Catastophic Drivetrain Failure

[srmmmm]

Did your new drive shaft look any longer than the original?

2002 X5 3.0 263,500 miles
2004 325i 116,000 miles

[Ricky Bobby]

subscribed as well, would like to know if new BMW driveshaft is updated longer design now.

[srmmmm]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

subscribed as well, would like to know if new BMW driveshaft is updated longer design now.

Nothing quite like shared nervousness, is there RB?

I'm going to try and compare my original to my replacement this weekend. I hope I find an extra half inch or so on the tube length.

[X5Flyboy]

just got mine back - "exch. auxillary transmssion" $2472 plus the $900 front drive shaft plus $540 labor (I did get a $300 disc from these prices)

Anyone remember Johnny Cash "One piece at a Time"?

Almost 14 yrs old and it still looks showroom new. After all my mods and upkeep (since buying it in June '05), there is no way I'm parting with mine.

[Ricky Bobby]

^^^yes srmmm, just wondering if same part went in or not. I know the longer stub is sold by A few places, usually it's welded on existing driveshaft though. Still the stub is probably 400 bucks in itself.

[Ricky Bobby]

Looks like it should almost be a 100k preventative maintenance item on the pre facelift with the NV125 transfer case.





100 bucks plus labor and a good TIG welding job plus maybe some transfer case internals. Could be all done prior to failure for less than 1200 bucks I imagine.

[zonefive]

Originally Posted by srmmmm

Did your new drive shaft look any longer than the original?

2002 X5 3.0 263,500 miles
2004 325i 116,000 miles

I am picking up the car this morning and I will ask the shop if the driveshaft I got had been changed by BMW. I wasn't aware that there had been a design change by BMW -- hopefully I have received the new "updated" part.

I believe the shop purchases directly from the dealer in El Cajon so there's no question this is a genuine BMW part.

Anyone see anything from the "breaks all the time" club that isn't on my list? (other than transmission).

[Ricky Bobby]

Nope you're pretty well covered. As long as you have fresh clips on your regulators (they were updated sometime in E53 production), have replaced the CCV once (cold weather insulated version if possible), OFHG and VCG (because of age), and the occasional door carrier, anything else is basically maintenance.

[srmmmm]

Originally Posted by X5Flyboy

just got mine back - "exch. auxillary transmssion" $2472 plus the $900 front drive shaft plus $540 labor (I did get a $300 disc from these prices)

Anyone remember Johnny Cash "One piece at a Time"?

Almost 14 yrs old and it still looks showroom new. After all my mods and upkeep (since buying it in June '05), there is no way I'm parting with mine.

Good job on the price! Mine was $1900 on the used TC, $900 on the shaft (pun intended), and $1400 on the labor - but that included freshening up the TC with new seals and oil. I wasn't getting the VIP discount card yet back then, but sure would have appreciated that extra 15% knocked off.

2002 X5 3.0 263,600 miles
2004 325i 116,000 miles

[cn90]

I think this is an issue for early models (2001-2003) only.
The 2004-2006 transfer case-front shaft design is different.

Please correct me if I am wrong...