Driveshaft Transfer Case Failure

[EL's X6]

This weekend i noticed a slight humming sound coming from the front right end of my 2011 X6 50i with 80k miles. The humming sound was noticeable between 60&80 mph. Well today the humming quickly turned into thumping and grinding. I pulled over and saw oil pouring from under neither the front end of the X6. I had it towed to my garage. I have not had a chance to lift it and inspect the damage. Has anyone experienced this? Im suspecting a driveshaft or transfer case failure. I plan to do the repairs myself.

[godmans]

love to hear more about this as I took my truck into dealership and paid the diagnostic fee, just to be told that the same SIB (for front driveshaft U-joint premature wear) is NOT applicable to the X6s.

If you search on here or Xoutpost, you will find a few threads with folks havign their front driveshaft falling off due to this.

[EL's X6]

I'll post an update as soon as i find out more on the damage. I'm hesitant on taking it to a dealer because i cant see myself paying $150/ hr in labor on a job i can do myself. Im out of my warranty period so this one is out of pocket. There is a BMW specialist with a shop nearby that the owner used to be the Service manager at the local BMW dealership. I'm waiting on a call back from him on his suggestions.

[godmans]

Originally Posted by EL's X6

I'll post an update as soon as i find out more on the damage. I'm hesitant on taking it to a dealer because i cant see myself paying $150/ hr in labor on a job i can do myself. Im out of my warranty period so this one is out of pocket. There is a BMW specialist with a shop nearby that the owner used to be the Service manager at the local BMW dealership. I'm waiting on a call back from him on his suggestions.

thanks and good luck, hopefully it will be a simple single part replacement for you!

[Florin350hp]

Originally Posted by EL's X6

This weekend i noticed a slight humming sound coming from the front right end of my 2011 X6 50i with 80k miles. The humming sound was noticeable between 60&80 mph. Well today the humming quickly turned into thumping and grinding. I pulled over and saw oil pouring from under neither the front end of the X6. I had it towed to my garage. I have not had a chance to lift it and inspect the damage. Has anyone experienced this? Im suspecting a driveshaft or transfer case failure. I plan to do the repairs myself.

Hi, I also have have a problem with my front driveshaft. It seems that the u joint has a big play and I think it messed the transfer case too. I have a aftermarket extended warranty and I hope they will pay for it. I was wondering if we could find a better quality shaft. Any ideea? Thx

[godmans]

Originally Posted by Florin350hp

Hi, I also have have a problem with my front driveshaft. It seems that the u joint has a big play and I think it messed the transfer case too. I have a aftermarket extended warranty and I hope they will pay for it. I was wondering if we could find a better quality shaft. Any ideea? Thx

Sorry to hear that, good luck on the extended warranty support.
When you refer to the play as "big play" with the U-joint, did you feel any vibration/ hear any noise before this became an issue for the transfer case?

[Florin350hp]

I went to the shop for an oil change and I pushed the shaft with my finger and I could move it. It has a play, can't say how big but the thing is that it shouldn't have at all. It has a play in both parts, in the u joint and inside of the transfer case. I didn't notice anything while driving. Nothing broked yet, but I don't want to take the chance.

[Florin350hp]

Good look to you too!

[EL's X6]

After taking everything apart, i was able to confirm that is was a drive shaft failure (u joint), in which the drive shaft put a hole in my upper oil pan. The drive shaft replacement is a very easy task, the upper oil pan is a whole different story. In order to remove the oil pan i have to remove the CV axles and front differential. A pain in the butt. Cost for parts is running me $1400. I cant image what the dealer would charge for parts and labor. Waiting on the parts now to put everything back together.

[unique11010]

That's why i trade my BMW to a Mercedes

[HPIA4v2]

EL,
is it part #2 the one goes to front diff from xfer case?
it broke aprt and slamed to oil pan?

[EL's X6]

Yes its #2 in the parts catalog posted. I searched almost every parts distributor possible and found Propeller Driveshaft on ebay selling them almost 50% off anyone else. I received the drive shaft in about a week and installed it with not problems. The drive shaft was the easy part (4 bolts). The hole in the oil pan was the pain. I opted for a weld repair versus replacing the oil pan to save $ and time. I doubt i saved that much time because the repair took forever to get right due to the space constraints, i did it with the pan installed. To remove the upper oil pan you must remove the wheel, hub, disconnect ball joints, remove cv axle, and front diff. The fight to get access to the rest of the bolts mounting the pan to the block.
So far so good. No vibrations, no leaks, no knocking, all seems good. I'll see how the drive shaft holds up during my next inspect at about 1000 miles. Word to all, take the time to inspect your drive shaft u joints at every oil change. Its just 6 bolts to pull off the skid plate to access the drive shaft. Would have saved me tons of heartache, time, and money.

[Florin350hp]

I just had replace driveshaft and transfer case. The u joints were bad and also it had a play in the transfer case. Now it works fine!

[EL's X6]

I have to say, i knew i was missing a key component when i was working on my X. U joint removal fluid. I had the light weight fluid with suds, the heavy fluid with kick sure would have complimented the project.

[sipelgas]

I installed custom spacer that pushes the shaft deeper, which reduces the play in the transfer case, which reduces the risk of breaking.

Email me if you’re interested:
samuel.soencer@gmail.com