Hi all! I just bought a 2005 x type with 60k miles for cheap and I'm somewhat concerned about the transfer case/PTU. Mine does not currently have the air scoop, and to nobody's great surprise I can definitely hear gear whine, especially around 30mph and moderate load/acceleration. I already drained and filled the unit using the tilt method, and unfortunately it had plenty of good looking (but somewhat glittery and milky) fluid so if low fluid caused damage then it has already been serviced since.

A few questions on that front:
-how much (if any) gear whine should I expect to hear? Is failure inevitable once it starts making noise, or is this simply to be expected?
-Is there any avenue for rebuilt or new units in the U.S. at this point? I see used (working) units on scrapyard sites and ebay, but I'd certainly prefer new if the current unit fails.
-Does anyone know of a good source for the air scoop? I can hack something together but I'd prefer not to shove random bits of aluminum sheeting under my car.

On other random-ish question - my drivers seat is somewhat high but the adjustment doesn't seem to work, I hear the motor but nothing moves. If anyone has any advice I'd appreciate it.

Otherwise, it is a good looking and enjoyable to drive car (especially for what I paid!). I've got a good amount of DIY experience so I expect I'll be an owner for the foreseeable future even if the PTU fails.

 

https://premiumusedtransfercase.com/...xoC_ecQAvD_BwE

https://thegearshop1945.com/?gad_sou...xoCF0AQAvD_BwE

https://fraserengineco.com/?gad_sour...BoC09MQAvD_BwE

ABSURDIDLY expensive, but...

https://www.autozone.com/powertrain/...001/338247_0_0

https://qualityenginesandtransmissio...hoCrNQQAvD_BwE

https://www.tridentautoparts.us/transfer-case

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...x-type-268744/

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-102358/page2/

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...repair-205858/

 

My TC does not whine. I would think that that is worrying. But just maybe it is whining, because there is an insufficient amount of diff-oil in there (or the wrong gear/diff oil? - from memory it is fully synthetic 85W140. Just as I will explain below that the tilt method will not sufficiently enable you to drain the TC, you will probably also not be able to fill sufficient gear-oil into the TC with the tilt method...

Another question is: Why are you sure that the whining is coming from the TC and not from anything else?

I suspect that hardly anyone would have an air scoop, as it is by design too low mounted and during the years it would have been ripped away.
However, I have build my own air scoop. You were mentioning aluminium - I would think that this is too risky! Aluminium does not tear to pieces, if you get caught somewhere and thus, I would think that instead your aluminium construct would tear something else to pieces and cause massive damage. This is why I made an air scoop out of plastic. Not sure anymore, what I used there, but it is possible that I had cut out a bit of plastic from an old bumper.

I have (as I had to remove my transmission) removed my TC a few times already, and this is why I can tell you that even if you tilt the car in a hair-raising angle, you still will not be able to remove sufficient of the real bad sludge in there. An effective way is to remove the TC and turn it around. Having the TC in my hands I could see how much of the old sludge in there I could get out by just tilting it, and then how much more still after turning it upside down... But a word of warning: Removing the TC is EXTREMELY difficult as there are several bolts, which are close to impossible to remove - most of all the upper left bolt of the catalyst bracket. I created a special toll for that - this took alone 1 or 2 days, and even with that tool it is very difficult.
But if you intend to swap then TC, that's what you have to do anyway...

Another possibility is to drill a drain hole into the TC and then cut a thread for a new drain-bolt. I have not done that myself, but I know others have. I think they even inserted a valve rather than a bolt to ease filling....

Driver's seat: Yes, this is another Jaguar design failure: There are ***** (tooth wheels) used for the seat adjust, which are made from plastic...: I can only interpret this as a fully intentional design that is meant to fail after time. Those ***** MUST be metal *****. I have 3 different X-Types, and this is why I can tell you that across the different X-Type models there are different ***** used. This means that you need to remove the faulty part first so that you can see exactly, which one it is and then you can look on the net where to find them. I think I found the metal versions on Aliexpress.

 

I think the whine is the transfer case as it is gear-independent and speed-dependent for pitch, load-dependent for volume. No noise at all until around 15mph, then it sounds like a star wars pod racer and is definitely louder than the engine, slightly louder than the total other road noise. It sounds like it is coming from the bottom of the engine bay. I said loudest at 30mph, but honestly I suppose it may just be that road noise increases more with speed past that point - it is still definitely audible on the interstate. My drain and fill was with 85W-140, and with the drivers side 22 inches from sill to ground it took the expected amount of fluid before dribbling out - I'm confident that the current fluid is neither low nor incorrect.

Maybe I was confused, I thought there was an OEM air scoop. Mine is also missing the plastic under-engine cover as a whole.

Overall, thanks for the repy, and the info is useful!

 

Yes, there WAS an OEM air scoop. But since it is placed at such an very unfortunate position, most of those disappeared over time (=torn off).
When I wrote "I suspect that hardly anyone would have an air scoop, ..." I meant: I suspect that hardly anyone would have an air scoop ANY MORE,,,
...which I why I made a DIY one (made out of plastic) for myself, and I just hope, it will last a while, before it meets the fate of all the other OEM scoops...

When I removed the TC and turned it over to empty it and refilled it with new gear oil, the new gear oil was immediately utterly dirty again, so that I did immediately another full (turn over) gear oil change. This is why I do not believe the tilt-method is doing the trick, as you can't even fully empty the TC that way. But as I also wrote, removing the TC will be very difficult and if you are good, it might take you a week only...

 

Based on the sound mine is making I'd guess that difficult or no, the transfer box will need replaced in the next 10k miles.

Does anyone have experience with ebay/car-part.com replacements?
It looks like they're generally high mile, would a transfer box with 100k+ on it have much life left, or should I just assume that if mine kicks the bucket the car is dead?
Looking over the 'how to' guides it looks annoying but definitely doable, I just don't want to spend $700 on another bad transfer box...

 

Before you commit too much into the transfer box, it might be worth your while to check the condition of the intermediate bearing on the prop shaft. It can produce some very similar noises to the TB. You can inject grease to see if that reduces the noise and confirms it as the source or not, as the case may be.

The approved method of repairing it is to fit a new prop shaft, but new ones have not been seen for some time . However, changing the bearing is not too difficult and a lot easier than fitting a new TB.

 

Yes, good idea about checking the centre bearing of the prop shaft! Try grease or maybe even WD40 initially to check, if it has any influence on the whining noise...

PS: And if is it not the ctr. prop. shaft bearing, try the same with the remaining bearings (those of the two frt. haft shaft, and then the rear axle bearings)...

 

Hello,
I have been away a while due to medical issues and just found this thread. ltlump, do you need a good transfer case? if so I have one I can sell you also have the transmission and to save a lot of work it may e easier to just swap the entire assembly or if you just want the transfer case it is for sale and I can make you a good deal. I am in Akron Ohio if this works for you. I can assure you this is a great working unit, it was in my wagon that I brought up from Florida that got hit and totaled, prior to that it ran and drove great. Please feel free to pM me or through this forum is fine as well.
Best regards, George