PLS HELP 2001 3.0 Wont Move in D or R rolls in P
 

I know its been brought up before, I'v read thru all the threads but I am posting anyway. I need help, I need to get the car fixed, and my mechanic just wants to throw a new trans & transfer case and is confident that will fix the issue.

Here goes:

Car starts strong, but wont move in D or R and I hear that grinding noise when put back in P. Also rolls slightly in P before coming to a stop.

We put it on a lift yesterday, when in D or R the rear wheels spun when impacting the gas pedal (tho they don't appear to spin with much power), front wheels nothing.

The drive shaft from the transfer case to the front diff spins and you hear a rattling coming from the front diff & a grinding noise when coming from D or R to P.

Today we swapped out the front diff, same result, but you could feel the car trying to move a little better than yesterday.


There were a few lights on the dash ( abs, traction control, maybe another) prior to swapping the front diff, I am not sure if he cleared them but they were all gone when we finished the diff and tried driving the car.

I brought up the front CV issue and how they have to be very tightly installed and he said "come on man I know what I'm doing, etc"

My gut tells me the transmission doesn't need to be replaced. It is not leaking fluid and when in R the drive shaft spins in the proper direction and the rear wheels do as well, just seemingly lower power, When in D, the shaft spins in the proper direction, rear wheels move, front do not.

Do I need to open up the transfercase and take a look at the chain or the actuator gear? Could the front axel assembly be worn out and need to be replaced?

Replace the front drive shaft from the transfer case to front diff. Keep trying to test the car with all that grinding going on and you will need to replace the transfer case. When you replaced the front diff didn't you bother to inspect the drive shaft splines?

Yes worn or stripped splines on the front driveshaft are a problem area for the E53 and could explain most of your symptoms.. Please search on the issue.

Here is quick video on it..Threads in this forum are likely more informative

https://youtu.be/CT8gtGjJdAE

driveshaft splines or transfer case chain snap.

The front driveshaft spline issue is at the TC so when it happens the front drive shaft doesn't spin.

The symptom describe a loose CV axle or perhaps a blown CV joint (depends where the turning stops).

If the front drive shaft (propeller) is turning it means the TC is working and also means that power is being applied to the diff. the front side is bolted unlike the back side which is just spline poked into the TC.

Replaced doesn't mean fixed. If the CV axles are locked in, the symptoms described a defective dif.

Odds are far better a CV axle is not fully installed or the splines in/out of the dif are worn .

Put the car in N and allow all motion to stop before P. The grinding is the parking prawl. But you should not need to use the engine power to resolve.

If one of the CV not engaged, you'll likely be able to turn that wheel by hand. When you try to power from the engine side if either side slips neither side moves. It should be a little easier to turn the side that's not engaged as well as the pop from the spline slip should be much easier to feel on the CV axle that's slipping.

About once a year these symptoms come up on xoutpost. It has almost always come out to be spline engagement out of front dif. One time was a blown dif.

Worth car in park attempt to turn one of the floating front wheels.

When working properly the other wheel will turn the opposite way. The front drive shaft from TC shouldn't turn.

Pre 04 the TC doesn't disengage the front axle but I can't remember if it's locked with the parking prawl but I do know that anytime I've turned a front wheel by hand the opposite wheel turns the opposite way so that's the test to perform.

If you don't get that result the problem is at the dif.

If you read his post, he already replaced the diff with the same results.

Did you just buy the X or has this issue (loud grinding sound) been going on for awhile?

Hence my use of the phrase "replaced doesn't mean fixed". The symptom is of dif or.cv spline problem. (front drive shaft spins in gear).

The question is: does the front drive shaft STOP spinning when the clink/pop happens.

Since most people will not replace the Diff with a brand new diff since it is too costly for the current crop of X5 owners, they will buy a used diff to replace it. What are the odds of buying a used diff with exactly the same problem as the original diff? Maybe he is better off playing the lottery with that type of odds.

OP had the car on a lift or jackstands and tested the powertrain. The wheels spin when place in drive and reverse. What this test doesn't do is test the powertrain components under load ie with the weight of the car on the powertrain.

Stripped front drive shaft splines are a common problem with these cars. He already stated that he can heard grinding sounds. Now he can waste more time and money chasing other solution but I would look at the common known failure problem before wasting time and money on other "Questionable Problems".

You have an early X5 that doesn't have an actuator for the TC so no need to go there.

Did you buy the car like this? So many new owners are buying broken BMW's because they are cheap and hoping that they can get it fix for cheap.