X5 centering flange fitment issues

[Dirty325ix]

Hey, so I did the swap over to a thicker front guibo and I made sure to buy the 2002 X5 centering flange to work with the larger front guibo, but I ran into a problem
I was not able to install the centering flange because the little nipple that centers everything into the drive shaft kept getting caught on the on the drive shaft flange itself.

The new flange fit perfectly with just the guibo but then it's impossible to install the driveshaft and it's not like I can install the guibo to the drive shaft and fit that into the transfer case or the differential

To solve the problem I cut off about 3mm of the centering flanges tip so that it could squeeze in between the driveshaft (that is compressed into the transfer case) and the front diff flange.....it fit but it basically rendered the centering pin useless and now the driveshaft is off balance

So I got another x5 centering pin and I was going to try and redo this project this weekend.....

is there something I need to do to where the drive shaft flange and the centering pin flange meet or has no one ever experienced this problem and is it supposed to be a perfict fit (other than slimming down the bolts)

The car is a 89 325ix that is a auto to manual conversion (if that means anything)

[audiquattrot]

I currently don't have a centering pin on my iX, since I'm running a Moonlite Motorwerks shim kit that won't allow the centering pin flange to work.

With that said, I haven't experience any balancing issues w/ my driveshaft as a result, and its been on there for 3yrs at least.

[Dirty325ix]

Hmm well my car is experiencing a severe stutter in power between 3000 and 4000 rpm and I always assumed it was related to my driveline

Not gonna lie I have read some seriously conflicting information on the importance of the centering pin. Some people seem to agree that it will work fine without one, while others strongly belive that without a centering pin you will thrash your guibo in 500 miles

Last winter I ran it without the centering pin and experienced a similar throbing sensation in the powerband and asked the question here http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=324467 and the centering pin seemed important back then

But I guess the problem could be more complicated

[audiquattrot]

Not sure, but from my experience, I've put roughly 60k miles without trashing the guibo or any kind of vibration. It might be the shim kit I used that keeps everything center via the screws/nuts, but there is no centering pin on the shim at all. Just sits between the front shaft and guibo.

[audiquattrot]

This is what I'm using

http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=274633&highlight=Moonlite

[Nisse Järnet]

You could make a spacer that centers the the pin and drive shaft too :)

[Kershaw]

A stutter in those rpm ranges is probably something else. Do you get a CEL? Does your tach drop?

[Dirty325ix]

Recently it's been happening during any type of acceleration and when it happens the tack seems to slow down but it doesnt drop out. the problem is most noticeable now in between 2500-3700rpm but can still pull smoothly from 4000-5000

I was fixing a few intake leaks last night and noticed that the bolt is missing off the passage side motor mount I'm guessing that's important so I am going to replace that today

As for cel lights l, I haven't gotten a CEL light in a while, but used to get them after the car idled for a few minutes (bad air/fuel mix)

Hopefully after I fix the shitty motor mount and the glue dries on my intake manifold(glued the 2 vac lines and icv line into the intake manifold so they stop falling out) I am hoping the problem will go away without having to get under the car

[Dirty325ix]

It was vacuum leaks

But I still don't understand why I had to shave off a few mm to make the centering flange fit:rippedoff: probably a result of something stupid I did in the past