[DrewWphoto]

Subscribing

[matteblue3er]

Originally Posted by Maniac0908

Anyone?

It's done through a diagnostic tool.

I did it through ISTA /D.

There's no harm in not resetting it. You will just have a shadow fault for fluid life. It won't cause issues or throw an error light.

[dcaron9999]

I did my reset with my Cobb Accessport, via the clear codes/clear ECU option button. The fluid swap itself is as simple as a manual tranny fluid swap.

Level car, loosen fill bolt, loosen drain bolt, pour a little fresh fluid to flush remaining particles, close drain bolt, fill through fill hole until overflow, close fill bolt... Use spec'ed BMW T/C Fluid ! Very tiny amount required, less than half a liter if I recall correctly ...

Voila ...

[tclippinger]

HELP, CAN'T get the long bolt for the transfer case support bracket back in. The exhaust pipe is in the way and I'm getting crazy..... Any Tricks !!!!! 2006 325XI sedan

[Julian2485]

Originally Posted by tclippinger

HELP, CAN'T get the long bolt for the transfer case support bracket back in. The exhaust pipe is in the way and I'm getting crazy..... Any Tricks !!!!! 2006 325XI sedan

I think people put it in the other way

[inline11]

Originally Posted by Julian2485

I think people put it in the other way

Yes, flip the long bolt around and put it in from the other direction.

[terryd5150]

Originally Posted by tclippinger

HELP, CAN'T get the long bolt for the transfer case support bracket back in. The exhaust pipe is in the way and I'm getting crazy..... Any Tricks !!!!! 2006 325XI sedan

FCP has a DIY video on YouTube; they insert the bolt in the other direction when reinstalling.

[sauceonside]

I'm curious about the actual need for this. I asked my dealership's Master Tech; we took a spin as my car '11 335xi/78k is about to head out of warranty. He said the differential has its own clutch/actuator and only is used when absolutely necessary, so the fluid won't break down unless it's used highly. He said the car keeps track of each activation in a counter, their diagnostics can tell the number and only if it's very high does he recommend it regardless of mileage. Does this seem reasonable?

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by sauceonside

I'm curious about the actual need for this. I asked my dealership's Master Tech; we took a spin as my car '11 335xi/78k is about to head out of warranty. He said the differential has its own clutch/actuator and only is used when absolutely necessary, so the fluid won't break down unless it's used highly. He said the car keeps track of each activation in a counter, their diagnostics can tell the number and only if it's very high does he recommend it regardless of mileage. Does this seem reasonable?

you will feel it binding. personally, I would replace it before 100k miles. the binding can't possibly be good for it. I never had any indication that the fluid was done from the car - and the binding went away as soon as I had replaced it. plus, it's cheap - including new plugs it was like $30.

FWIW, I put the bolt in backwards too. What a stupid design. I wonder what BMW does - I bet the techs do the same thing. That bolt made it 10x harder than it needed to be, but they really could have just made the drain and fill plugs accessible..

[tclippinger]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

you will feel it binding. personally, I would replace it before 100k miles. the binding can't possibly be good for it. I never had any indication that the fluid was done from the car - and the binding went away as soon as I had replaced it. plus, it's cheap - including new plugs it was like $30.

FWIW, I put the bolt in backwards too. What a stupid design. I wonder what BMW does - I bet the techs do the same thing. That bolt made it 10x harder than it needed to be, but they really could have just made the drain and fill plugs accessible..

Finally got the bolt in. FYI ALL for an XI, installing the bolt "backwards" would actually make it harder to take out if you did need to access the transfer case in the future. With a XI, I is VERY TIGHT, BMW jammed a lot into a small area.

I really think my the problem I'm trying to trouble shoot is a dry CV shaft but no torn or cracked boots. Time to take the half shafts apart and see what I come up with.

[Pilarskica]

Originally Posted by bmx045

I just did this change on my 2011 335 xdrive sedan. Man what a bitch. Bought a 14mm hex socket from harbor freight, pressed out the hex bit from the socket and used an open ended wrench to get the drain plugs off. YOU NEED A RATCHETING CROW/OPEN END/CLOSED END WRENCH. But really, its the only way you can do it. Oh I also bought the fluid transfer pump at harbor for $6. Worked like a charm. Case took about 75% of a quart. Btw not all open ends will fit in the tight space, try to find the thinnest one you can. And a high quality one with a lot of pawls so you can utilize the 2 clicks of throw you get with the wrench.

How did you get the hex out of the socket?

[carguy138]

Does anyone have details on how to reset the transfer case using INPA?

[Jagaer]

After doing the Front and Rear Diffs as well as the Manual Transmission last weekend, this weekends project was the Transfer Case.

I looked at changing it the way many people here describe, with the stubby 14mm hex on a box end wrench, but it seemed unnecessarily finicky compared to just dropping the transmission mount.

I followed most of the pelicanparts instructions here

1. Initially I used a jack stand to hold the transfer case, but you need to be able to raise/lower the transfer case in order to remove the long 18mm bolt. I broke free the 18mm bolt, then removed the 6x13mm bolts holding the transfer case mount. To completely remove the bracket, you need to lower the transfer case. It doesn't need to move it much, only 2-3 cm, but enough that the long bolt can clear the exhaust. Remember to raise the transfer case back up so that it is level prior to filling.





2. Once the transmission bracket is out of the way, you can easily access the plug.



3. 150k kms is too long between changes, as the transfer case fluid came out black. The new fluid ($50 CDN) is almost clear.

4. Remember to lower the transfer case again prior to reinstalling the bracket, so you can get the bolt back in. I put a light coating of oil on each side of the bracket mount, as the transfer case bracket is a tight fit against the metal & rubber mount.

5. Once everything was reinstalled, I ran an ISTA Transfer Case Adaptation.
Service Menu --> Transmission --> Transfer Case Adaptation.



I pumped almost exactly 500mL into the transfer case. (Probably have 450mL left in the bottle, after the small amount overflowed and what was left in the pump after I drained it back into the bottle)

[torrque]

You don't need to remove ANYTHING to change the transfer case oil. The fill plug can be accessed with a bit of careful hand acrobatics on the rear, using a punched out 14mm hex drive, which you will spin with a 14 mm ratcheting closed spanner. You don't have more than 3 clicks, but once you break it open,you can use your hands to remove it.

The other plug at bottom is really easy to get, no need to remove anything off the car.

You cannot use INPA to reset the transfer case.

You need DIS or ISTA+. I used the later, and it's very easy.
You go to "service function - power train - Transfer box transmission control unit - Transfer box VTG : Calibration " You click continue and the wizard will guide you through first resetting the calibration and then oil life and parameters.

This is for E90 335xi sedan.

[rich06708]

how did you get that long bolt back in for the support bracket. did you go through the opposite end? I'm going nuts trying to get it to go through the original side

[Julian2485]

Originally Posted by rich06708

how did you get that long bolt back in for the support bracket. did you go through the opposite end? I'm going nuts trying to get it to go through the original side

Put it back opposite side like everyone else does

[hassmaschine]

Originally Posted by torrque

You don't need to remove ANYTHING to change the transfer case oil. The fill plug can be accessed with a bit of careful hand acrobatics on the rear, using a punched out 14mm hex drive, which you will spin with a 14 mm ratcheting closed spanner. You don't have more than 3 clicks, but once you break it open,you can use your hands to remove it.

The other plug at bottom is really easy to get, no need to remove anything off the car.

You cannot use INPA to reset the transfer case.

You need DIS or ISTA+. I used the later, and it's very easy.
You go to "service function - power train - Transfer box transmission control unit - Transfer box VTG : Calibration " You click continue and the wizard will guide you through first resetting the calibration and then oil life and parameters.

This is for E90 335xi sedan.

Yeah, if you have teeny hands, sure..

Also, I definitely used INPA to reset my TC.

[torrque]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

Yeah, if you have teeny hands, sure..

Also, I definitely used INPA to reset my TC.

You have to provide more info/ instructions. I could not find anything regarding transfer case oil life reset, only adaptations in INPA...

[cjdzombie]

Great info here!

[blueloco]

Changing the T-case fluid just didn't seem that hard to me. Not trying to brag or anything but am I missing something? I did have to cut a little off a hex key for better access but that is a pretty simple thing to do with a cutoff wheel. Used some flexible tubing from the hardware store... I did drop the case a little but getting the bolts back in was no prob. Nice that I won't have to do it again, I hope.

[cjdzombie]

Originally Posted by hassmaschine

Yeah, if you have teeny hands, sure..

Also, I definitely used INPA to reset my TC.

Please explain how this is done with INPA. I need to figure out how to do the reset. The Stealership just quoted me $80 to do it. Claiming it would take half an hour. BS!

[cjdzombie]

Done. I ended up installing ISTA. Very easy since I already had all the other BMW programs installed. The whole procedure was very easy. I used the small piece of 14mm hex as described in this thread. That is definitely the way to go. Thanks to everyone in this thread. It helped me out big time!