Does your E30 have a Limited Slip Differential? (LSD)

[Metallated]

The list seems to indicate that manual 85 318i came with lsds, is this accurate?

[TobyB]

I pulled a 3.64 small case LSD off of an 85 once. trunk said 318i

And a 2.93 LSD out of an 87e 4 door. trunk said 325

And a 3.73 LSD out of a 91 4 door. trunk said 325i


all I know,
t

[Metallated]

I pulled a 3.64 small case LSD off of an 85 once. trunk said 318i

And a 2.93 LSD out of an 87e 4 door. trunk said 325

And a 3.73 LSD out of a 91 4 door. trunk said 325i


all I know,
t

Thanks for the info, I guess I'll just have to pull it and find out.

[LateFan]

Bringing this back up to ask a question -

Our car is an '86 ES. We had the subframe off recently so I checked the tag, which checks out as a 2.93 LS. But I don't find any "S" stamp or casting on the case. Was that a painted stamp? I saw a reference to a cast-in S on the top.

I need to refill this diff, so now I'm wondering if it's an LS or not....?

Did I scrub it off when I degreased it?

[Rev Run D]

It was painted. Kinda like this:

The E stands for factory reconditioned.

[LateFan]

It's unlikely it was ever off the car, and then I wire-brushed it.

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[Rev Run D]

The easiest way to check if it's an LSD is to spin the rear wheels while it's off the ground. if they spin the same direction it's an LSD. If it spins opposite it's an open.

[LateFan]

Yep. We'll have to find a dirt road - it's an auto eta remember! (oh, OFF the ground you can check)

I just don't want to put the wrong oil in it.

[Rev Run D]

[QUOTE=LateFan;4983714] (oh, OFF the ground you can check)

Yeah, just lift the rear end off the ground so that the wheels are in the air, release the ebrake and put the car in neutral, and spin one wheel manually, and look at the opposite wheel to see what it's doing.

[The Dark Side of Will]

If it's off the car, just try to spin the axles. If you can spin them opposite each other by hand, it's open. If you can't it's limited slip.

[TobyB]

That's a casting mark. You want a stamped flat metal tag under one of the bolts.

Or a burnout.

t

[jeffnhiscars]

The stamp3d tag will give you the ratio with an S indicating it's an LSD.

[jeffnhiscars]

And the problem with spinning one side and looking to see which direction the other side turns is that, by the time you get around to the other side, it's no longer turning :)