Manual transmission not transmitting!

[Ricky Bobby]

You sure can. Pop the shaft out I guarantee it's stripped. If so, rebuilt case and new driveshaft is in order

[lo_jack]

Well that is what I will do this weekend.

Interestingly, when I put it in gear (any gear) and let off the clutch with the engine running...nothing happens. Engine keeps going. No load to stop it. At all.

You would think some of the wheels might try to turn. That's why it seemed like clutch failure syndrome. And yet, the growling it makes seems more indicative of mechanical failure than pressure plate/clutch not holding.

[cn90]

You probably have a 2001-2003 model.
Look into FRONT drive shaft and transfer case issues etc.

[lo_jack]

Originally Posted by cn90

You probably have a 2001-2003 model.
Look into FRONT drive shaft and transfer case issues etc.

I believe my build date is 6/2000. I'll pull the front shaft tomorrow night.

[Ricky Bobby]

It's def the front shaft stripped in the case. That's why you put it in gear and the wheels don't move at all

[lo_jack]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

It's def the front shaft stripped in the case. That's why you put it in gear and the wheels don't move at all

Looks like you just unbolt one side and slide the now toothless shaft out of the case, no? Should be simple.

[Ricky Bobby]

From what I have read, although I have not done the job myself, it should be fairly straightforward to drop it.

Here is a good thread to show how to get the shaft out and the case, note that in this thread his shaft did not strip yet, but he was doing the chain preventatively.

When you install your new driveshaft/input shaft, note that you'll want to grease up/anti-seize all the splines REALLY GOOD, what happens is they get dry over time and tend to rust out, which is what leads to the shaft stripping (and the combination of it being too short from the factory):

Here is a good picture of the revised design shaft (longer splines), as well, if you're in there, I would probably replace the Flex discs and center support bearings for good practice.





http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...-pictures.html

[lo_jack]

I just read through Dville's thread. Awesome; thanks for linking.

You would think you could just get a new gear cluster/input for this rig and pop that in with a new chain and a new DS, but it looks like you might be economically better off just getting a whole new tcase and shaft. The dang gear set is like $300, chain $100, shaft $400-600.

For something with a known failure mode, that's annoying.

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by lo_jack

I just read through Dville's thread. Awesome; thanks for linking.

You would think you could just get a new gear cluster/input for this rig and pop that in with a new chain and a new DS, but it looks like you might be economically better off just getting a whole new tcase and shaft. The dang gear set is like $300, chain $100, shaft $400-600.

For something with a known failure mode, that's annoying.

Considering its one of the parts on the vehicle that takes the most amount of abuse constantly for almost 14 years and 150k+ miles, I'm actually impressed with the longevity.

If it was failing at 70k I'd have an issue, and if there weren't updated parts to fix the problem I'd have an issue. If you can DIY or have a competent indy, you should be able to fix and get back on the road for under 2 grand. My miles are still low (76k), but I am planning on doing this repair preventatively, probably around 120k or so, to rebuild the case and put an updated driveshaft on it, so that it doesn't leave me stranded. Good luck with the repair, be sure to post pics and updates on the process to help others out (as you can see there is another member who posted up today with his stripped out as well).

[lo_jack]

If I had my way, I think I would replace this NV125 with an NP203.
The only problem is the 203 weighs 170lbs.

Oh well. So much for gear reduction X5 4WD.