"Catastrophic" Drivetrain Failure

[billschusteriv]

Good to hear. The parts I listed are all cheaper than an engine replacement.


Though it would have been fun to see you swap in the engine from that crashed ZHP or an M3.

Hehe. I already swapped in a used engine. I wanted to do a 330 swap, but my mechanic was hesitant as there were a number of parts that needed to be upgraded to make it work.

Good luck Bill, car problems are the worst. I had our Audi die in Tahoe this weekend during a crazy storm. I hope it works out ok for you!!

Thanks JJ - Sorry to hear about your Audi.


The verdict is in - the front differential is locked up. I have located a used one - it should be to the shop by Thursday.

[jjcools]

Good news. Love the tourings, my buddy has one with about the same miles as yours too.

[danewilson77]

Yup....so he is positive tranny and rear diff did not sustain damage?

[kayger12]

Glad it's working out for you, Bill.

Droid X. Tapatalk. Use it.

[az3579]

The verdict is in - the front differential is locked up. I have located a used one - it should be to the shop by Thursday.

That's the tough thing with the AWD system; it's more complicated and thus has more things to wrong.

Hope you don't end up spending a fortune...



Sent from my DROIDX

[Whitexi]

This thread saddens me....

Its good that its getting a speedy repair. Was it leaking or anything because this seems rare.

[billschusteriv]

Yup....so he is positive tranny and rear diff did not sustain damage?

That was my first thought too. He checked the driveshaft, other axles, transfer case, and rear differential. All seemed to spin/move freely by hand. The front diff didn't move by hand - took leverage and some oomph to move. Also, the fluid was full inside the front diff.

I guess we can't really be positive there isn't collateral damage, but there seem to be good signs pointing to everything else being okay. I also didn't try "driving" more than the 5 yards to the side of the road. I feel it could've been worse if I would've limped the half block to the gas station.

[billschusteriv]

Thanks for the positive thoughts guys!

The verdict is in - the front differential is locked up. I have located a used one - it should be to the shop by Thursday.

That's the tough thing with the AWD system; it's more complicated and thus has more things to wrong.

Hope you don't end up spending a fortune...



Sent from my DROIDX

The used front diff will run me $450 delivered. So I won't be set back too much.

Hopefully there aren't too many challenges removing the front subframe to get to the diff.

[billschusteriv]

This thread saddens me....

Its good that its getting a speedy repair. Was it leaking or anything because this seems rare.

I was thinking of you when I wrote this - hoping you didn't have anything similar happen.

No visible leaks from diff, and levels were still good. Differentials were just changed with Mobile 1 about 8k ago.

[mikeyb74]

Good to hear. The parts I listed are all cheaper than an engine replacement.


Though it would have been fun to see you swap in the engine from that crashed ZHP or an M3.

My Touring is going to be getting a M54B30 with a 6-speed from a 03 on 330xi.

Bill, My Touring has 170K as well. The problem I have with the drivetrain is the universal joints make noise. I just hope I do not have a diff issue.