swapping out diffs

[CorvallisBMW]

How hard is it? according to Bentely, it's only 5 or 6 steps. Just disconnect the driveshaft at the diff, disconnect the half-shafts and unbolt the whole thing. Any experience?

Darin

[erik325i]

Re: swapping out diffs

I replaced my diff with a LSD unit not too long ago. The Bently is right, it's not that many steps, but it's not as quick of a swap as it sounds. Make sure to use a jack to support/lower the diff when unbolting.
The hardest part is bolting it back up. Getting all of the bolts to line up and thread in is a pain in the ass. Good luck and have fun.

[nando]

don't drop it on your finger either, it hurts, trust me. :oops:

[AndrewBird]

And clean the dirt out of the hex bolts that hold the half shafts on beforre you unbolt them. If you don't, they can slip out and round off the inside of the hex.

[KenC]

And clean the dirt out of the hex bolts that hold the half shafts on beforre you unbolt them. If you don't, they can slip out and round off the inside of the hex.

Definitely. Shoot them with some solvent, let it soak and then blast it with water. Rinse and repeat. Even a wire brush will help. Make sure you clean them well though.

[benDASHDASH]

^^YES

and make sure the holes line up when bolting it back in. dont force anything. trust me, one of my diff holes got stripped :|

[Digitalwave]

All that being said, you could change diffs in less than an hour. It's tight getting the top bolts on but its not a hard swap by any means. Fill the diff with new fluid before you put it in the car, that saves some hassle.