work, though.

But could a RWD conversion be done? Sure, and it would not be that hard.

ABS: The ABS (ASC) wheel speed sensors are indeed mounted on the spindle assembly. HOWEVER, the outer part of the outer CV joint has to be present for the sensor to count wheel rotations. A simple fix would be to cut off the outer part of that joint after removing the axle, and then bolt it into the bearing hub (using the original axle nut).

BEARINGS: Someone mentioned the bearings "wouldn't be happy" without the axle shafts in them. I am not sure how to parse this, but I presume they are implying that the inner race, without the axle shaft in place, would somehow be stressed. I doubt this is the case, but in any event, the ABS solution note above would solve this potential problem.

TRANSFER CASE: on the older models, the transfer case is New Process Gear case (yes, the former division of Chrysler. Act shocked. Guess who made your struts? Delphi - formerly of GM. There is a lot of American content in this car). The easiest thing to do is simply remove the transfer case, and front prop shaft. Have the drive shaft lengthened a few inches (and rebalanced, any shaft shop can do this) and you are back in business. There are no electrical connectors to the transfer case (that I can see, anyway) on these older models. So it should not set off any CE lights or whatever.

That's about it. The car would be a hundred pounds lighter (at least) with the removal of the transfer case, front prop shaft, axle half shafts, etc. Removing the front differential would be a bear, as you have to jack up the engine to get it out from under the oil pan (which is molded around it).

One problem might be that the front end might ride higher, as a result of this weight loss.

But it should provide marginally better gas mileage, due to the reduced weight and particularly due to the reduced driveline friction. AWD is nice and all, but you do pay a penalty in terms of weight, resistance, repairs, and initial cost.

But all that being said, at $75 for an axle (the boot kit alone is $35, so why not just replace the whole axle? It's easier) I decided to keep my old 2002 as an AWD model.

Besides, at this point, I have the axle-swapping procedure down to a 45-minute job.

They literally just pry out of the differential. Getting the new ones back in is another story, particularly if the C-clip is not sized properly.... Don't force it!

[4.8isX5]

@SlickGT1 - How do you disable the actuator, i know i have read somewhere with the xdrive ones its simple like a fuse or something but i cant find the page.. Also does dsc still work or is it disabled at this point?

Its not worth making our X rwd, as awd gives it a totally different take on handling etc, but sure probably is fun to try... If it is a fuse, you could probably wire up a switch... So enable/disable full rwd on the fly would be pretty nice.

[Robert Platt Bell]

Originally Posted by 4.8isX5

@SlickGT1 - How do you disable the actuator, i know i have read somewhere with the xdrive ones its simple like a fuse or something but i cant find the page.. Also does dsc still work or is it disabled at this point?

Its not worth making our X rwd, as awd gives it a totally different take on handling etc, but sure probably is fun to try... If it is a fuse, you could probably wire up a switch... So enable/disable full rwd on the fly would be pretty nice.

My comments were directed toward the earlier models which have a New Process Gear case, which is strictly mechanical.

That case sent 30% of torque to the front wheels. The Xdrive cases in later models could send far more torque to the front wheels and I believe had electrical controls. I have never dealt with one.

Some folks claim the output gear splines on these cases can strip out. I have never had the problem, but then again, I have the older New Process case, and the torque is a lot less, and I don't horse it around.

The older X5's had a pretty conventional AWD setup, and could be more readily converted to rear wheel drive.

I read a posting from someone overseas who claims they took the input gear out of the case after removing the case. He used this as an adapter between the transmission and the drive shaft, so no shaft lengthening was necessary. He claimed, anyway...

But like I said, at $75 a side, I can keep this car in CV joints until the cows come home...

It was just easier to leave it stock, for the remaining 50,000 odd miles I plan on keeping this car....

[SlickGT1]

Originally Posted by 4.8isX5

@SlickGT1 - How do you disable the actuator, i know i have read somewhere with the xdrive ones its simple like a fuse or something but i cant find the page.. Also does dsc still work or is it disabled at this point?

Its not worth making our X rwd, as awd gives it a totally different take on handling etc, but sure probably is fun to try... If it is a fuse, you could probably wire up a switch... So enable/disable full rwd on the fly would be pretty nice.

Get under the car, and unplug the harness from the actuator. You can access it fairly easy, nothing to remove. You can probably wire in a switch to the wires too.

[4.8isX5]

@ slickgt1 i already tried it and its pretty badass lol, i just took out fuse 46 7.5a one.

With the harness method as you describe, will abs and dsc still be active? The fuse method makes them disabled so that kinda sucks lol.

Was pretty nice to peel out in the x though haha.

[SlickGT1]

Originally Posted by 4.8isX5

@ slickgt1 i already tried it and its pretty badass lol, i just took out fuse 46 7.5a one.

With the harness method as you describe, will abs and dsc still be active? The fuse method makes them disabled so that kinda sucks lol.

Was pretty nice to peel out in the x though haha.

Yea I don't remember anymore exactly, but I think it did disable everything as well when the harness gets pulled. I remember the trio of lights, so I think the harness does the same.