DIY - E70 Transfer Case Fluid Change

[JellyStyle]

Originally Posted by Dekero

Save hours of work by not taking off the crossmember?!?

It takes 6 bolts and less than 10 mins and allows you to check the TC mount as well with it off...

If this takes you hours, I'd hate to see how long the
Fluid change took you.

if you remove it, do you have to support the transmission with a jack?

[jbash87]

Originally Posted by JellyStyle

if you remove it, do you have to support the transmission with a jack?

Yes you do. You need to take a little weight off the system too. The bolt that runs through the TC bushing is parallel to the ground and won't come out if you don't support the transmission.

[Losgalos]

Originally Posted by JellyStyle

ISTA+ is free (i can get it to you)

Hi can you please send ista link ,been looking for this a while now.
Thx

[JellyStyle]

https://www.bimmer-diag.com/shop/IST...ity-p307231691

[jbash87]

Looks like the link JellyStyle posted is not free. Although I'm sure most people won't care since it is cheap. Attached is a legit free solution if you're into torrenting. It is SLOW right now. The more seeders the better!

remove the .pdf extension and open the link with a program called Vuze or equivalent.

[Sophisticated Redneck]

Originally Posted by Dekero

Save hours of work by not taking off the crossmember?!?

It takes 6 bolts and less than 10 mins and allows you to check the TC mount as well with it off...

If this takes you hours, I'd hate to see how long the
Fluid change took you.

Been super busy and didn't see your post until now. Calling BS on that and please do not mislead people in that removing the brace is a simple 10 minute job. If you can properly brace the transmission, remove the cross member, & reinstall the cross member in 10 minutes please do post a video of it and we will all be in awe of your skills.

For us mere mortals however, it will take an extra hour or two to properly brace the transmission, move any heat shielding & exhaust out of the way, pull all the bolts, then reinstall everything, especially for the vast majority of people who have never done the work before and I have feeling 90% of everyone reading this has never had the pleasure of pulling a E70 cross member before.

Also, not bracing the transmission to save time places an incredible amount of stress on both the engine mounts and Guibo disc and will cause premature failure on both. Unfortunately most videos (even the one below) leave that part out as its a pain in the ass to do. ZF does not recommend using the plastic oil pan as a brace point.

For those curious, video below on what it takes to pull the cross member with a car lift, its even more of a good time when you are doing it on just ramps with inches of clearance. To me its easier to just use a low profile hex tool and fill tube but hey, to each their own.

[henrykd]

Hi there. Thank you for your notes. Will these instructions work on my bmw?
I am experiencing jerking during accelerations. Bmw dealer wanted to replace transfer case. I went elswhere and and the fluid was replaced but no one said anything about calibration. I was told to drive up to 500km and if the jerking eased off come back for another fluid flush. After that if no change replacement of the box. PLease let me know you thoughts.

[jbash87]

henrykd Your car has a different TC than the E70s have. The procedure should be the similar, however.

Do you have any diagnostic trouble codes?

Not too sure why a TC fluid change will fix jerkiness. You can try to reset the TC adaptations with something like Protools or ISTA.

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by henrykd

Hi there. Thank you for your notes. Will these instructions work on my bmw?
I am experiencing jerking during accelerations. Bmw dealer wanted to replace transfer case. I went elswhere and and the fluid was replaced but no one said anything about calibration. I was told to drive up to 500km and if the jerking eased off come back for another fluid flush. After that if no change replacement of the box. PLease let me know you thoughts.

Try the calibration and hopefully a fix. I think the 500 mile recommendation was hoping that it would self-learn a new calibration? Better to do it immediately with a correct tool/app.

There are also problems with the TC actuator as well. IF the fluid/calibration doesn't fix it, replacing the actuator gear is probably the next step.

More info here: https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show...1608509&page=2

[henrykd]

heym, Thanks guys
I watched a youtube video by a certified BMW mechanic who described the simptoms to the tee. Said most of the time changing oil will correct it. Said you should do a second flush after going around the block. My mechanics said it wasn't neseccery. What do I know, right? Easy to piss them off for knowing more than them:lol. Well two days of driving and still jerking.
The scanner arrives tomorrow and I am very hopefull. If that doesn't work then it's pulling the fuse and driving on two wheels or $10000 for new one. Wish me luck and thanks for all your help. Cheers

[henrykd]

jbash87, I though my GT is E70. Can you elaborate?

[henrykd]

So, I have another question about the TC actautor. Is the actuator easily accesible on my car? From reading the on this forum it looks like stripped actuator gear generates some warnings/errors.
When driving I get no errors , no warnings. The mechanic drove with me looking at his scanner. Which points possibly to the unit being out of calibration? I hope?

[henrykd]

Forgot to say the car only has 66000km so about 40000miles. Almost new!

[henrykd]

No codes or errors. The mechs are scraching their heads. From other posts I see that a stripped Actuator gear will generate some warnings. I get zip.
The car has 66000km or 40000miles. The TC oil was never changed and there never was a service note generated by the computer.
In the garage i saw the oil that came out. It was very dark. Like every oil it has a life span and most likely should be changed every 3-4 years, I think. But who knew?
I am hoping that no errors/codes are pointing to the calibration.
I am no mechanic so any pointers are greatly apreciated. After reading all comments I might have to set up a training for all those dudes that just want to change the TC, lol
Any thoughts

[jbash87]

Originally Posted by henrykd

jbash87, I though my GT is E70. Can you elaborate?

Yes. You have a 2015 5-series which is an F10 (F07 really) chassis code. Not sure where you got info about it being an E70. The E70 chassis code is an X5 from 2006-2013.

[jbash87]

Originally Posted by henrykd

So, I have another question about the TC actautor. Is the actuator easily accesible on my car? From reading the on this forum it looks like stripped actuator gear generates some warnings/errors.
When driving I get no errors , no warnings. The mechanic drove with me looking at his scanner. Which points possibly to the unit being out of calibration? I hope?

Interesting you're not getting any codes. What is leading you to believe that the TC is the culprit?

[henrykd]

The mech at bmw drove it with his computer hooked up and said there were no codes/errors and it must be the TC itself and it needs changing.
I ordered a handheld scanner suggested by another blogger and calibrate the TC. Next woud be taking out the actuator gear assambley and checking the gear for wear. After that I'm stuck and it's either paying $10000 for new TC or driving with it disengaged. Any thoughts?

[henrykd]

And the e70 popped up when i typed in 2015 BMW 5series Xdrive GT. This confused me because I thought it was F07

[henrykd]

Originally Posted by StradaRedlands

Try the calibration and hopefully a fix. I think the 500 mile recommendation was hoping that it would self-learn a new calibration? Better to do it immediately with a correct tool/app.

There are also problems with the TC actuator as well. IF the fluid/calibration doesn't fix it, replacing the actuator gear is probably the next step.

More info here: https://www.xbimmers.com/forums/show...1608509&page=2

There are no codes generated. From what I read a striped gear would pop an ABS, breaks or other codes on the dash or scanner. I get zip

[henrykd]

Hi, After about $2000 into the TC jerking issues and no resaults i was able to talk to a certified BMW tech that used to work at BMW. He is almost sure that it's the tires issue.
I purchased four new tires but fronts and backs are different manufacturers. He said not only they have to be the same make but for Xdrives they have to be star rated (they must have a ittle star on them). He said xdrives are very finicky and he's seen few cases where the tires caused this issue. So I am putting all new Goodyear next thursday. I'll be about $4000 into it. There is no guarantee but he is pretty sure this will rectify the problem as long as there is no damage to TC caused by current tires. What do you think?

[henrykd]

Hi, After about $2000 into the TC jerking issues and no resaults i was able to talk to a certified BMW tech that used to work at BMW. He is almost sure that it's the tires issue.
I purchased four new tires but fronts and backs are different manufacturers. He said not only they have to be the same make but for Xdrives they have to be star rated (they must have a ittle star on them). He said xdrives are very finicky and he's seen few cases where the tires caused this issue. So I am putting all new Goodyear next thursday. I'll be about $4000 into it. There is no guarantee but he is pretty sure this will rectify the problem as long as there is no damage to TC caused by current tires. Can anyone comment?

[jbash87]

In an X drive system the rolling diameter of all 4 tires should be within 1% of each other. If you have mismatched tires then there is a higher chance you are not meeting this.

The "star" rating is similar to BMW stating that only Castrol oils (I'm honestly not sure what company they're touting these days) can be used in their motors.