Driveshaft installation problem! (pictures)

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  • mother_russia
    E30 Addict
    • Apr 2012
    • 421

    #1

    Driveshaft installation problem! (pictures)

    Sup dudes.. so I got a little problem... Ive been working on my e30 for a few weeks now, and just ran into a problem...
    I got the car as an auto, so ive been trying to do the 5 speed swap. Today, I tried to install the driveshaft, and I find out that its about 4 inches too long. The original driveshaft, off the auto, is 4 inches too short. So, what do I do? What did I do wrong?

    I know I have the small flange driveshaft because anything more than 3 inches(see picture #1) from one bolt to another would not be considered a small flange.

    In picture #2, I'm trying to show you guys that the driveshaft doesn't want to fit in. I really do not know what to do with this. Has anyone else had this problem before??
    The whole driveshaft is sitting as far back into the rear diff as possible. I have no idea how to create more room in order to make this fit..

    Picture #1


    Picture #2
    Last edited by mother_russia; 06-20-2012, 01:44 AM.
  • ttrousdell
    E30 Mastermind
    • Nov 2009
    • 1770

    #2
    Are you sure you put the two sections of the 5 speed driveshaft together right. Splined section slid in all the way although 6 inches is a stretch if that was the case? The auto tranny is about 4 inches longer then the manual tranny as you probably know. Where did you get the driveshaft and is it possible that it could be from a different car?

    Originally posted by mother_russia
    Also, the steering wheel doesn't fit in with the pedal set. Anyone know why?
    Explain what that is?

    The Build:
    http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=191125

    Comment

    • jlevie
      R3V OG
      • Nov 2006
      • 13530

      #3
      It sounds to me like you don't have the correct drive shaft or you have the wrong transmission. The splined part of the drive shaft is about six inches long. When installed a bit more than half of the spline will be in the rear half of the drive shaft. So there isn't enough spline to explain the drive shaft being six inches too long.
      The car makes it possible, but the driver makes it happen.
      Jim Levie, Huntsville, AL

      Comment

      • mother_russia
        E30 Addict
        • Apr 2012
        • 421

        #4
        Originally posted by ttrousdell
        Are you sure you put the two sections of the 5 speed driveshaft together right. Splined section slid in all the way although 6 inches is a stretch if that was the case? The auto tranny is about 4 inches longer then the manual tranny as you probably know. Where did you get the driveshaft and is it possible that it could be from a different car?


        Explain what that is?
        I just edited the post. see if you understand it now.

        Comment

        • mother_russia
          E30 Addict
          • Apr 2012
          • 421

          #5
          Originally posted by jlevie
          It sounds to me like you don't have the correct drive shaft or you have the wrong transmission. The splined part of the drive shaft is about six inches long. When installed a bit more than half of the spline will be in the rear half of the drive shaft. So there isn't enough spline to explain the drive shaft being six inches too long.
          The engine/tranny are both off of a 87 e30. The tranny is a getrag 260.

          Comment

          • MR 325
            Moderator
            • Oct 2003
            • 37825

            #6
            What car is the driveshaft from? Silly question but you know a guibo (flex disc) goes on there too right?

            Any non-airbag E30 pedal box is going to be a direct swap in to your car.
            BimmerHeads
            Classic BMW Specialists
            Santa Clarita, CA

            www.BimmerHeads.com

            Comment

            • mother_russia
              E30 Addict
              • Apr 2012
              • 421

              #7
              Originally posted by MR 325
              What car is the driveshaft from? Silly question but you know a guibo (flex disc) goes on there too right?

              Any non-airbag E30 pedal box is going to be a direct swap in to your car.
              So which pedal set do I need? I got a 1990 325i sedan. Do I need the early or the late modelp pedals? How do I know if theyre the airbag or non airbag pedals?

              Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Tapatalk 2

              Comment

              • mother_russia
                E30 Addict
                • Apr 2012
                • 421

                #8
                I just got off the phone with the dealer, and he gave me the part numbers for the pedal sets. He said that if the part number ends in 720, its the airbag pedals, and if it ends with 719, its the nonairbag pedals.
                So if I have, let's say the 719 pedals and they don't fit, then the 720s should fit?

                Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Tapatalk 2

                Comment

                • MR 325
                  Moderator
                  • Oct 2003
                  • 37825

                  #9
                  Originally posted by mother_russia
                  So which pedal set do I need? I got a 1990 325i sedan. Do I need the early or the late modelp pedals? How do I know if theyre the airbag or non airbag pedals?

                  Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Tapatalk 2
                  Ok, I didn't realize you had an airbag car.

                  The easiest way to do it (and the way I did my old 90 sedan) is leave the bracket in place and only swap the actual pedals. The airbag pedal box has the bolt provisions for the clutch master cylinder even on automatic cars. You can even use those pedals you have, you'll have no clutch return spring though. I never had one on mine and it felt 100% perfect.
                  BimmerHeads
                  Classic BMW Specialists
                  Santa Clarita, CA

                  www.BimmerHeads.com

                  Comment

                  • mother_russia
                    E30 Addict
                    • Apr 2012
                    • 421

                    #10
                    Originally posted by MR 325
                    Ok, I didn't realize you had an airbag car.

                    The easiest way to do it (and the way I did my old 90 sedan) is leave the bracket in place and only swap the actual pedals. The airbag pedal box has the bolt provisions for the clutch master cylinder even on automatic cars. You can even use those pedals you have, you'll have no clutch return spring though. I never had one on mine and it felt 100% perfect.
                    I didn't know if I would need the clutch return spring, so I just cut out the bracket, and welded it onto the pedal set that had the bracket missing haha. Just wanted to be on the safe side. Worked just fine.

                    But now I have two problems.
                    1. No spark(http://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=252944)
                    2. Still can't figure out what's wrong with the driveshaft... I'm gonna re-edit the original post and try to see if I can get some help..

                    Comment

                    • jlevie
                      R3V OG
                      • Nov 2006
                      • 13530

                      #11
                      Is the drive fully collapsed? If it is none of the splines will be visible.
                      The car makes it possible, but the driver makes it happen.
                      Jim Levie, Huntsville, AL

                      Comment

                      • mother_russia
                        E30 Addict
                        • Apr 2012
                        • 421

                        #12
                        Originally posted by jlevie
                        Is the drive fully collapsed? If it is none of the splines will be visible.
                        What do you mean fully collapsed? I think so....


                        Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Tapatalk 2

                        Comment

                        • jlevie
                          R3V OG
                          • Nov 2006
                          • 13530

                          #13
                          Loosen the collar nut and push the front half of the drive shaft into the rear half. If those parts don't slide easily, you may have to separate the halves and clean the splines. But before separating the drive shaft make sure the paint marks are visible so you can put the halves back together correctly.
                          The car makes it possible, but the driver makes it happen.
                          Jim Levie, Huntsville, AL

                          Comment

                          • mother_russia
                            E30 Addict
                            • Apr 2012
                            • 421

                            #14
                            One of the things that we did though, was leave the half of the driveshaft that connects to the rear diff in place. The car was originally automatic. We never took it out, since they look exactly the same as the manual rear half of the driveshaft. All we did was swap out the front half of the driveshaft, thaf connects to the tranny. Could that be the problem?

                            Comment

                            • Cyrix2k
                              E30 Addict
                              • Mar 2010
                              • 593

                              #15
                              Answer this question - what car is the driveshaft from? Year, model, and manual/auto?
                              1997 540i/6 - stock
                              1985 325 - M50NV - Getrag 250 - 2.79 LSD - MS2/e -LC-1 - 750cc injectors - Blunttech Manifold - HX35 - AEM UEGO
                              1991 318i - M50NV - Getrag 240 - 4.10 open - e36 rack - Smileys - 55w 5000k HIDs

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