Jaguar X-Type Transfer Case Problems
On the AWD X-Type most whines and rumbles from underneath come from the propshaft centre bearing or a worn transfer box. The box holds very little oil and is filled for life, which is why it fails. I'd check that oil and spin the centre bearing by hand before paying for a new box or shaft — and try another set of tyres, because they can sound just the same.
How bad is it · Garage, carefully
Drivable with care — don't ignore a growing noise
A cold-weather bearing whine can go on for years. A transfer box that's getting louder can seize, and a dry box wears out fast, so check the oil soon and stop driving it hard.
Which one applies to yours depends on your symptoms, your model year and what has already been done to it.
Likely causes, most common first
Read the check cost before the odds: a free check that rules a cause out beats a likely guess that costs money.
Propshaft centre bearing whining or howling
The X-Type's propshaft is long and runs on a rubber-mounted centre bearing. In cold weather the bearing dries and sings, and the whole shaft can also come out of balance. The bearing isn't sold on its own.
A high whistle or a 'finger round a wine glass' howl, often only in a band such as 30-35 mph or at motorway speed, loudest on cold mornings and gone after ten minutes or once it's above about 5 C. It doesn't change with revs or gear.
Undo the two bolts of the centre bearing bracket and spin the bearing by hand: rough or loose means the shaft. Smooth and still singing in the cold is the dry seal.
Pack the bearing with grease, sprayed generously on both sides or injected through the rubber seal with a needle; it's cheap and often quietens it for a season. The lasting fix is the complete propshaft, C2S38967E with new bolts and gaskets; a dealer asks about £600, while a used or reconditioned shaft costs far less.
Transfer box bearings worn out
The transfer box bolted to the side of the gearbox carries a pinion and output bearings in a small amount of oil. When the oil is low or burnt the bearings wear and shed swarf, and left long enough the box nearly seizes.
A low rumble or a constant whine that follows road speed, there whether you are on the throttle, coasting or in neutral, often from about 30 mph. A whine that is there at all speeds points here rather than at the propshaft.
Drain the transfer box oil and measure it: very little, black tar or metal flakes confirm a worn box. A specialist with a stethoscope on the box housing will hear the bearing.
Fit a new or reconditioned transfer box; a new box can cost less than a specialist's bearing rebuild. A DIY rebuild with a bearing kit needs the preload shimmed right, or the new bearings chatter within a few thousand miles. The box can come out without dropping the subframe, but don't let the right-hand link shaft slide out more than 200 mm, or its inner seal is ruined; bulletin XT307-S941 covers this. Once a box starts getting noisy, stop driving hard on it.
It's the tyres or a wheel bearing, not the driveline
Cheap or worn-in tyres and a dry wheel bearing make the same speed-related whine as the driveline. A reconditioned transfer box has been fitted to a car whose noise was only its rear tyres.
Whine or rumble that changes on a different road surface, or when you sway the car through a long bend; a light shake in the steering wheel goes with a front bearing.
Try a different set of wheels and tyres before buying any driveline part, and check each wheel bearing on a lift.
Fit a set of good tyres, or change the noisy wheel bearing.
Low or burnt transfer box oil
The box holds only about 600 ml and Jaguar called it filled for life. Many boxes have lost most of it by 70,000 miles, and what's left turns thick and black. Without the plastic air deflector under the engine it runs hotter still.
A whine that started recently and grows; on some cars it comes into the cabin through the left-hand vent.
Take out the fill plug and check the level; drain and measure what comes out.
Flush and refill the transfer box, then change it at least every 30,000 miles. A hose-barb fitting in the top fill port makes refilling easier. Replace the air deflector if it's missing. Fresh oil doesn't cure worn bearings, but it is worth doing first.
Worn propshaft joints: a clunk as drive takes up
Play in the universal joints or the splines lets the shaft wind up and snap back every time the drive is taken up.
A clonk pulling away, when the throttle goes back on at 20-25 mph, or on a gear change, but not when lifting off.
On a lift, hold the shaft either side of each joint and twist in opposite directions; check the couplings at both ends too. Look at the roll restrictor that ties the gearbox to the body while you're there.
Replace the propshaft; it comes only as a complete shaft. A worn roll restrictor bush gives the same clunk and costs far less.
Viscous coupling slipping on early cars
Cars before the 2004 model year have a viscous coupling inside the transfer box that locks front and rear together when one axle slips. Jaguar dropped it in 2004 and let DSC do the job.
On an early car the rear wheels spin while both front wheels stand still. A slipping coupling doesn't whine on its own; a whine as well means a second fault.
Lift one axle and turn a wheel by hand: the opposite wheel on that axle should turn the other way and, on the lifted rear, the front should be driven.
There's no repair for the coupling itself; it comes with the box.
The order to check them in
The point of the order is money: each step either rules a cause out or makes the next one worth doing. Green is free, amber costs a little, red is the one to arrive at last.
Note when it's there
Only cold and only at certain speeds points to the propshaft bearing; at every speed, coasting and in neutral too, points to the transfer box. A clunk only when drive takes up is the joints.
freeCheck the transfer box oil
Fill plug out, check the level, then drain and measure. Little or none, or black tar, means trouble.
a litre of oilSpin the centre bearing
Two bolts hold the bracket. Rough or loose: the shaft. Smooth: grease it and see if the cold whine goes.
freeCheck the joints and the restrictor
On a lift, twist the shaft either side of each joint and look at the roll restrictor bush.
freeRule out tyres and wheel bearings
Try another set of wheels and check each bearing before buying a box or a shaft.
freeLook for the air deflector
The plastic deflector under the engine cools the transfer box; refit it if it's missing.
freeWhat it usually isn't
Don't spend money here first:
If none of this finds it:
On jagaux.com
- Jaguar X-Type Vibration at SpeedIf it's a shake rather than a noise.
- Jaguar X-Type Gearbox FaultIf the gearbox shows a fault message or shifts badly.
- Jaguar X-Type DSC System Fault, ABS LightIf traction or DSC warnings come on.
- Jaguar VIN decoderConfirm your exact model year, engine and factory options before ordering parts — free.
Ratings, fuse numbers and torque figures vary by model year and market. Read the legend on your own car before pulling anything, and use the figures in the manual for your car, not the ones in a video.
Check your VIN: exactly which car you have and which bulletins apply to it.