[gbalthrop]

To do "routine" Transfer Case Drain & Refill, I am attempting to remove the Transfer Case Mount Bracket (Aluminum Bracket held to chassis by six (6) 13mm bolts, and one 18mm bolt which goes through TC Mount Rubber Bushing. I am following this procedure from Pelican Parts Website:
https://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tec..._Replacing.htm

No issue up to the Step in Figure 5: "Now remove the transfer case mounting bracket." :tsk:
https://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tec..._med/pic05.jpg

Problem is: Bracket will NOT lower on Right side where 18mm bolt & large rubber bushing is:
1) Due to 18mm Bolt being blocked by exhaust so can't remove it fully;
2) Due to forward side of Bracket apparently having a metal sleeve or bushing that inserts into the large rubber bushing, preventing forward side of Bracket from rotating downward. There is NOTHING in TIS, Bentley or the Pelican Web Page which says anything about such a bushing.

ANYONE who has DONE this procedure who can suggest BEST way to get bracket removed so I can access the Fill Plug?

Possible approaches that I can identify (never having removed this before):
1) Remove Exhaust, or at least loosen flange @ cat connector, or hanger near rear axle? (To get 18mm bolt fully removed;
2) Lower Jack beneath TC (but how far without damaging something)?
3) Pry metal sleeve/bushing out of forward end of bracket, but don't want to have to rebuild something there, and NO parts shown in RealOEM.com :tsk:

I'm working under vehicle that is on Ramps & Ramp Pedestals, so working conditions are a bit cramped, and visibility is NOT the best, even with multiple LED/COB worklights.

I'm sure ALL will be clear when/IF I get the bracket off, but I have NOT been able to find anything that shows or describes the front side of the bracket, or even a helpful description of simplest place to disconnect exhaust to remove 18mm bolt. "Forum Search" yields nothing but unrelated "junk."

Figure I might as well loosen the Cat Flanges if no one has a better idea.

Thanks,
George

[relative4]

No need to loosen flange. It's just fiddly. Wiggle it around, shift the jack up or down a touch, it'll come out once you figure out the angle.
Re visibility, do you have a headlamp?

[hassmaschine]

Yeah, it's a total pain to get the bolt out, but it can be done. You have to get the bolt out first, keep wiggling and trying different angles until it comes out.

When you put it back together, put the bolt in from the other side, so next time it's easy. So stupid how BMW put that together.

[gbalthrop]

Originally Posted by relative4

No need to loosen flange. It's just fiddly. [BEYOND "fiddly" ] Wiggle it around, shift the jack up or down a touch, it'll come out once you figure out the angle. [BT,DT and after several hours of "angle-figuring", still NO JOY] Re visibility, do you have a headlamp? [Uhhh, No, but my car has several My head's too big to get into the tight spaces anyway, even without a light strapped on ]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

Yeah, it's a total pain to get the bolt out, but it can be done. You have to get the bolt out first, keep wiggling and trying different angles until it comes out. When you put it back together, put the bolt in from the other side, so next time it's easy. [I'm considering a "hitch-pin"] So stupid how BMW put that together.

I appreciate the help. It occurs to me that NEITHER of you have the GM6 Automatic that is in my 328xi, so maybe there is ~ 1 cm difference in clearance depending upon: transmission type, exhaust type, time of night assembled at factory, etc.

2ND QUESTION: Took an Impact Wrench about 10 seconds on each nut to break the 15mm nuts loose on the exhaust flange behind Cat, only to find that an air hammer would NOT break the flange apart at the gasket.

ANYONE who has personally dropped the exhaust or separated the flanges behind the Cats have any "Tips"??? I'm STILL going to try to get the fiddly angle just right before resorting to C4.


Thanks; I'll let you know how it went,
George

[hassmaschine]

I don't think that matters, there's no room on the 6mt either.

[gbalthrop]

Thanks for the suggestions. In about 30 minutes, I WAS able to get the bolt OUT, adjusting & RE-adjusting the HEIGHT of the supporting jack under the TC housing, and wobbling the bracket. Removal of the 14mm fill plug was uneventful, as was filling with just over 500 ml of BMW DTF 1, using a 150 ml syringe with ~ 8" tube on end.

BOTH Drain Plug & Fill Plug would have been difficult to get a hex socket on. I have BOTH regular & "Stubby" hex sockets, but had to use a "custom" hex. I had bought a spare 14mm socket, and simply drifted the hex bit out of the socket body and used 14mm combo wrench to turn the hex bit. Some impact (hammer on wrench end) was needed to break the plugs loose. NO sign anyone had disassembled anything there in 12.5 years since build date.

NOW, about "RE-ASSEMBLY" -- NOT the reverse of disassembly!

First, unless you have a "Rubber Bolt", there is NO WAY I can insert the bolt from the front, as the transmission fill plug and its housing on the transmission case above the pan are ~ 1" away from the hole where the nut is (on the engine side of the mount bushing). So IF you were able to reverse the bolt and insert from the front with a ZF or MT, you CANNOT do that with the GM6 Automatic.

NEXT time I do this job, I'll simply drop the Exhaust, stem to stern, so I can actually access the bolt area. Trying to get the bolt back in, the exhaust prevents (1) being able to see if the mounting bracket and bushing are properly aligned, (2) being able to use a drift or rod to attain proper alignment, AND (3) being able to insert the bolt directly into the holes in the bracket & bushing, rather than at an angle and having to flex the bushing to try to copy that angle. Actually, tomorrow I'll try using a large Allen wrench inserted into forward end of bushing to try to flex that to the necessary angle.

ANYONE got any tips on separating the Exhaust flanges post-cat? I'm thinking for those who do their own maintenance, and plan to keep the car for years, it probably makes sense to drop the exhaust every 3 - 5 years, just to break the nuts/bolts loose and if things come apart properly, can probably do it in an hour the first time & 30 minutes the next.

Thanks again,
George

[andy5v]

Originally Posted by gbalthrop

Thanks for the suggestions. In about 30 minutes, I WAS able to get the bolt OUT, adjusting & RE-adjusting the HEIGHT of the supporting jack under the TC housing, and wobbling the bracket. Removal of the 14mm fill plug was uneventful, as was filling with just over 500 ml of BMW DTF 1, using a 150 ml syringe with ~ 8" tube on end.

BOTH Drain Plug & Fill Plug would have been difficult to get a hex socket on. I have BOTH regular & "Stubby" hex sockets, but had to use a "custom" hex. I had bought a spare 14mm socket, and simply drifted the hex bit out of the socket body and used 14mm combo wrench to turn the hex bit. Some impact (hammer on wrench end) was needed to break the plugs loose. NO sign anyone had disassembled anything there in 12.5 years since build date.

NOW, about "RE-ASSEMBLY" -- NOT the reverse of disassembly!

First, unless you have a "Rubber Bolt", there is NO WAY I can insert the bolt from the front, as the transmission fill plug and its housing on the transmission case above the pan are ~ 1" away from the hole where the nut is (on the engine side of the mount bushing). So IF you were able to reverse the bolt and insert from the front with a ZF or MT, you CANNOT do that with the GM6 Automatic.

NEXT time I do this job, I'll simply drop the Exhaust, stem to stern, so I can actually access the bolt area. Trying to get the bolt back in, the exhaust prevents (1) being able to see if the mounting bracket and bushing are properly aligned, (2) being able to use a drift or rod to attain proper alignment, AND (3) being able to insert the bolt directly into the holes in the bracket & bushing, rather than at an angle and having to flex the bushing to try to copy that angle. Actually, tomorrow I'll try using a large Allen wrench inserted into forward end of bushing to try to flex that to the necessary angle.

ANYONE got any tips on separating the Exhaust flanges post-cat? I'm thinking for those who do their own maintenance, and plan to keep the car for years, it probably makes sense to drop the exhaust every 3 - 5 years, just to break the nuts/bolts loose and if things come apart properly, can probably do it in an hour the first time & 30 minutes the next.

Thanks again,
George

Hi George ! Had the same project and same transmission GM type, didn't have a problem of taking that bolt out I just used a 10-11 inch long 1/4 extension and a hammer going from the front to the back then wack and it the bolt came out.
Now the hard part is putting the bolt back in ,
how did you do it ?, I'm stuck now on this part , my last option is to lower the exhaust down ..
Any tips ?
Thanks
Andy

[nsjames]

I did this job without touching the exhaust.

it will go back in.
you need a shortish punch to get the hole lined up.

get angry.

[drawz]

Not sure if this would have solved your issue, but here's a video for future reference:

[sonofsun]

I have an e90 with the GM automatic transmission and like other people said the 18mm bolt cannot be turned around and inserted from the other end.

I had a difficult time backing out that bolt but finally came loose after lowering the transfer case a bit by adjusting the floor jack. My fill plug came off easily but the drain plug wouldn't budge and there was no way I could insert a hex bit there. So removed the hex bit from the socket by tapping it from the other side. Even despite that I had to put tremendous force on the wrench to loosen the drain plug that too after a few hours of sitting with PB Blaster.

Finally drained and refilled but the support bracket will not go in place. Tried to pry it in but was afraid the bushing will be damaged. So applied grease to both the bracket and the bushing and it slipped right in. Next issue was getting the 18mm bolt inside. Inserted it from above the exhaust pipes and kept checking the alignment of the bracket and the transfer case hole on the other side.

kept lowering and raising the floor jack at different heights and after putting a lot of force to pull at the exhaust pipes while pushing the bolt it went right in. Next time I am thinking of replacing the bolt with a stud and put nuts on both sides.

Whoever said 1 to 1.5 tops for this work was clearly lucky or exaggerating their own time.

So if any of you are doing this make sure you have enough time and persist with it and you can insert the bolt back in after multiple tries. Just don't give up.

[nsjames]

if you use a punch to line the bushing and mount back up together the bolt slides in without issue.

yes, you can do the job in an hour.

[Hayk90]

Gotta love BMW making maintenance a nightmare. I'm gonna be doing mine on Monday, so reading this thread was very helpful to prepare myself.