Suspension and Driveline Overhaul 2016 (Photo Log)

[rzerob]

Great job.

[itsonlygeorge]

This needs to be stickie!


Sent from th

[deutschman]

Why do you work so clean you big weirdo!? Its like a frickin surgery in there!

;)

[bmwman91]

Doing great on the car upgrades, Thanks for all the info and pictures. Will be helpful for myself when I do it on my cars.

Thanks, glad this is helpful.

Literally everything posted on that first page I have to do between my two cars. My white car's front wheel bearing started crapping out on me two weeks ago. Pictures where a great help, thanks for the details. After that my black car needs the rear bearing replaced.. That's the job I'm not looking forward to so much.

Yeah the rear bearings usually suck. That's why I had a shop press them. If you know someone with the special BMW tool it is pretty easy though.

Great job.

Thanks!

This needs to be stickie!


Sent from th

Haha, yeah I suppose it should be. It turned into more of a how to than project diary.

Why do you work so clean you big weirdo!? Its like a frickin surgery in there!

;)

It took me years to learn the patience to keep things clean during these projects. It does wonders for your peace of mind to take 10 minutes to clean up between each segment of a big overhaul like this. Vacuum the floor, put tools away, get a drink and then start on the next area...It's the best way to go!

[CubbyChowder]

Loving this, about to tackle most of this in the next few weeks (already took care of the front end) and I'm excited that I can reference this thread if I need to. Happy I stumbled upon it tonight. Very nicely written and documented, write-ups like this taught me how to work on cars so I have a huge appreciation for them. It just helps people like me feel confident and motivated to take something like this on. Thanks for taking the time to create this, it will help many people in the future

[kronus]

axle nut torque documentation is also super useful!

this whole thread might need to get moved to the DIY section.

[bmwman91]

OK E30 party people, prepare your butts. I have finally received a suitable rear end for my car. Originally, I had planned to install a 4.10 Quaife unit that I bought, but stuff happened and I ended up putting in a viscous 325iX rear end while I decided what to do. Well, I decided to have our very own Wanganstyle build me a Wavetrac diff! This sucker is going in the car in a couple of weeks since I need to order up a fresh gasket and a couple of other odds and ends.

The Wavetrac units are basically Quaife diffs, but with a patented mechanism in the middle that eliminates the main problem with Quaife and Torsen units. That main problem is total loss of torque when one wheel lifts or is on ice...those diffs require a minimum amount of traction on both wheels in order to function. The Wavetrac unit does not have this limitation, while at the same time not using clutch plates. It is still a gear diff, so it will run cool and quiet. Wavetrac was actually started by ex-Quaife employees, so it is no coincidence that it is very similar in some ways.

Anyway, here's the prize.







I'll take some pics and give my thoughts on it once it is in the car and I have a chance to test the hell out of it lol.

[bmwman91]

Good news, everyone!


I got the diff installed after work today. It was a nice and easy job which took all of 3 hours, with me taking my sweet sweet time. Getting the 325iX viscous LSD out was fast and was a fast 45 minute job. It's 21 fasteners and does not require you to remove the exhaust or anything. Just 21 fasteners and a few basic tools. There were a couple of extra ones in my case since one of the studs in the driveshaft flange was loose and would spin without some vise-grips on it.



With the old diff out, I drained it and removed the cover since that had a nice new (and $$$) solid rubber OEM mount in it. A new gasket got some Permatex high tack gasket spray, I dumped 2L of Fuchs-Titan 75W-90 Sintopoid gear oil, and then I buttoned the new diff up.

Reinstallation was the reverse of removal, for the most part. I did drop the rear portion of the exhaust system and unbolt the heat shields because I needed to get at the driveshaft's coupling. This was part of "doing it right." The new diff's input flange wasn't in the same position as the old one's, so the proper installation really called for loosening the driveshaft coupling and letting it slide to a nic neutral position once the new diff was fully bolted into place. After the diff was 100% secure (4 19mm top bolts, 1 big chassis bolt, 12 half-shaft bolts fully tightened), I tightened the driveshaft coupling and reinstalled the exhaust.

A quick test drive was had around town and things are good. The rear end has a couple of new noises, which are probably just this diff's characteristic sounds. Different types of diffs seem to have different sounds. It feels super solid powering into/through/out of corners, and I look forward to putting it through its paces at AutoX this summer!

[stonea]

Great little write up. I wish this was around before I did the suspension on my ix.