Output flange: change?

[Rob]

My 88 seta needs a new driveshaft, and found out today after I got a great deal on a used, low mileage 325i DS that my car has the "big" output shaft/flex disc.

How hard is it to change out the output shaft? Or is it just smarter to hunt down another big guibo'd driveshaft?


Rob- who didn't do his research:roll:

[Erick]

Hunt down a big guibo.

The flange is a 30mm socket, but it's a very small area where you can put it in. You could not dream of putting a 30mm deep impact socket.

The only socket that I know that fits is the 30mm SK deep socket (that Sears sells). Most people that I've spoke to that did swap that flange had to grind down the ends in order for the socket to fit inside the flange and get to the nut.

It's going to cost a bit in tooling (unless you can find someone with such a socket) and it'll be a pain in the ass. When I did it, I messed up my rear seal too (which was fun).

- Erick

[rThor432]

I've got a socket I ground down I'd let you borrow, but I dont think it would help without access to air to spin the thing off.

I've got an E30 M3 driveshaft at the house though. I want to say the length is the same as the standard E30 shaft, and that the difference is usually the guibo size. I'll compare it with another standard shaft I've got and I'll shoot you a PM if it is a possibility.

[Erick]

I got mine out without air. I just had someone with a 22mm socket on the crank pulley.

[Rob]

sounds like I'd be better served with the right driveshaft. Ryan- let me know what you turn up (or if any big guibo DS come through the shop)

Thanks fellas

[DJB]

I borrowed the correct ST Tools socket, but wasn't able to break the nut loose. We put some serious effort into it with a 4' pipe on a breaker bar. We only managed to bend the brace we bolted to the output flange.

A week later I bought I bought a Powerbuilt Tools #648445 oil sender socket. Since it was a $6 tool I owned, rather than a borrowed $50 one, I was prepared to apply some pretty serious abuse. This time I first heated the nut up for 10 seconds with a MAPP gas torch. A few seconds with an impact wrench -- no other bracing -- and the nut came off.

Lesson: you need heat to loosen the thread sealant, and an unmodified $6 socket works fine once you do that.

[Aptyp]

I bought that socket at ACE Hardware, lol. Of all places, they had it hanging for $9.


find a 325eS post 4.86. They were the only ones with big guibo.