Howdy everyone,
I wanted to create a post to hopefully help people who were in a similar situation to me. I've done some research but haven't found a thread like this, so if I missed it and it's redundant I apologize.
Awhile back my rear u joint (between the driveshaft and the differential) on my 88 325is went bad. Symptoms included medium to severe vibrations at freeway speed, especially above 70 mph. Clunking noises were noticeable at lower speeds as well, such as around town. I got under the car and grabbed ahold of my driveshaft, and I could rotate it several degrees either direction, with the car in gear.
Everyone says that the e30 u joints are staked in place and non-serviceable, and this is true. It's a terrible design feature, but there's a way around it. My fix cost me about $70 and a day of my labor (some machining involved), it's 10 times stronger than stock, and now it's a greaseable, serviceable u joint. Keep in mind however you will completely alter your driveshaft beyond the point of no return. That being said, this will probably outlast any amount of driving you'll put the car through, and if it does wear out, the beauty is it's really easy to replace now! Here's what I did:
I bought three pieces total from Spicer: 1. Weldable tube yoke ($35.15) 2. Flange yoke ($19.95) 3. U joint ($9.50).
First thing's first, I cut the stock U joint section off the driveshaft. Clean up the end of the tube, and if you're hardcore set it up in the lathe with a steady rest and machine the end of the tube so it's square. I just hit it on a disc grinder and got the square out and measured and checked until it was nice and square. The next step is to find a piece of tubing that will act as the adapter, and make sure it's 2.5" OD (outside diameter) by .083" wall thickness (or close to that to cut down on machining). The spicer tube yokes are designed to fit tubing with a specific OD and specific wall thickness. They're designed for standard American tubing sizes, but the e30 driveshaft tube is almost exactly 2.5" ID, not OD. So chuck the tubing in the lathe and machine out the inside of the 2.5" x .083" wall and machine some out so that it slips onto the driveshaft. It doesn't have to be a press fit requiring serious hydraulic press to get it on, but the tight fit will keep it nice and straight when you gently tap with a mallet to get it slid on. Once the tube yoke is pressed into the tubing and the assembly is slid onto the driveshaft (make sure you get the length pretty close to stock, mine was a little long) weld it up carefully and neatly (I tig welded mine) and set it aside.
Next step (more difficult) is machining the flange yoke. The stock flange yoke has a smaller diameter locating hub and slightly larger bolt pattern than the spicer yoke. I setup the flange yoke in a simple, old as the dinosaurs CNC mill, and programmed a circle mill to reduce the diameter of the hub, then ran separate circle mills for the four bold holes. The bolt holes really only require .060" slotting as I recall, but I didn't have an end mill .400" dia so I used a 3/8" end mill and ran circles. You could probably get away with just drilling them oversized but it didn't seem clean to me. If anyone wants actual dimensions and such I've got them written down somewhere.
Last step, just install the u-joint like normal and you're set for the life of your e30, no more worries. This u-joint is a 1310 size, insanely common, dirt cheap, and this setup is great for turbo cars or anyone making serious power because of it's increased strength.
Summary: Yes this is labor intensive, and requires some machining and welding. I know it's not for everyone, just wanted to share what I did, a little about how I did it, and most importantly what parts I used that required the LEAST machining. Best of luck, and if I left anything out feel free to ask questions or correct me!
Here are the part numbers for the parts, I got everything from http://www.dennysdriveshaft.com/, they got everything out quickly and had great prices!
[2-2-1309] DANA SPICER 2-2-1309 Flange Yoke 1310 Series
[2-28-367] Dana Spicer 2-28-367 Weld Yoke 1310 Series to
fit 2.5 inch .083 wall tubing
[5-153X] Dana Spicer 5-153X Universal Joint $9.50 - 1310
Series greaseable u-joint
Thanks for reading!
I wanted to create a post to hopefully help people who were in a similar situation to me. I've done some research but haven't found a thread like this, so if I missed it and it's redundant I apologize.
Awhile back my rear u joint (between the driveshaft and the differential) on my 88 325is went bad. Symptoms included medium to severe vibrations at freeway speed, especially above 70 mph. Clunking noises were noticeable at lower speeds as well, such as around town. I got under the car and grabbed ahold of my driveshaft, and I could rotate it several degrees either direction, with the car in gear.
Everyone says that the e30 u joints are staked in place and non-serviceable, and this is true. It's a terrible design feature, but there's a way around it. My fix cost me about $70 and a day of my labor (some machining involved), it's 10 times stronger than stock, and now it's a greaseable, serviceable u joint. Keep in mind however you will completely alter your driveshaft beyond the point of no return. That being said, this will probably outlast any amount of driving you'll put the car through, and if it does wear out, the beauty is it's really easy to replace now! Here's what I did:
I bought three pieces total from Spicer: 1. Weldable tube yoke ($35.15) 2. Flange yoke ($19.95) 3. U joint ($9.50).
First thing's first, I cut the stock U joint section off the driveshaft. Clean up the end of the tube, and if you're hardcore set it up in the lathe with a steady rest and machine the end of the tube so it's square. I just hit it on a disc grinder and got the square out and measured and checked until it was nice and square. The next step is to find a piece of tubing that will act as the adapter, and make sure it's 2.5" OD (outside diameter) by .083" wall thickness (or close to that to cut down on machining). The spicer tube yokes are designed to fit tubing with a specific OD and specific wall thickness. They're designed for standard American tubing sizes, but the e30 driveshaft tube is almost exactly 2.5" ID, not OD. So chuck the tubing in the lathe and machine out the inside of the 2.5" x .083" wall and machine some out so that it slips onto the driveshaft. It doesn't have to be a press fit requiring serious hydraulic press to get it on, but the tight fit will keep it nice and straight when you gently tap with a mallet to get it slid on. Once the tube yoke is pressed into the tubing and the assembly is slid onto the driveshaft (make sure you get the length pretty close to stock, mine was a little long) weld it up carefully and neatly (I tig welded mine) and set it aside.
Next step (more difficult) is machining the flange yoke. The stock flange yoke has a smaller diameter locating hub and slightly larger bolt pattern than the spicer yoke. I setup the flange yoke in a simple, old as the dinosaurs CNC mill, and programmed a circle mill to reduce the diameter of the hub, then ran separate circle mills for the four bold holes. The bolt holes really only require .060" slotting as I recall, but I didn't have an end mill .400" dia so I used a 3/8" end mill and ran circles. You could probably get away with just drilling them oversized but it didn't seem clean to me. If anyone wants actual dimensions and such I've got them written down somewhere.
Last step, just install the u-joint like normal and you're set for the life of your e30, no more worries. This u-joint is a 1310 size, insanely common, dirt cheap, and this setup is great for turbo cars or anyone making serious power because of it's increased strength.
Summary: Yes this is labor intensive, and requires some machining and welding. I know it's not for everyone, just wanted to share what I did, a little about how I did it, and most importantly what parts I used that required the LEAST machining. Best of luck, and if I left anything out feel free to ask questions or correct me!
Here are the part numbers for the parts, I got everything from http://www.dennysdriveshaft.com/, they got everything out quickly and had great prices!
[2-2-1309] DANA SPICER 2-2-1309 Flange Yoke 1310 Series
[2-28-367] Dana Spicer 2-28-367 Weld Yoke 1310 Series to
fit 2.5 inch .083 wall tubing
[5-153X] Dana Spicer 5-153X Universal Joint $9.50 - 1310
Series greaseable u-joint
Thanks for reading!
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