Transfer Case Actuator potential free fix!

Hey there,

I've just registered here because of this thread. I own an 2005 BMW X3 3.0D Auto and I'm having some troubles with the car.

It was diagnosed, a couple of months ago, that my car needed to replace the transfer box. Just like everyone else, my display seemed a christmas tree

I managed to found one used, retired from a (supposed..) 2k miles car which had an accident. I bought it and replaced the one on the car. Then, I took the car to a garage near me who work with BMW and has the means to it. They tried to put it to work, but the actuator seems to be failing. This all happen before I found this thread.

The actuator mounted on the car was the original one, since the transfer box I bought didn't bring one. Since it still not working properly, do you think my problem is the one stated all-over-the-thread?

I'll get the car back today and put it in the air. One last question: as far as I've red here, the actuator does got a mounting 'point' (sorry but I can't seem to find the correct word) in the transfer box?

Thank you in advance.

Regards

Originally Posted by Rusty86

I've been driving with the triad of lights intermittently on and clicking noise at turn off for the past 2 weeks. For the last several days the clicking noise has stopped at turn off and the 4x4 light is always on. Could this mean that the actuator has permanently failed or that something is going on with the actual transfer case?

I was going to try and perform the gear rotation this weekend, but am not sure if it's even worth it at this point.

After driving for roughly 2 months and 1,000 miles with these lights, my mechanic neighbor finally had time to through my car on his lift and rotate the actuator gear for me. Lights are now gone - as is clicking noise at shut off - and everything seems A-OK (fingers crossed!)

Didn't have much luck with the gear rotation - only lasted 2 weeks. I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and get a new actuator installed. From my understanding, the replacement gear Odometer Gears is fabricating isn't expected to be ready until the end of the month and I don't think I'll be able to wait that long. There's also a guy out of Italy making brass replacement gear kits, but I'm a little worried that this could be a designed fail part as some have theorized although I've read claims that it has been used for sometime without issues. I'm just praying it's only the actuator and not the transfer case.

Originally Posted by ONUOsFan

Well, after looking at my car I don't think there's any way I can fix anything underneath it... one thing I wanted to add, though: I just realized that this all started right after I went through an automatic car wash with the underbody wash. Anything that you guys can think of that could have caused this from the wash?

Also, two more questions:
1. My car is a 2007 but only has 49k miles on it. Should I try to get it into the dealer before 50k to increase my chances of some kind of goodwill fix?
2. If I just let it go for a while without fixing it, is there a chance it will damage something else and make the ultimate repair more expensive? It seems to drive completely fine from what I can tell, although I haven't been anywhere to test whether the AWD is working or not.

Definitely not caused by the carwash. It's a breakdown of the plastic gear inside the actuator. I am not that mechanically saavy, but with a friend we were able to replace the actuator ourselves and save $$$ on labor. There is a great write up if you google it. (I'd post the link, but it's from a different bmw forum website and I'm not sure the rules on that.) We used ramps to get the front end up, but you probably will need a little more clearance to get underneath. Fortunately, there was a culvert in the alley behind my house where we were able to get the front end on ramps, and use that extra space created by the culvert to get underneath with room to spare to work. Other than that, the most difficult part is getting the transfer case mount off and on. There's a six inch bolt that is a ?!*** to get off without taking the entire exhaust system off, but its definitely doable.

My '07 actuator went at 88k miles. Replaced under CPO for the standard $50 buck fee.

A good video showing the actuator removal:

I haven't posted in awhile since my triad problem, so I wanted to give an update. The transfer motor gearing was my problem. I still had the lights after I performed the repair because the steering sensor fault was still locked in for some reason. But once I had the diagnostic reset at the local shop, I have had no problems. Thanks so much for this post. It not only saved me the cost of a new actuator motor, but saved me from having to trade my favorite BMW for a Land Rover Evoque.

Those Evoques look pretty sharp (in video, have not seen in person yet).

Good to hear indications that the 180 deg. rotation can be more than a short term fix.

Success could depend on how bad the original wear was, and how accurately the rotation is done. Mark in the right place and things engage smoothly during reassembly.

(Any Land Rover evokes memories of roadside repairs to Lucas electrics.)

I actually did the repair twice, because there was a question I had about the brush wear on the motor that I was not sure about. In doing the repair the second time, I did notice that the first repair reassembly was't exactly 180 degrees. I am guessing because of either when I placed the worm gear back into the slot or maybe when I was connecting back to the transfer case. Either way, it was still outside the gear wear area(but not exactly 180) and the second repair I feel sure is 180 degrees out. Great fix!

Hello,

Ok, 2009 X3 with 27,000 kilometres and today i received the 4X4 light and the brake light, no ABS light. Could this possibly be the same problem? i have no clicking sound associated..


Thanks

I never had the clicking sound either, just the lights. But I did have all three warning lights come in at the same time though. 2008 X3

Originally Posted by Dehcho

Hello,

Ok, 2009 X3 with 27,000 kilometres and today i received the 4X4 light and the brake light, no ABS light. Could this possibly be the same problem? i have no clicking sound associated..


Thanks

hi mate

i have also a x3 and it went on 30,000 miles

i went to a garage for a diagnostic to find out the fault paid £ 45.00 plus vat and they really didnt give me a solid answer they was saying you have to leave the car etc and we will go into it with more depth ie a road to knowhere with money to burn and on top of that he said the worst scenario is gearbox what a jerk


so i came home googled the fault and came up with the video on you tube which had the answer

but i still felt bad that bmw would quote me £ 640.00 for the part which basically is like a screen motor

so i trie dto buy the part from various part suppliers all came up with we dont stock this part only bmw does

so i thought let me just ebay it and see if anybody is selling this

and came up with this link which i am sharing with you

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/1307382684...84.m1439.l2649


this part is in bronze and much better then the original

basically it is the gear that is worn inside the actuater replacement which cost £ 167.00

a big saving on the £ 640.00 quoted from bmw


and it will probably last the lifetime of the car now


hope this helps people that has had the same problem as me


ps: the part came with instructions which i have scanned very easy to do

i also noted that if they had put more grease into this actuater instead of a little dab of grease we probably wouldnt have this problem as the gear that came out had hardly any grease on it ( Ridiculous )

Looks like we finally have the fix. The parts are in the field being tested and are working perfectly. Another week and they will be available for purchase at:

www.odometergears.com or one of may retailers like FCP, Bavarian Auto or Turner Motorsport.



Thanks for waiting.

Originally Posted by hamonbagel

Looks like we finally have the fix. The parts are in the field being tested and are working perfectly. Another week and they will be available for purchase at:

www.odometergears.com or one of may retailers like FCP, Bavarian Auto or Turner Motorsport.



Thanks for waiting.

You're gonna make a killing. Im going to purchase one just to have laying around after folks review the part.

Finally!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!

Just don
e the transfercase (free fix) after yesterday getting asstament for transfercase replacement $3339.
So far so good .would like to add to for help my black gear had too wear spots I think that one is at engagment and one at disengment.I had bad motormount that I think contributed to actuator failure .I drove around sub. Ill let y'all know how it holds up.

Originally Posted by hamonbagel

Looks like we finally have the fix. The parts are in the field being tested and are working perfectly. Another week and they will be available for purchase at:

www.odometergears.com or one of may retailers like FCP, Bavarian Auto or Turner Motorsport.



Thanks for waiting.

Warranty subject to proof that all four tires replaced at once. -- Just out of curiosity- do you believe uneven tire pressures/ uneven tire wear is what might cause the original gears to fail? If I purchase an x3 I'll be buying one of these gears just to have it for when the original gear fails. Can't beat the price

Originally Posted by desertviking

Well....
I am now back to the original issue which is: When I start up the car, I get a squealing sound like a belt slipping. When it began, I would quickly shut off the engine, turn it back on and the sound would be gone and the car would operate normally. Few days later when it happened I decided to leave the car running, open the hood and look at the serpentine belt. The sound didn't seem to come from there however. I then got back in the car, turned it off and on again. THis time however the 4X4 light was on. When I backed it up carefully it stopped by itself after say 20 yards. I then tried going forwards with the same results. Given the car a little power I heard some bad sounds from underneath. This is when I stopped and eventually repaired the actuator.
Now I am back to the intermittent squeal. I am afraid that the transfer case is bad somehow. I know there is a chain in there, which I wouldn't think could produce a squealing sound.
I am perplexed!!!!

I think I have the same weird squeal noise when I start my '05 X3. Note that it only makes this noise with a cold start.. I am pretty certain it is not belt related. I also don't have any lights on yet...

Did you ever figure out what that noise was?

Thanks....

My 328xi has been diagnosed with the same transfer case problem. I have the 3 lights ON but the clicking noise is there only when I start the engine not when I stop.
I was wondering if the 180 rotation has been proven to be a lasting fix or just some delay on buying a new motor.
Thanks

Originally Posted by nae

My 328xi has been diagnosed with the same transfer case problem. I have the 3 lights ON but the clicking noise is there only when I start the engine not when I stop.
I was wondering if the 180 rotation has been proven to be a lasting fix or just some delay on buying a new motor.
Thanks

I think the jury is still out on how 'permanent' a fix the gear rotation is; but there is a replacement gear now available from this source. This replacement gear is still relatively new to the market, so you'll be one of the first to try it. Still, it looks like a promising (and more economical) permanent fix to replacing the entire transfer case actuator.

Actually I contacted that source and the gear seems to fit only X3 not the 3 series, that's what they said. I am driving with this problem for the past 2 weeks and the noise seemed to have accentuated with the time. Not sure how much damage I can do by driving like this. I am willing to try the rotation but I see the motor cost under 400 and maybe this is the way to go.
Any advice you can pass on with regards to driving like this.
Thanks

Originally Posted by nae

Actually I contacted that source and the gear seems to fit only X3 not the 3 series, that's what they said...

Hmm. Interesting. I guess the transfer case is different between the X3/X5 and the 328xi...?

Originally Posted by nae

... I am driving with this problem for the past 2 weeks and the noise seemed to have accentuated with the time. Not sure how much damage I can do by driving like this. I am willing to try the rotation but I see the motor cost under 400 and maybe this is the way to go.
Any advice you can pass on with regards to driving like this.
Thanks

Well, assuming the same thing is happening inside your transfer case (and it sounds like it might be), the gear (see photos in first post) will eventually get worn out, and the transfer case will not be able to transfer torque between the front and rear axles. I personally wouldn't let it go long, but about all you're really wearing out is the gear. Plus you get to look at the annoying lights in your dashboard until it's fixed. And, with a Canadian winter rapidly approaching, you might want to ask yourself if you really want to be without AWD traction capability...?

If the actuator for the 328xi is CAD$400, that might just be the best solution; the available replacement gear would have been US$125, and if you had a qualified mechanic install it for you, you'd probably spend about $400 or more (between parts and labor) when all was said and done. Just my take on it.

My mechanic removed the motor and the black plastic gear did not look bad although we could not see well through the grease. In fact the part that looked damaged was the thread on the motor (red arrow on picture). That was not expected since it is metal. We did the 180 rotation but nothing changed. I ordered the motor and hope that will fix it.