Vibration issue
 

Hey everyone, hoping you guys can help me out here. Just got this e53 x5 4.8is and have some issues. The current one is a vibration I'm getting from under the front end under acceleration. The harder I push the pedal, the worse the vibration gets. Goes away at idle or when just cruising. Also happens regardless of what gear it's in.The weird part is that at times the car will go into trans failsafe program and the vibration goes completely away. I ordered the transfer case actuator gear already since I've been getting all the lights going on periodically as well. Would that cause a vibration like this though? Or do I need to look into CV axles or something? Not sure where to start considering that the vibration completely goes away when it falls into trans failsafe mode.

Guibo or control arm my bet. Do you get any shake with gentle braking from say 60 mph to 50? If the shake goes away with trans failsafe I'm betting the front axle is cut off.

A worn CV can cause a shake like described.

No shaking while braking. Picked up both front cv's today. Will put them in tomorrow along with the transfer case actuator gear and see where I end up. I'll report back.

Good luck with getting left one out of the dif that's the hardest part of the job.

Keep the wheel hubs (knuckle) loose from the strut until you get the axle through the hub. That tip would have saved me 90 minutes. (I tried to get the axle through the hub far enough for the axle nut and no go for 90 minutes ; I loosened the two bolts that hold the knuckle to the strut and it shot through from the compression of the CV boot all on its own)

Thanks for the tip. I'll keep that in mind.

Got both front axles replaced. Looks like the vibration was being caused by water getting into the right front outer boot. All taken care of now.