Hey guys, just posted in the new member thread. Recently did a transmission replacement and some service items. Car has new wheel bearings and axles as well as a new transmission. But, I hear a howling sound which I'm pretty certain is coming from the transfer case. It gets louder as you drive faster. I've done some research online about getting another transfer case and checked out ebay as well. I've been seeing several different part numbers and none that completely match mine.

My car is a Federal USA 2004 Jaguar X-type 3.0 Automatic. Has the later style steering wheel.

I'm going by a white bar-code tag on the transfer case.

It reads: 4X4W-7L486-EA

I keep finding cases beginning with
1X4W-7H425-DB
4X4W-7L486-EB
1X4W-7L486-DF

I do not know what the different numbers mean or what is the difference between an EA or EB? And I've read they are just 2 different transfer cases used in these cars. 2002-2003 and 2004-2008

Also, I have read you can buy rebuild kits or replace the output shaft bearing as that is usually the problem.

If anyone has links on where to buy parts/kits. Or information on the part numbers that would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

Ken, the 4x4W refers to the model and year car that the part came from. You should see that written a lot around your car. Granted, you will probably also see a lot of 4x43 most likely too.

The 7L486 is a part number that is specific to the transfer case.

As for the EA or EB, that is simply a tracking bit of information for the manufacturer to clue them into what set of plans where used to create said item. In this case, there may have been some slight machining tolerances or dimensioning that was changed in the case when comparing EA to EB. Because of these changes, they give it a slightly different number. You can think of the EA and EB more as a revision number than anything else.

As for parts, take a look around here. There recently has been a lot of talk about part numbers for the seals and bearings to rebuilt the transfer case. That should have all the info that you need.

As for your howl. Quick check for you to do. Get up to speed where you can hear the howl. In a controlled manner, do a check lane change to the left and to the right. Did the howling go away when you made the lane change in one direction but remain the same when going the other way? If so, you problem lies with the wheel bearings, not the transfer case. The other check to try is to try driving the car as fast backwards (in a safe manner) and see if the noise is still there. If you can compare the noise going forwards at say 20 mph as going in reverse at 20 mph. If the noise is completely different, then odds are you have a bad CV joint. If the noise is the same, then most likely it is your transfer case.

 

I discovered that the 2 lower TC bearings are the ones that caused the noise in my car. I did not remove the TC from the car. I simply removed the lower section, replaced the 2 "prop shaft" bearings, used the original seal, flushed it out and re-assembled. Cost me about $100. Fixed the problem! Not too difficult a task either.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ng-p-ns-60135/

Take a look for some of my other posts on the subject.

 

The transfer case in my 2005 3.0 was replaced last year by the Jaguar dealer. The part number on the repair invoice is C2S47858E.
Cost after core return was $2,024 for just the part.

Hope this helps,
Tom