Confused... Thought transfer case and differential referred to the same thing til I saw in another thread someone changed their transfer case oil and their differential oil. Where is the transfer case located in the x-type? Is the differential in the center of the rear axle? Just not sure what a transfer case is I guess.

 

I am no mechanic, but the t-case in the X-Type is that demon that rears its ugly head all too often based on the posts I've read here. It is the component that directs or transfers the power to the 4 wheels and not the same as the transmission or diff. Mine is on its way out despite "only" 98K miles, on schedule service by my local Jag dealership and 2X the recommended frequency of full synth oil changes. Another independent shop, at my request, extracted a few cc' s of the fluid from this so-called sealed system "that never needs changing." What came out was chocolate pudding. So my dilemma is to follow my brain and get what I can for the car and be done with it, or follow my emotion and sink another $3,000 into a remanufactured t-case (replace bad with bad) and hold my breath until that one craps out too. I learned more about these things than I ever wished! Good luck.

 

Really Zach?...Where did we lose you?...I mean you were all about this in the Transfer case fluid change thread...whats up?

Anyway, the Differential is the gearbox between the rear wheels...You need to change the lube oil in it soon too......the Transfer case is between the front wheel and just a little toward the rear..it is connected to the Rear differential with a long 3" in diameter black pipe and that is support in the middle by a big bearing and that needs greasing too.

 

See the attached pdf for more in-depth information on the system.

I'm under the impression that the transfer case does the roles of both front (between left and right front wheels) and middle (between front and rear axles) differentials, and thus when people talk about "differential" they mean the rear differential.

 

Alright thanks for the information. Looks like I still have a project to do. Apparently I added oil to the differential thinking that "transfer case" referred to the same thing. I will have to check that out. So the TC is located closer to the front wheels and connects to the shaft that goes to the rear differential? And the bearing to that shaft needs grease? Ok got it. I was wondering how people were adding oil to their rear differential with a hose through the engine bay... so that makes sense now... the transfer case is located closer to the front of the car?

 

Here's a photo of a transfer case on eBay, in the photo the propshaft output is the bit closest to the camera.

Look at the picture below, the transfer case is there at the front, practically below the engine. The rear differential is the black box at the rear. The bearing that is usually greased is the propshaft carrier bearing, there in the middle of the propshaft, it's one fairly common source of cold weather whine. I had mine greased recently, and I'll know whether it made any difference when winter comes properly.