angelglo

I am in the process of removing the transfer case on my 2007 gl450. I have it unbolted and its ready to come out. I also have both front and rear drive shafts unbolted. I have not yet broken it free from the transmission yet as it doesn't look like it will clear the rear driveshaft. I have tried almost everything to remove the driveshaft. I unbolted the flex shaft bearing along with unbolting the rear driveshaft to the rear differential. No matter what I do, it will only give me about 2 inches worth of play to be able to pull the transfer case out. The input shaft on the replacement looks to need about 4 inches.

Can anyone lend some advise on the process to remove the transfer case?

TIA.

angelglo

Ok. for search purposes 2007 gl450 transfer case removal noise clunking under acceleration .

I was able to complete the job. It was actually a pretty simple task. I was thinking there was more to it than there really was.

If you get the noise in the video, it is your transfer case.


it progressively got worse as the days went by without addressing it. So I find a transfer case on ebay for 550. I went to a shop and they were going to install a refurbished one for 3500 for just the transfer case. I didn't ask about labor as this was not an option for me.

-remove the 6 size 55 torx bolts for the front drive shaft.
-remove the 6 size 55 torx bolts for the rear drive shaft.
-remove 8 bolts using e12 torx socket for the transfer case to tranny. There are 2 bolts up high on top of the transfer case that are difficult to reach. Having an assortment of extensions and U joints helped. the driver's side is more difficult to get to. Use several long extensions and 2 u joints. go from the back of the transfer case and thread a few extensions with the u joint and socket on top of the tranny towards the front on the drivers side. once you see the extension attach the ratchet with another extension and u joint and remove the bolt.
-with the rear drive shaft unbolted, you will need to get it out of the way to be able to get the transfer case out with a swift blow of your palm, you can force the drive shaft up and out of the way.

The transfer case can now be removed. it doesn't weigh to much so you can just pull it out.

putting it back in is just the reverse. This should only take about 5 hours to complete depending on the needs of your kids as they yell "daddy, can you play with me?"

Now, I had gone the long route as I started disassembling the drive shaft at the rear diff. I also unbolted the center bearing as I thought this was hanging up my driveshaft prohibiting me from removing the transfer case. So when I was able to force the rear driveshaft up and out of the way, the drive shaft was disconnected at the center bearing. I do not believe you need to do this.

In any case, the transfer case seems to operate as it should

angelglo

I took apart the transfer case that I removed from my 2007 gl450. It was damaged at the chain tensioner. The tensioner mount had broken off. The case is no longer rebuildable. I do not know what caused it to break off and we do not do any hard driving with it nor do we tow with our GL450. I have attached some pics to show the damage.

sak335

Thanks for posting this; hope I don't ever need it.


One thing I want to mention after reading your procedure. A long time ago a carpenter told me "never use your hand as a hammer." Pretty good advice. A rubber mallet would be the appropriate tool to use in this case.

mar775

One more thing on my list! I was ready to tear into something but didn't know what! So, not as bad as yours, only making that noise under full snort right off the line, mine will likely get worse.
Threads like your's, with the vid, make the forum great. Thx!

bha

Mine was doing the same thing. If you watch that video and hear the same noise, 100% for sure it's your transfer case.


Bought a used one at reasonable price from a local wrecking yard. Saw some on eBay too but was able to get one locally.


Note that there are two different types from what I can tell: ML version and GL version. The GL seems to have an extra bracket mounted to the transfer case. If you put an ML unit into a GL, you'll have to tap threads into some existing holes so the screws holding the bracket on can thread in. Just something to watch out for.. apparently not hard to do but try to get a GL transfer case for a GL if that's the truck you have.


I sat under the car for two 20 minute shifts, each time with a bunch of sockets, extensions, u-joints, etc. I do a lot of my own work (90% of it actually) but gave up on this one. The top bolts are really hard to get to.


Angelglo was nice enough to send me instructions (he has posted them here) and answer a few of my questions. He had no problem chaning his t-case, but I followed his instructions and just couldn't get the top bolts out.. it's tricky.


I tried all of the other bolts and they would have been easy to get to. So figured I'd start with the hard ones.


After sitting under the car long enough, I gave up and took it to a local indy shop. He charged me 4 hours labour which I think was a bargain considering he had to do the entire swap, refill with fluid (I provided the t-case and fluid) and tapping new threads for the bracket. I believe he ended up cutting me a deal and it cost me $300.


Something to consider before you spend a whole day in the garage.. I dropped the t-case and fluid in the trunk, and had the car back the next day in 100% perfect condition. I have lots of tools but couldn't get those 2 top bolts out.


Try to remove the top two bolts FIRST. If you can, the job looks pretty easy. If you can't, then don't try to remove other parts because you'll be stuck at the end trying to get those bolts out.


By the way, I have hit the throttle quite hard (on both dry and wet roads) and have heard NO noise at all since replacement.


I think every 50,000km (30,000 miles) I'll start replacing the fluid. I think the fluid was worn out and more importantly probably quite low. There is no maintenance interval and even the dealer selling me the fluid said they never change it (only use the fluid for t-case replacements).


For the cost of 1/2 liter of fluid and not much of your time it is VERY much worth changing the fluid as a preventive measure.


Again, thanks to angelglo for his feedback on this forum, and also all of the emails he sent to answer my questions. I wouldn't have even thought of replacing it (or knowing where to look to solve this noise) without him.

dagentooboy

I got one of the top bolts off in the R320 with about 4ft of extensions and a lot of patience. The other one I had to use an air ratchet because I couldn't move once I got it on the bolt. The only other gotcha was that you have to get the rear drive shaft out of the way..... I pulled it off the back diff and let it hang down after I pulled the bearing in the middle. To put it back on I had to rotate the diff down and then push it all back up with the jack.... It would have saved me a lot of headache to start there once I got the TC bolts out.

Also YES... tap for the bracket before you put it up there. It's the same thing with the R320. Took me a while to tap it after I had the TC in place.

KrustyKustom

What fluid did your dealer sell you? The BEVO fluid chart for my year showed the 134 ATF?

bha

Don't recall (and don't have the bottle any longer) but I bought mine from a Chrysler (Dodge Sprinter) dealer.


If I remember correctly, yes, it was ATF134. As long as you're following what is listed on BEVO you are perfectly fine.


Note that the filling capacity is very small. I think 0.5L. so you will only need 1 bottle.

barnett_ma

Was it hard to open up the transfer case? When you closed it, was it hard to put back together? I'm about to do the same work on my GL320 and I'm thinking of rebuilding the thing if I can get it open and back together without too many problems.

bha

I don't think you can rebuild these. There is a pic of one taken apart, somewhere on the web.. have a look at the insides.


There is a tensioner that is bolted into the case. The standoffs where it is bolted into break off, so there is no tension on the chain. You would need a new case to be able to rebuild one of these.


Best thing to do is throw it away, get a low mileage used one, and swap it. The time and labor of rebuilding it aren't worth it either (even if it was rebuildable) as I have seen good used ones for as low as $500-600 online.


Just buy another one and swap and your truck will be perfect and back on the road in no time.

dagentooboy

I got mine online but I kept the old one just in case. I THINK (Theory... not actual data) that you could drill and thread a hole and use a really long bolt through the old and into the case and just bold it all down broken pieces and all. I would drill the threads out of the part that broke off. I found a replacement chain on ebay at the time

bha

Yes, you are probably right about redrilling the case. I thought the same thing too when I saw the pic on the web, but never got that far with mine as it was easier to replace the unit.


I also saw those replacement chains when I looked around. Probably not a bad idea to replace the chain too if your tensioner is broken because you dont' want to put it back together and then have the chain wear out!


I have replaced mine and will now start changing the fluid annually to hopefully make it last forever. I'm convinced that the fluid is the problem and if you keep the thing properly lubricated with clean fluid it should last a long long time.. Looks very sturdy and well built.

dagentooboy

my leading theory is that you almost have to shift it from R to D or R/D to P and that stretches the chain then it hits the tensioner every time you shift back and forth. If you come to a full stop every time before you change gears I think it will last a lot longer. The wear point is not what broke.... something was hit.

barnett_ma

I just did the transfer case swap for my 07 GL 320 CDI. It was pretty straight forward. Remove the support bracket first. Then get the two top bolt off of the transfer case. And, yes, you will need a bunch of extensions and a universal joint to get them loosened. Then next hardest part was getting the drive shaft clear of the transfer case. After that, things came apart and went back together pretty easily. I got the TC from an R class donor car. So I had to tap threads in two holes for a mounting bracket. The screw is an M8. So, if you get a TC from an R class, have a tap ready. That was also really easy with a simple hand tap.
And, yes, the job made my car much quieter and smoother right away. The tensioner was broken and I could feel it vibrate as I drove before I swapped it out. Now, it's much better. Plus the unnerving chain slipping sound is gone. Thanks for the previous write ups and note. They helped a lot.

barnett_ma

Oh, I got the replacement on eBay for $340. With shipping and tax it was something like $440. My total cost with buying some tools at habor freight/auto zone, transmission fluid and a crush washer was $550. Not bad. It would have been thousands at a dealer or other shop.

dagentooboy

I think the extra brackets are for the 320. I put a trasfer case is my R320 and I had to tap it (after I got it in..... not as much fun) for the extra brackets.

mjanasik

Angelglo,

Did you figure out the best way to move the rear drive shaft to pull the transfer case? I just got the 2 bolts at top of transfer case and am getting ready to pull the transfer case but that rear drive shaft is still in the way. I have only removed it from the transfer case not removed that bracket inside heat shield, is that necessary?

fbaldus

Im going to remove my r350 transmission, which is the same thing as this. I already removed a transmission from a junkyard, but had a very hard time removing the rear driveshaft, I had to bring the transmission down with the drive shaft, It was chaos, I dont want to go through that again. so just to be clear, you removed the 6 drive shaft bolts from the rear of the transfer case, and just pushed it back (hitting it with your palm), ? did you have to remove/loosen the middle driveshaft bearing?
Please let me know