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My $125 Driveshaft Nutty Nut

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    My $125 Driveshaft Nutty Nut

    So Yesterday I finally wrestled the driveshaft off my car to continue with the 5 speed swap but not without a nice fat hit to the wallet.

    Saturday we began removing everything under the car needed to start the swap. Everything went super smooth until we got to the 4 nuts that hold the driveshaft to the rear differential. We spent 3-4 hours, and after one injured hand, 2 cans of PB Blaster, and $5 spent on a new 17mm open end wrench and we were only able to get 3 of the 4 nuts off the bolt stems. So we called it a day and cleaned up our war wounds.

    Yesterday, in a fit of rage I decided that bolt was coming off no matter what. Thus I spent another $120 on a new fancy 2.5 Ton 24" jack, a new set of 4 ton jack stands, and couple bits and pieces to help make the removal of the transmission bell housing bolts easier. I jacked the car up as high as I could and set up the new jack stands. Within 10 mins I had that fucker off with a set of heavy duty vice grips. I then proceeded to beat me chest and grunt while dancing around the car in a primitive victory dance. Soon after the driveshaft dropped right out.

    Everything was great until I realized I spent $120 to tackle one solitary nut.. this sucks. Well atleast now I have a sweet ass jack and in the process I got the tag off my rear dif and cleaned it up to find out which diff I had.. to my surprise... it read S3.73.. so it kinda makes up for all the hassle since LSDs were optional on 325i's and knowing my luck I was sure mine was not one.

    now how should I explain to my g/f that I spent $120 to remove a car part??

    #2
    Why would you need to explain anything to your girlfriend.













    She'll think your tractor's sexy...

    Comment


      #3
      Those explanations should always be in the form of "with these new tools I can save us all kinds of money on maintenance in the future!". 8)

      Comment


        #4
        look on the bright side, you won't have to use a tractor to crawl under your car anymore. :shock:
        Build thread

        Bimmerlabs

        Comment


          #5
          Did you not have a floor jack before? If not, don't sweat it, you will need one all the time anyways. It's a worthy investment.

          RISING EDGE

          Let's drive fast and have fun.

          Comment


            #6
            I had a cheap cheesey $15 floor jack but you could hardly get under the car with it.. now my car is flyin high!

            Comment


              #7
              Those nut's inspired me when it came time to take off the giant nut that holds the tranny dipstick on. I sprayed PB blaster, let it sit over night, torched it, put a huge pipe wrench on it, and gave it a swift kick. I didn't feel like fucking around, and it came right off (along with the like 50 gallons of ATF that for some reason doens't drain from the pan).

              Comment


                #8
                Re: My $125 Driveshaft Nutty Nut

                Originally posted by Ritalin Kid
                now how should I explain to my g/f that I spent $120 to remove a car part??
                Got you beat, I'm planning on spending $350 - $400 tomorrow on impact tools!!!!
                '88 325

                Comment


                  #9
                  tools are never a waste of money, they are always there. I have more money "wasted" in tools that most people have invested in their life.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by mikeedler
                    tools are never a waste of money, they are always there. I have more money "wasted" in tools that most people have invested in their life.
                    amen
                    Build Threads:
                    Pamela/Bella/Betty/325ix/5-Lug Seta/S60R/Miata ITB/Miata Turbo/Miata VVT/951/325xi-6

                    Comment


                      #11
                      Already got the impact tools but BMW made some of their nuts and bolts completely out of reach for even ratchets. It's rediculous. I had to buy 2 17mm open end wrenches because the first one had a 1.5-2mm curved lip that would not grip the short walled nuts on the rear diff well enough. 2 of the bolts I just FUBAR'd with vice grips and hammered a smaller sized wrench onto.

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