Dorman or Powerttrain Industries - E30 Drive Shaft replacement

[95BMWIC]

1991 BMW 325i Automatic

Grinding and squealing - CSB is good but the U-joint is very notchy (meaning when I move it.. it is very sticky)..

Research from what I found is that u-joints really cannot be replaced easily (although a drivetrain shop with the correct aftermarket ujoint) could replace and repair (option 1).

This seems like a bit more of a hassle and time and money savings is maybe not worth it.

Option 2 -Replace entire driveshaft - My part # is 26 111 226 439 Length1327mm according to RealOEM

I find 3 brands - Dorman, Powertrain Industries, (Around the $600 mark) and Autoparts Premium (half the price). I only find these at the regular E30 shopping sites: RockAuto, eBay, ECS, Pelican, Bimmer, etc..

Any recommendations on Brand or Place to buy?

[AWDBOB]

If you're doing the work yourself, I'd buy a good used automatic E30 driveshaft, put a new CSB on it and call it a day.

[95BMWIC]

If you're doing the work yourself, I'd buy a good used automatic E30 driveshaft, put a new CSB on it and call it a day.

Good point.

I did come across 2 Automatic drivelines recently from a salvage yards - and both had some issues though - Both were rusty (midwest), One was separated with no markings so I was concerned about balance and the other had a bad ujoint already. Both were about $50..

I hear its a crap shoot (from reading old threads) on high mileage driveshafts.. I also heard 150k - typically looking at replacement / maintenance? Is this true? I have 320K on my driveline and I think it is original...

Many of these on ebay have no mileage, just pics.. A few eBay are around $200 - but need to change CSB.. Carpart.com has some listed - but shipping and dealing with salvage yards from a different state can be challenging.. #1 on what they say versus what you get, #2 on packing - #3 on ship date,

Is there a Used salvage you recommend? Ebay has a seller but never used them:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/275844963757?epid=1711144143&hash=item4039a41dad:g:4LYAAOSwSQBkW8aW&amdata=enc%3AAQAIAAAAwMkfFHTTpuGaGqcHJR2ys4yAIYuBiegN%2Bmrr3yAwK%2Ft9TcqRqcsf3TCYbJSryc0djpGLow20Z31dVaJpDrgMvw8Dsjjgotuku41svhE57QVwCBIJ%2Fstxi%2BCj7wrrm5ganS3OxKmGex%2FMQfAhhxFi0gdk45DoLPR1xwMvQSXfwzrV53XiY2LpFPRsaXFkV1LK13tvzKEX%2FdUGq46d2K27XWPF51e%2BwkyQtSZAugHBqrG2BtZ2xTESFG9RHgHbJ99yXw%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR8KTzrbzYg

[82eye]

the weak point of most anything aftermarket is going to be the quality of the csb. the driveshafts themselves are probably all reman, and should be fine as long as they were balanced in phase.

[ZeKahr]

1991 BMW 325i Automatic

Grinding and squealing - CSB is good but the U-joint is very notchy (meaning when I move it.. it is very sticky)..

Research from what I found is that u-joints really cannot be replaced easily (although a drivetrain shop with the correct aftermarket ujoint) could replace and repair (option 1).

This seems like a bit more of a hassle and time and money savings is maybe not worth it.

Option 2 -Replace entire driveshaft - My part # is 26 111 226 439 Length1327mm according to RealOEM

I find 3 brands - Dorman, Powertrain Industries, (Around the $600 mark) and Autoparts Premium (half the price). I only find these at the regular E30 shopping sites: RockAuto, eBay, ECS, Pelican, Bimmer, etc..

Any recommendations on Brand or Place to buy?

I had the Dorman in my old 325e which needed a new driveshaft. Worked fine for the 10k-15k miles I put on that car

[McGyver]

I had the U-joints replaced on my driveshaft with something from a Nissan truck, now they are serviceable. The process is a bit of a hassle and you need to have 2 cars, but it was also pretty cheap (~$200 IIRC). I wouldn't put in an unknown original driveshaft, it's going to seize up eventually. I'm going to have the u-joints replaced with servicable ones when I get around to manual swapping my current car.

[reelizmpro]

I (and my buddies shop) have used Powertrain Industries for over 2 decades. They've always done right by me and the price was fair. Nowadays, I just spring for a rebuilt unit from them since they are local and I can just bolt it in and not worry about it. I have also had a DS rebuilt by a local driveline shop that stakes the U joints and this has held up fine on my turbo car. They were about 15 mins from me and it took them 3 days.

The shop that did an S52 swap on another car of mine, installed a used E36 DS which had some binding and I ended up having to replace it. I understand saving money on used parts but sometimes it's not worth it. Changing the DS is a pain so I'd rather do it once and not worry about it for a long time. At least you have options. You just have to decide which is right for you.

[MR 325]

We typically use a reputable driveshaft shop to rebuild the original unit.

I recommend providing the CSB of your choice when you drop off the DS.

[95BMWIC]

For those that brought it to a shop - Did you provide the u-joint? (Turner has a replacement listed)

I have the CSB (Febi) - so I can provide that..

[reelizmpro]

No, just the CSB.

[e30austin]

FWIW, Dorman buys all their driveshafts from Powertrain Industries and marks them up... buy direct and save yourself the mark up. Not like Dorman would manufacture those themselves.

[varg]

Most used driveshafts will have stiff joints by now, and you may not even be able to tell with it put together because of the weight of the halves. I'd buy from http://driveshaftspecialist.com/Import%20html/BMW.html, because that's where I bought my E30's current driveshaft.

[Vincenze]

FWIW, Dorman buys all their driveshafts from Powertrain Industries and marks them up... buy direct and save yourself the mark up. Not like Dorman would manufacture those themselves.

Dorman owns Powertrain Industries, doesn't it?

Here is a video about its driveshaft facility.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvqmkZu99F8

[e30austin]

regardless, my point remains.

[prisonerofdoom83]

Most used driveshafts will have stiff joints by now, and you may not even be able to tell with it put together because of the weight of the halves. I'd buy from http://driveshaftspecialist.com/Import%20html/BMW.html, because that's where I bought my E30's current driveshaft.

This is where I got my 24v swap driveshaft . Like 550$ or so never have to worry about it