My 2005 LR3's transfer case chain was slipping upon hard acceleration but otherwise everything else was functioning normally, so I had the transfer case swapped out with a good working unit. That problem is solved. I can floor it with no issues but now there is a new problem. At slow speed, the car is almost undrivable on turns. The problem is as follows:

It happens in both and forward and reverse and on both right and left turns under 10 mph. From a stop or a slow roll it starts to build. I can feel the tension building up to it as resistance to forward motion ( or reverse motion ). First a small pop then a louder pop and then more frequent popping. It also pops again when I stop moving and put it in park. From the outside of the car you can see the wheel shutter when the knocking happens. It feels like the knocking is coming from somewhere underneath the front seats. Driving straight or on the freeway there doesn't seem to be the same problem. It moves in and out of low range without issue. I would very much appreciate anyone's thoughts .

 

I'd question how "good working" that transfer case really is.
To me it sounds as if the center differential in the TC isn't working properly as if it is locked, The front and rear want to move at different speeds and they can't, so the stress builds up and unwinds with the stutter you feel. The whole drive system winds up and will eventually break at the weakest link.
So try this-when you feel it start to feel like it wants to pop, travel in the opposite direction and see if it feels like it's unwinding. That's pretty much the tell.
Unless the plates are locked up, you should be able to get to the motor that engages the internal clutches. That motor can jam and lock the diff,
From past research, the actuator motor in the BMW and LR3 are the same unit, not surprising as BMW owned Land Rover for a while. You might try this https://www.bimmerfest.com/threads/t...ee-fix.566880/ to make sure it is working as intended.

 

Thank you for a truly informative explanation. It's going back to the shop in the morning, so I will post when we have a result.

 

Good news! Five minutes with the test book calibrating the transfer case motor and the problem was corrected.

 

Glad it worked out. I've seen the TC calibration in the Gap menu but that hadn't occured to me.

 

My mechanic said he had replaced many transfer cases over the years and this is the first time he seen this happen and had the occasion to do the calibration procedure.

 

I want to give an update for anyone who may experience the same issue. Within a few days after the calibration, the symptoms returned, only not as severe. The shop and I discussed replacing the actuator motor but decided to try calibrating one more time first. It has been a couple of weeks of dally driving since the second calibration and the issue has not returned.

 

I'm curious if you were changing your drive modes during all of this? Like if you left the LR3 in standard drive mode not turning the dial to Rocks or using low gears. Would it bind up then? Or were you fooling around with the settings and then it locked up the center diff but failed to unlock it.

I thought the center diff only locked (actuator motor needed) when you put it in rock crawl mode + low gear.

I'm not exactly sure when that motor decides to turn on at all. I know if standard driving mode that center diff does not lock. On mine I can drive on pavement in low gear with no wind up but if I put it in low + rock crawl that seems to lock the center diff. Anyone know for sure what modes turn it on/off?