Yes I did disassembled it and saw the gear, but sorry I din not take pictures, I have the old one I could do it again with pics

If it will take you more than 5 minutes then don't bother. There's only a faint hope that I'll be able to repair it that way.

Yep, I changed the entire unit, I bought it for about $800, it's the best thing to do.

WHAT IS GT1? AND WHAT DOES IT DO..

NEILRMP...COUPLE OF QUESTIONS FOR YOU: TURNS OUT THAT SOMEONE CHANGED MY FLUID AND PUT ATF FLUID IN THE TRANSFER,,,DO YOU THINK THIS WOULD CAUSE THE MOTOR TO FAIL? WHAT IS SO SPECIAL ABOUT THE BMW FLUID $53.00
FLUID?

I know there are replacement fluid which are less expensive than the BMW fluid that work fine, I don't think the fluid will cause the actuator to fail because it is separate from the case itself, the gear is made from a soft plastic, I am guessing that was replaced in the newer models.

I don't think there are alternative transfer case fluids for the x-drive models. Dexron works fine in the non x-drive versions, but the fluid friction characteristics will be specific with the BMW fluid designed for the x-drive case, since there are clutch plates.

It is also important to reset the adaptations after replacing the fluid in an x-drive transfer case. You need a BMW service computer for that. The adaptations interpret how much clutch pressure is required in the transfer case, depending on fluid and clutch plate condition.

IMO, a mistake in either of the above could conceivably cause a problem with the actuator motor, since the vehicle computer is continually controlling he actuator, to modify transfer case clutch pressure, in order to vary the driveline torque.

Jeff, I have the dreaded transmission slam problem. Do you think the two are related? Is there a chance that a new actuator motor will fail again if I continue to have the transmission issue?

My indie scanned my X5 and has come up with transfer case codes twice now in the last few months. He recommended replacing the actuator motor.

Ray,my opinion is that what are generally all lumped together as transmission problems (bumping, slamming, etc) can be caused by engine DME issues, by the transmission itself, or by the transfer case. All the systems are integrated, so a problem in any one can cause a hesitation or hard shift that is usually blamed on the transmission. I think that sometimes it is the transmission, just not necessarily always.

If your mechanic is getting transfer case codes, and the actuator is suspect, I would go ahead and change it. I would check the wiring to the actuator closely. I would change the transfer case fluid at the same time, using the OE fluid. I would also reset the transfer case using the BMW computer, after changing the fluid.

Good luck with it, let us know how it turns out.

Jeff

Just trying to get a handle on what is cause and what is effect. I'd hate to spend >$1k only to address the symptom and not the cause.

Good point about changing the fluid at the same time. Sound advice as usual Jeff, thanks.