318ti five lug conversion

[stang65]

well have been helping my friend convert his 325 into a five lug useing the 318ti rear end parts. but we ran into a problem.
we have 318ti rear trailing arms with axles
we have a 3.25 lsd from i think an 88 535is
the axles cv joints wont mount to the diff. but the old axles will mount. can we swap the axles

[e30this]

yes

[DaveM-sport]

Why don't the ti half shafts mount to the diff? Is it just that they are that little bit too long or are the stud patterns different?

Could throw the output flanges of the diff up on a lathe to make them a little bit thinner if the halfshafts are a tiny bit too long.

[asubimmer]

use the e30 axels. The TI ones are too small, and break easy

[DaveM-sport]

Ahh, I see.

I'm just going to use E30 M3 hubs and wheel bearings on the E30 rear arms but a friend of mine has a pair of 318ti rear arms he's thinking of putting on his 318i but having only rear drums, he doesn't have a set of E30 axles...


Are Z3 axles (apart from Z3m) the same story as in being weaker than the E30 axles... I know they are different lengths

[asubimmer]

if he has a 318i then how does he not have e30 axels?

[DaveM-sport]

It's a 318i so doesn't have the right axles as it only has drum brakes on the rear, or does it?

I thought the axles for E30 drum brake arms and disc brakes were different you see.

[Aptyp]

NOT true, late 318s and 325s shared same axles. Difference was diff flange between small and large case. 318ti uses small case diff with even smaller flanges from 84-85 318s. Annoying.


Use stock e30 axles, they fit perfectly.

[hoveringuy]

I'll revive this thread since it's on the subject I'm wondering about...

I'm picking-up 318ti rear suspension in the near future. Is it worth getting the rear subframe, if I can do all of the prep work for toe/camber adjustment, or is the subframe different?

In short, how are e30/Z3/318ti rear subframes different? I recall reading about some extra or missing brackets.

[Aptyp]

subframes are identical aside from exhaust hanger, but that's not important

[hoveringuy]

Thanks, it will make my life easier if I have the complete rear suspension to prep before installation. It will make the rear swap a mostly unbolt-bolt on affair.

[Aptyp]

If by unbolting rear subframe you mean hell, then yes. It's not hard, but it is very annoying. Takes me 4-5 hours to have rear completely swapped, and that's with every trick in the book. Really helps having a friend there.

[hoveringuy]

Another 318ti question...

I've gotten around to cleaning up the rear calipers. One of the piston dust boots is partially popped out so I'll need to disassemble/inspect/re-assemble.

I don't see a 318ti rear caliper rebuild kit anywhere. Is is the same as 318i? What do I use?

[george graves]

According to Eric Lucas(who did the swap ages ago), the ti subframe is about 1cm wider then the e30 subframe and doesn't bolt up.

[Aptyp]

^subframe itself bows in/out. I had really hard time installing e30 subframe in, because it was short after an accident. Stamped out assembly itself is the same.

I don't see a 318ti rear caliper rebuild kit anywhere. Is is the same as 318i? What do I use?

All e36 caliper rebuilds are the same, Ate sells them through worldPAC and Advance Auto Parts has (had?) them from TRW.