X3 Transfer case chain removal???

[BMW CPT]

Good day all. I have a friend with a BMW X3 2008 with 195000km on clock. Everything still running smoothly in engine bay but the dreaded transfer case gremlin has stuck its head out. He is based in CPT and has approached his ....xyz....garage. They checked car and problem points to his tire wear. He cant replace all four tires at the moment. The garage said they can remove the chain linkage in the transfer case and it should solve the jerky clunky protest of transfer case. It would also not bring up warning lights or abs issues. Anyone that knows of this quick fix or that has tried this method? Could it case damage down the line?

 

[Solo Man]

Just unplug the electrical connection at the transfer case. Easy solution to the clunky sounds. Been driving mine now for two years like that with only rear wheel drive as the transfer case does not transfer any drive to the front wheels. Car drives exactly the same as my son's similar car with no negative effects. Takes about half an hour as iirc., one has to take the covers off under the engine to get to the transfer case plug. Cannot remember exactly as it is two years ago i did it. Forget about removing the chain. Might as well do the whole transfer case if you are going to remove the chain. You will get the transfer case light coming on on the dash but i opened the dash and stuck some black insulation tape over the 4x4/transfer case diode/light and can only see a faint light at night. Cannot see it in daylight. Should have stuck three pieces of insulation tape in place of the two i stuck on!!! Was quite difficult to get the insulation tape on as i could only get my speedo cover half off as i did not want to take off the needles on the gauges.

 

[BMW CPT]

Thanks for the reply. He is afraid tgat it might interfere with other electronics. Does it not effect abs?

 

[Solo Man]

I cannot say 100% that it does or does not affect ABS but have had no braking problems with my car in all the time if have had it. Was on a gravel road two weeks ago and did about 300kms and never experienced car sliding or wheels locking up, even when braking hard before dips, ruts and bumps. Must admit that i try not to brake hard and always trying to anticipate when brakes will be needed and act accordingly. Look, the transfer case has nothing to do with the ABS as far as i know. When you unplug the transfer case you disable the transfer case only. It may be possible that the transfer case sends signals to the ABS module but i know/assume that the ABS gets the signals from the toothed ring on the hubs via the ABS sensors.

 

[Dinath]

Just unplug the electrical connection at the transfer case. Easy solution to the clunky sounds. Been driving mine now for two years like that with only rear wheel drive as the transfer case does not transfer any drive to the front wheels. Car drives exactly the same as my son's similar car with no negative effects. Takes about half an hour as iirc., one has to take the covers off under the engine to get to the transfer case plug. Cannot remember exactly as it is two years ago i did it. Forget about removing the chain. Might as well do the whole transfer case if you are going to remove the chain. You will get the transfer case light coming on on the dash but i opened the dash and stuck some black insulation tape over the 4x4/transfer case diode/light and can only see a faint light at night. Cannot see it in daylight. Should have stuck three pieces of insulation tape in place of the two i stuck on!!! Was quite difficult to get the insulation tape on as i could only get my speedo cover half off as i did not want to take off the needles on the gauges.

That works great! Just unplug the electrical connection and your symptom is gone. But to fix the problem, buy a second hand 'Steering Angle Sensor' and plug it in.
Should cost you about R1000 vs R5000 from BMW. A steering angle sensor from any E46 will also work. (Might have to have it coded to read to your car though) unless the mech that installed mine bullshitted me. That works when it is actually your steering angle sensor thats faulty. Symptom is while turning, the motor gives insufficient power to certain wheels, causing you to roll slowly even with pedal to the metal ... and then it reads correctly and all of a sudden you're taking off.

But now, 2 years later, I have the same lights coming on, the 4x4 light, airbag light and hand brake light, but this time the problem is not the sensor. It seems to be the actual transfer case. Car does not do anything untoward. The only thing different other than the 'Christmas Lights' is, when you switch off the vehicle, you can hear a sound that sounds like the hand brake lever being lifted up without pressing in the button.

Any quick fix to this, other than 3 layers of black insulation tape over the 'Christmas Lights' ??

 

[Spectre]

Can anyone perhaps shed some light on what a transfer case would cost to replace? And is a faulty one repairable?

 

[Solo Man]

Why do you want to replace the transfer case? What year and what car?

 

[Spectre]

Why do you want to replace the transfer case? What year and what car?

It's noisy. at the moment it's plugged out but the noise hasn't disappeared