Amarok transfer case
Posted: Wed Jun 02, 2021 11:41 am
Thought I would share my recent experience with all.
It all started with a thump about 6 weeks ago whilst looking for parking at slow speed. The Amarok never missed a beat in it's 58k km before, so immediately my radar was on high alert. the symptom didn't return for more than a week, but one morning, on my way to work, there it was again and now I could reproduce it at will. Decided not to stuff up what surrounded the cause of the thump more than necessary and decided to rather put it on a low bed.
Long story short, the verdict was a stuffed torsen diff in the transfer case, as a matter of fact, a little friction plate in the diff gave up the ghost. The good news was that this part was available, on backorder and due to covid or whatever else caused the misalignment in the planets, at a minimum waiting time of at least twelve weeks! The next bit of good news was that this little friction plate came with a whole pre assembled transfer case, saving a lot of time on disassembling and assembling!
The only bit of concern at this moment in time was that the repair would cost me the equivalent of 10% of the value of a new vehicle!!!!! I might have had hurtful intentions in my reply to the bearer of all the good news, the service adviser! She might need counciling in future for listening to the profanity that must have damaged her tender millennial ears! We agreed to sleep on the matter, though sleep never followed for the next few nights!
It was spent sending emails to suppliers, scrapyards, reading up on the internet as to the inner workings of German wizardry, but never sleep!
It turns out that I've found the holy grail of car parts! A little friction disk so small that you can post it in a standard envelope any where in the world if you can only find it!
I found one on eBay, but the Russian hacker that offered it for sale at about $600-00 was to scared to ship to our corrupt republic. My next port of call were all the local breakers! Suddenly it turns out that Amarok's don't crash that much, contrary to popular belief! So I spread the blanky further, to the bigger national breakers, found a few that would sell me the whole gearbox at even more ridiculous figures!
So further research, I realise this a very common part, not only used in Amarok's, but almost every SUV model the Germans produce has this part! Back to the breakers but alas no luck! I broadened my search, even across our borders and still we were stumped!
In the process I broadened my internet understanding of transfer cases, quite a mean feat as the mother company that produce these vehicles, actively try and keep their top secret concoctions just that, secret. This I realised after speaking with one of the local service agents for the particular gearbox!
Finally one morning luck dawned upon us! A friend had an older Audi Q7 transfer case abandoned in his workshop! This was from one of the Audis when they were still fitted with big burly V12 engines! Before they went all eco friendly! He offered it, not expecting that it could work as the input shaft differed, the torsen diff was different and the bolt pattern also differed.
Lets just say that the planets alignment urged me to take a go at it, or maybe it was just despondency at the time! A courier was sent to pick up the part. When it arrived it was confirmed that it was completely different! Stripping the diff also showed that it was completely different! It had 6 planetary gears instead of 4 and the friction plates were more and different! In desperation we've put everything together and then suddenly realised the outside dimensions exactly the same! Eureka moment!
I am now the proud owner of an Amarok that can drive again, albeit with a stronger centre diff, not entirely a bad thing! I've learned that google is not your friend, most of the links it send me to, was my own drunken ramblings on a forum of ill repute! I've learned that the global village is not as small as we give it credit for!
If there is a need I can elaborate on the above story with pictures for Manny! I've learned a lot and even maybe found a solution how to make these vehicles able to engage low range!
But for now, my two middle fingers are bleeding so I'm just going to enjoy my own concoction!
It all started with a thump about 6 weeks ago whilst looking for parking at slow speed. The Amarok never missed a beat in it's 58k km before, so immediately my radar was on high alert. the symptom didn't return for more than a week, but one morning, on my way to work, there it was again and now I could reproduce it at will. Decided not to stuff up what surrounded the cause of the thump more than necessary and decided to rather put it on a low bed.
Long story short, the verdict was a stuffed torsen diff in the transfer case, as a matter of fact, a little friction plate in the diff gave up the ghost. The good news was that this part was available, on backorder and due to covid or whatever else caused the misalignment in the planets, at a minimum waiting time of at least twelve weeks! The next bit of good news was that this little friction plate came with a whole pre assembled transfer case, saving a lot of time on disassembling and assembling!
The only bit of concern at this moment in time was that the repair would cost me the equivalent of 10% of the value of a new vehicle!!!!! I might have had hurtful intentions in my reply to the bearer of all the good news, the service adviser! She might need counciling in future for listening to the profanity that must have damaged her tender millennial ears! We agreed to sleep on the matter, though sleep never followed for the next few nights!
It was spent sending emails to suppliers, scrapyards, reading up on the internet as to the inner workings of German wizardry, but never sleep!
It turns out that I've found the holy grail of car parts! A little friction disk so small that you can post it in a standard envelope any where in the world if you can only find it!
I found one on eBay, but the Russian hacker that offered it for sale at about $600-00 was to scared to ship to our corrupt republic. My next port of call were all the local breakers! Suddenly it turns out that Amarok's don't crash that much, contrary to popular belief! So I spread the blanky further, to the bigger national breakers, found a few that would sell me the whole gearbox at even more ridiculous figures!
So further research, I realise this a very common part, not only used in Amarok's, but almost every SUV model the Germans produce has this part! Back to the breakers but alas no luck! I broadened my search, even across our borders and still we were stumped!
In the process I broadened my internet understanding of transfer cases, quite a mean feat as the mother company that produce these vehicles, actively try and keep their top secret concoctions just that, secret. This I realised after speaking with one of the local service agents for the particular gearbox!
Finally one morning luck dawned upon us! A friend had an older Audi Q7 transfer case abandoned in his workshop! This was from one of the Audis when they were still fitted with big burly V12 engines! Before they went all eco friendly! He offered it, not expecting that it could work as the input shaft differed, the torsen diff was different and the bolt pattern also differed.
Lets just say that the planets alignment urged me to take a go at it, or maybe it was just despondency at the time! A courier was sent to pick up the part. When it arrived it was confirmed that it was completely different! Stripping the diff also showed that it was completely different! It had 6 planetary gears instead of 4 and the friction plates were more and different! In desperation we've put everything together and then suddenly realised the outside dimensions exactly the same! Eureka moment!
I am now the proud owner of an Amarok that can drive again, albeit with a stronger centre diff, not entirely a bad thing! I've learned that google is not your friend, most of the links it send me to, was my own drunken ramblings on a forum of ill repute! I've learned that the global village is not as small as we give it credit for!
If there is a need I can elaborate on the above story with pictures for Manny! I've learned a lot and even maybe found a solution how to make these vehicles able to engage low range!
But for now, my two middle fingers are bleeding so I'm just going to enjoy my own concoction!
