330i manual: 2.93
330i convertible or ZHP: 3.07
325i manual: 3.15
325xi manual: 3.23
330 slushy: 3.38
325 slushy (and Jeff's 5-speed 325iT!! ): 3.46

So, JV, what do you charge for a diff rebuild? :)

The 3.91 in the E36 has a little bit of pinion whine, and I'd really actually like to put in a 3.73 gear.

Standard manual 330 is a 2.93. Zhp and 323 are 3.07. Manual 325i/Ci (non wagon) is 3.15. 325xi manual is 3.23. Lots of automatic cars are 3.46. Automatic Zhp is 3.64.there is a 3.38 as well, can't remember what it's in.

Ha, Matt beat me to it.

Nick, depends what it needs. Do you have a good complete 3.73 to swap your lsd into?

I think there's a niche here for JV to become the Singer of E46 BMWs.

Seriously. Just start building bespoke e46 M3 wagons. I'm sure you'd sell everyone you could make.

Building and selling is easy. Selling at a profit not so much.

I'd be picking up a 3.73 (E30 diff) to pull the ring out of, most likely. Would need to be a swap in as the E36 has very limited gear options.

Shouldn't be a problem. Crush sleeves are kinda expensive though.

Do you still have a rear subframe bushing tool Nick? I'd like to borrow that again if so...

It must be in a box somewhere. :eeps:

Front end is all buttoned up. Next... Clutch.

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...psir7p4u3v.jpg

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps0fjofxox.jpg

I see you are using a DSP approved clamp on that dust boot. :kekeke:

Ha, yes, I hate the stupid metal factory clamps

Yay.

How are the wheel bearings BTW?

I'm betting on "present."

(JV - let me know if you want to borrow the B90 tool as well.)

I'm surprised at this, but all the bearings are smooth and don't have any noticeable play. My ZHP went through both front wheel bearings in my ownership. The DSP car hasn't needed any yet. But it only has 8,100 miles :)

I mean, with 170k, and significant disassembly, I'd probably at least do the rear bearings. :)

But they're city miles.

What tie rods did you use for this? And did you use the OEM springs?

Shocks and tie rods are a little bit lower on my list, but I want to start thinking about what to buy for that project.

And only like 4,050 of them are under its own power.

Same springs that came on the car.

The tie rods are lemforder from ECS Tuning. JV said the ones on the car were fine but we replaced them anyway based on the age/mileage. JV suggested Meyle HD, but given that they OEM ones lasted 170k miles I said screw it let's get lemforder again.

Shocks: I have double adjustable konis that I could have had rebuilt by TC Klein (I think anyway... Is he even still in business?) but since it's a street car I decided to go with new Koni FSD. The DA's are cool and all but if you're not racing they don't add much value and are on the stiff side on the street.

TCK is still very much around and in business. I'm sure they could rebuild those shocks for you, but it may not be worth the cost. There are much better pimpshock options for these cars than there were fourteen years ago and so the Konis may be a tough sale.

Work has been a bear lately, haven't had much time to work on my own car much less Matt's car. But today is not a work day!

2.93 out of Matt's car. Lame.

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...psikveu072.jpg

3.15 out of a junkyard 325i... cool.

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...psymp8l1jh.jpg

Fluid looks fine, as it should.

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...pspodot311.jpg

Once you remove the axle seals, these snap rings are the next thing you face in disassembling one of these things.

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...psek0qavuz.jpg

These snap ring pliers are the only way to get these snap rings out. On an E46 the snap rings double as retainers for the outer bearing races and as the axial locators of the differential unit. They're marked for their thickness (in mm, between around 3.4mm and 4.0mm). Generally, when installing an LSD you can get away with retaining the stock snap rings which is why I write their sizes on the case, but there are still a bunch of measurements that need to be taken to make sure. BMW doesn't sell these, so I keep a collection of about 30 of them to be able to build differentials without resorting to other methods.

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...psmncdnvve.jpg

The gears inside this diff looked great, and there is no noticeable bearing wear.

Next I got to pulling the driveshaft so I could do the giubo and pull the transmission to do a clutch. This is not the worst giubo I've seen, but it's bad. Very dry rotted.

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...pszyvullpe.jpg

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...psongebaie.jpg

Looks like it needs a transmission tailshaft seal. Usually things are not this oily.

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...pscvvstsda.jpg

Sorry I recorded in portrait mode. Was hard to get a decent angle from under the car.

I'll just pipe in to say "This thread is awesome."

That is all. Carry on.

More bushing replacement today. New versus old front diff bushings.

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps1kdvhibh.jpg

The large rear bushing was also pretty dry rotted and cracked.

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...psjv4v78x8.jpg

I realized I didn't actually have the front bushing tool, so I had to rig something up to remove them. It worked fine.

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...psckiwguis.jpg

Matt, you sure you don't want me to make you a set of these solid aluminum ones? :)

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...psoghkznfd.jpg

Just kidding. Replaced with genuine BMW replacements. I know this picture makes them look a little crooked but I swear they aren't.

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...psmfu9ivt0.jpg

I do have the rear bushing tool, so that was easy.

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...pssmnl2f6h.jpg

I agree! :D Very fun.


Is that something you can do? Or is it time to take the new parts back off the car and try to return them. :lol:

Why does the diff have 3.72 written on it?

3.72 is the thickness in mm of the carrier shim on that side of the diff that will receive the Lsd.

Tailshaft seal is easy

Which Matt would have known if he bothered to read the build thread JV is trying to do for Matt's car.

Oh snap

#failing

Maybe it was covered over the last 11 pages, but what are you using for references/instructions? I've looked into some of the rear suspension DIYs online, and I feel like a lot of them are written by people who like taking extra shit apart for no reason.

References and instructions?

I think he means for torque specs. :lol:

I think JV just uses his memory from the last N times he took his race car apart and put it back together.

As in, factory service manual vs. something else, one of which was helpful before you gained the ability to do the work drunk and blindfolded. :D

TIS beats everything else.

I do some recon via YouTube and forum DIY's and use a Chilton book mostly for torque specs.

I use the TIS for torque settings and other specs... though TIS is incredibly frustrating to navigate. TIS was indispensable when I rebuild the engine in the DSP car.

For procedures, I kind of just figured things out on my own.

Stock shift lever and bushing versus new ZHP shift lever. Shifter had upwards of 8mm of vertical play and 2-3mm of fore-aft play. Not good.

http://i368.photobucket.com/albums/o...ps1tly2vl6.jpg

Vertical play?! Like, Z-axis play?! :lol: