... i forgot to do something

[NC325iC]

alright well in the excitment of putting my car back together i forgot to tighten the nut that holds the 2 halves of the driveshaft together. will this be a big problem? i mean its bolted up on both sides shouldnt be able to move at all.

[Teaguer]

Don't worry about it .

That nut does not do shit anyway .

[PeaveyBassist]

x2. The trans doesnt move forward/backward and the diff doesnt move either. Youll be fine.

Will

[Teaguer]

x2. The trans doesnt move forward/backward and the diff doesnt move either. Youll be fine.

Will

Not to mention the splines are really what hold that thing together anyway and there is plenty of penetration to do without the nut .

[backtrail69]

I didn't understand that stupid nut anyways. I just hand tightened it.

[Teaguer]

I didn't understand that stupid nut anyways. I just hand tightened it.

So you prefer to tighten your nut with your hand ?

Do you use a twisting motion or a squeezing motion ? :D

[Garageaholic]

Dont' tighten it too much, you might bust your nut.

[backtrail69]

So you prefer to tighten your nut with your hand ?

Do you use a twisting motion or a squeezing motion ? :D

Well, you know...a firm grip with a nice twist.

[NC325iC]

yeah i wasnt too worried just wanted to make sure it wasnt vital

[winstontj]

On a serious note you should use a bunch of locktite or something because if it's not torqued down properly it'll come loose and fall off. Could put a nice ding in the windshield of the car behind you. You can also get under there and use a screwdriver back by the diff to lock up the driveshaft and use a wrench to tighten it.

IMO you'd be better off to go without it rather than leave it on loose.

[Teaguer]

On a serious note you should use a bunch of locktite or something because if it's not torqued down properly it'll come loose and fall off. Could put a nice ding in the windshield of the car behind you. You can also get under there and use a screwdriver back by the diff to lock up the driveshaft and use a wrench to tighten it.

IMO you'd be better off to go without it rather than leave it on loose.

WTF are you talking about ??
If that nut falls off then he will have bigger problem than worrying about the cars behind him .

You are confused on what nut we are refering to .

[winstontj]

WTF are you talking about ??
If that nut falls off then he will have bigger problem than worrying about the cars behind him .

You are confused on what nut we are refering to .

Don't worry about it .

That nut does not do shit anyway .

Not to mention the splines are really what hold that thing together anyway and there is plenty of penetration to do without the nut .

Teaguer;687197 I'm not trying to be a dick but I think when you read what you've written I'm not the one who seems to be confused. We could be talking flux capacitors for all it matters - you said it doesn't do shit then you say if that nut falls off he'll have bigger problems. Which one is it?

NC325iC I assume you are talking about the threaded washer (26 11 7 514 037) rather than a nut if you are referring to the place where the two sections of the driveshaft come together in the middle.

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=1254&mospid=47308&btnr=26_0122&hg=26&fg=10

Now that I take a peek it looks like the way the driveshaft fastens together is with a threaded washer rather than a nut as you mention. The e21's and possibly some early e30's have a nut like #8 here: http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...01&hg=26&fg=10
but that doesn't look like the way the later e30's are setup. Good news is if you have the threaded washer it may just come loose and make noise and rattle around but the driveshaft isn't going to fall apart. If however you do have a nut like the e21 realoem link I'd make sure it was tight just because if it comes off it'll be a PITA and you could damage another vehicle behind you.

[Teaguer]

Yes we are refering to #16 on your first link .

What I mean is that if that worthless just for looks nut happens to fall off and hit the car behind he will bigger problems because that means the driveshaft was first seperated and falling out before that nut could even beging to think about going anywhere .

[NC325iC]

well i figured the way i described it was pretty straight forward, most people knew what i mean, i think i might take the DS back out anyway cause i dont think its balanced right, there are 2 different sets of marks on it and i think both are incorrect, anyone know a way to align the driveshaft halves without marks?

[kowalski]

its not aligning its balancing it. its balanced as a full unit so if you separate then its misaligned and thus off balance. if they're both wrong just get it rebalanced.