[X330I]

my car is making a loud clunking metal on metal sound very often now. it feels like something is trying to stop the car. i smell gear oil so i assume its either the transfer case or something else mechanical

its a 2006 330xi

lets start from the beginning...i had 2 cracked stock rims that i kept putting air in every morning because of time constraints to getting them fixed so i purchased some used 19" rims. one of the rims i purchased had a small leak which got worst in 2 days so i slapped one stock 17" rim on. then the next day one of the tires got a nice cut in it so i put another stock rim on until i got to the tire shop (2 stock 17" rims on front 2 19" rims on back).

stock tire size are 225 45 17 new tire size 235 35 19

en route to the tire shop the same day i put the last stock rim on the front i had to make an evasive maneuver, after said maneuver i get a loud clunking noise followed by a stopping feeling all from the front wheels. a little while after that i smell gear oil. it seems mechanical and not electrical. no abs or dtc lights.

my question is... is it the transfer case or something else ? can i pull some fuses and just go rwd only ? can i remove front axles and be fine until i get it sorted out or is this something i cant get around ?

THANKS FOR ALL HELP!!!

[X330I]

im hoping its just the front diff since the noise and harsh binding is coming from the front... any help ?

[Herakles]

Nice car man how many miles I remember always wanting one before the 335 came out

[JaysBlueE92]

Wow pretty risky..sounds like you need a new transfer case/servo motor. You should Never mismatch wheel diameters on an xdrive.

[X330I]

The sound and binding is coming from the front of the vehicle which leads me to believe it's just the diff. Couldn't I just remove the front driveshaft and axles until the diff arrives? Any info on removing the front axles?

[ajsalida]

The axle nut holds in the wheel hub, I would not remove them. No axle = nothing holding the hub in the wheel bearing/carrier assembly.

[X330I]

thank you for posting that, i had this set to do tomorrow...anything else i can do for now to get around ? maybe remove front drive shaft ? but i think since the front wheels are still spinning it might continue to bind even tho there is no power going through the diff

[ajsalida]

Yes you can remove the front driveshaft but doubt it will help as you said.

Before you do that drain the front diff see if there are bad metal shavings etc inside. Or no/low fluid etc. Rotate wheels while off the ground listen for noise/binding. If there is nothing obvious messed up refull diff and go ahead and remove front driveshaft see of that relieves the problems. If it does your TC is toast.

[X330I]

all the gear oil already came out of the diff, i checked under there today and it was soaked. thats the only thing in the front that has gear oil and the tranny shifts fine. ive been online looking for a diff for my car but all thats on ebay are the 328xi/528xi 335xi/535xi do we all use the same diff ?

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by X330I

all the gear oil already came out of the diff, i checked under there today and it was soaked. thats the only thing in the front that has gear oil and the tranny shifts fine. ive been online looking for a diff for my car but all thats on ebay are the 328xi/528xi 335xi/535xi do we all use the same diff ?

No, even on the same car MT and AT have different ratios. I think even 328/335 same type of tranny have different ratios. I do not know what the ratio is on 330, it may be same as 328. You'll need to look it up.

[Delta0311]

Originally Posted by ajsalida

No, even on the same car MT and AT have different ratios. I think even 328/335 same type of tranny have different ratios. I do not know what the ratio is on 330, it may be same as 328. You'll need to look it up.

ALL 3 have different trannys. The 328 uses a GM tranny. The 335 and 330 use a ZF tranny BUT they are not the same part and are geared differently.

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by Delta0311

ALL 3 have different trannys. The 328 uses a GM tranny. The 335 and 330 use a ZF tranny BUT they are not the same part and are geared differently.

Correct. The point is what front diff goes with each in the XI case? I don't know. I know the 328XI/335XI are each different (diff) ratios for a given trans type (AT vs MT). And who knows, housing may be different even if the ratios are right.

[matteblue3er]

lol you blew the transfer case

Use realoem to cross reference part #s

[X330I]

so i took off the front drive shaft and the car drives fine besides the not so often clunking that goes away. i dont think its the transfer case, the noise is still in the front and the gear oil came from the front diff area. i have been looking online all day on how to remove the front diff but no luck. any have any info on this ?

[PhaseP]

See here, since front diff removal is part of the oil pan job on XI

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1211290

You may seriously consider replacing the oil pan while doing the front differential.

[PhaseP]

Originally Posted by X330I

all the gear oil already came out of the diff, i checked under there today and it was soaked. thats the only thing in the front that has gear oil and the tranny shifts fine. ive been online looking for a diff for my car but all thats on ebay are the 328xi/528xi 335xi/535xi do we all use the same diff ?

This is what I would do:
- Go to realoem.com
- Select my car with year and model and build date (build date can be found on the driver door jamb or door some where on one of those stickers), or just enter my VIN for easier selection
- Go to Front Axle\Final Drive section
- Click on the correct Front differential part number for my car's transmission (auto or manual) from the parts list displayed there. This will open a page titled "Parts Cross Reference" and will list links of other years and models this exact part is used. Click on each link and find out exactly which models and years used the same part number differential.

[X330I]

thanks again guys i went on realoem.com and barely any other car came with my front diff unless its from EUR lol. i checked all over ebay and had no luck, looks like i might just be rwd for a while. last night i tried to light up the rear tires with everything disabled but traction control still kicked in and i got the 4x4 malfunction so i cant even have fun with it. If i drive the car how it is with no gear oil in the front diff will anything happen even if the drive shaft isn't connected ?

[PhaseP]

Is your car auto or manual transmission?

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by X330I

thanks again guys i went on realoem.com and barely any other car came with my front diff unless its from EUR lol. i checked all over ebay and had no luck, looks like i might just be rwd for a while. last night i tried to light up the rear tires with everything disabled but traction control still kicked in and i got the 4x4 malfunction so i cant even have fun with it. If i drive the car how it is with no gear oil in the front diff will anything happen even if the drive shaft isn't connected ?

Even if the front driveshaft is disconnected, the front wheels and axles turn. But the diff now has no oil in it, so its insides (ring and pinion) are still turning due to the axles rotating, and it is going to seize up sooner or later from friction. Probably sooner. You'll snap an axle or something else and possible lose control. Please stop driving this car until you fix it.

edit: Oh, and since the diff is bolted to the aluminum oil pan, and the pass side axle runs though it, seize up the diff and you could easily take out the oil pan.

[X330I]

O wow i didn't know it was that bad. I really can't find this diff anywhere, is it possible for me to use another diff with the same housing? What would be the difference? Do I really have to lower the engine just to remove the diff? By the way it's a 6mt

[PhaseP]

Some year manual trans e92 xi and manual 530 xi has same diff as yours.
Look at car-parts.com besides eBay. It may be called front axle carrier or assembly or some thing like that.

You don't lower the engine, you support it from top but lower the front subframe that engine sits on through the engine mounts. If you look from below to the diff you will ser this subframe won't allow you to remove the diff.
Maybe you can remove it from wheel well side but I doubt it.

[ajsalida]

Originally Posted by X330I

O wow i didn't know it was that bad. I really can't find this diff anywhere, is it possible for me to use another diff with the same housing? What would be the difference? Do I really have to lower the engine just to remove the diff? By the way it's a 6mt

You need the same diff ratio as the one you have otherwise it won't work. Front and rear ratios have to be the same obviously, and they are different across different engines/trannies as pointed out earlier. You need the same housing so it fits your 330xi oil pan.

You probably ought to get a Bentley manual at this point and read up on this procedure. You have to support the engine from above, and drop the subframe as PhaseP pointed out, and support it from underneath. You have to remove the entire left side suspension, axle, motor mount and some other things.