Whats the Most Durable Guibo for Track Use?

[LJ851]

Things to check:
1) Pilot bushing in the front of the driveshaft.
2) Condition of driveshaft (u joints and CSB)
3) Alignment of driveshaft @ CSB, it should be straight in both hor. and vert. planes
4) Alignment of driveshaft @ trans output, it should be in line with the output shaft (zero deflection of the guibo.

To get 3 and 4 correct you may have to shim/ space mounts, etc.

The OEM BMW guibo is very robust if installed properly.

All the stock BMW drivetrains i have ever measured/inspected (60's-90's at least) are dead straight from the crank pulley to the input of the rear u joint. The whole drivetrain is in the car at an angle with the front biased towards the left side of the car, crosses the centerline about where the shifter is and continues to the right side of the car and hits the diff input flange at a slight angle. The diff input flange (obviously) is offset to the right side of the car.

[Adrian_Visser]

I just pulled a driveshaft out of my s52 swap car which had a fairly stiff u-joint thinking I snapped the fucker.

I ended up having backed off and sheared all of my tranny to guibo bolts. I knew when I installed the d/s that the u-joint was fucked and the vibration and thumping from the CSB got progressively worse until one night I got sick of it and just floored it. Thump thump thump BANG!

However on dissembly the guibo was fine. I think your problem is most likely an alignment issue.

[Vivek]

I'm surprised that no one has said that guibos aren't really meant to be durable. They're meant to flex and absorb driveline shock. BMW didn't make them out of solid aluminum for a reason, and it's not because they're so fun to replace.

[JinormusJ]

or improper driveshaft alignment. Is this a swap car? And if so what motor and what mounts are you using. Deflection kills guibos. As stated.. A good quality OE Febi/Bilstein guibo is all you need

+1 for Febi/Bilstein. They're guibos are top-notch

The trans fluid is SOMEWHAT normal. I occasionally leaks a couple drops here and there after a long drive or if I race it hard. It usually comes from my overfill plug as it seems like its coming from the front and the back of the tranny, but a majority of the time it just collects at the center. Check your overfill plug, your fill plug and your reverse light assembly bolt. Those can cause tiny leaks if they're loose. If there's trans fluid on the Rear of the car, it could also be the rear output seal (though not likely, those are pretty durable if you buy straight up OEM). You should only be scared it's your Input shaft seal if your leaking like a mother from the front on the tranny/back of the block




Also, I just wanted to chime in an say I love your car. The stripes look fantastic :)

[Lof8]

Well, I thought I'd update this with a few findings today. First off, I had installed my previous guibo wrong, doh! The narrower portions of the guibo had been taking most of the load under forward acceleration. The new febi/bilstein unit had small arrows on the outer edge to help with getting it correct this time. I'm surprised it lasted is long as it did previously, and I felt pretty stupid.

The driveshaft U-joints and csb seemed to be in good condition, no visual wear and no slop.

After getting the new guibo bolted in, we bolted the trans bracket back in place and there appeard to be slight deflection indicating the ass-end of the trans was sitting too high. we spaced the bracket down slightly and it looks to be aligned well now.

Overall, good lessons learned here. Thanks for the input guys!

[Thizzelle]

e28 M5 guibo will work, it's thicker if you want to stick with rubber

[stamar]

I dont buy that the stock guibo is good for these cars.

mine shredded up really fast.


this guibo on my i6 convertible is the same size as the one one the 84 318i.....

yes the e30 m3, and the early e30 etas had a larger size, sort of signifying that bigger yokes are needed for 170 lb ft tq...

and then with the later etas and the I they went back to little ones. Not to save weight, they must have just had 10 billion smaller yoke driveshafts.

Next do an unprofessional look at how many e30 bmws shred their guibos. Ok tons it has to be the worst guibo of any car.

Check the porsche 911 forum for did I shred my guibo? How about the volvo forum... they use the same guibo, febi. I have heard that turbo volvos shred their guibos, its the same part and size and shreds for the same reason.

The e30 I series guibo is underbuilt. That is my opinion.

these bmws models are not like ferraris. they are cross platform cars. Were using parts from the 5 series, and parts from the old e21 in our cars. Did they make the e21 guibo tough enough for 170 lb ft of torque regularly? If they did, why did they do that when it has 100 lb ft of torque? Doesnt follow to me, follows to me this is a well known e30 weak point.

[nando]

if it shredded fast, you either installed it backwards, or it was a cheap chinese knockoff.

the only guibo I ever broke, was because I put it in wrong.

[JinormusJ]

The only guibo I ever broke, was because I put it in wrong.

THIS. I learned that a Guibo is directional the hard way :-P

I'm running a Guibo I pulled frm the yard ATM. No ifandorbuts. Still looks good too. Have a friend whos pushing 350+ HP on his turbo m20 and his Febi is still holding strong

[stamar]

My guibo shredded.

It could have been put in wrong I didnt do it. It could have been chinese. I cant tell you. I just knew it blew up and fast and knocked shit around.

The one I put in, is a febi guibo and its still there.

If e30 guibos are great nando....

why do e30 m3s have a bigger yoke and guibo size then, using the guibo and yoke size from the m30 5 series?

or better yet, why does the 6 cylinder e30 have the same size guibo and yoke as a 4 cylinder e30.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...-7-511-454-M57


Yet a 6 cylinder e36 has a bigger yoke and guibo than a 4 cylinder e36 ( which also is the same size as a six cylinde e30)

why is the guibo on the six cylinder e30 smaller than the one on the 4 cylinder volvo 260 where as the one on the volvo 260 is the same as the one on the m3 and the e36 m50?

Its because its weak ass small guibo!!! LOL bury your head in the sand lol. Brilliant german scientists worked for years on a chalkboard and decided the small one was enough. I hear you.

most car owners other than bmw owners dont even know that guibos wear out.


you cannot even go to google and type bmw e30 common problems

http://e30world.com/Maintenance/BMW-E30-common-problems

without getting the word guibo for the first 50 entries.

Porsches have guibos too, but most porsche owners dont even know what they are. something you replace with the driveshaft breaks.

Go to google and type "guibo problems" and find how often the internet is talking about bmws. Its common knowledge... If you even try to type porsche guibo problems, most of the results that come up in google are bmw owners saying " my porsche never did this" or porsche owners saying " my bmw used to do this"

[nando]

6 Cylinder E36s make more power and torque, everywhere.

I've never had a problem with a properly installed guibo, and my car has 3 of them..

also, if you search for "problems", you're going to find them. duh.

it's a lot harder to search for all the people who have perfectly functioning guibos, because they aren't posting about it.

[nrubenstein]

My guibo shredded.

It could have been put in wrong I didnt do it. It could have been chinese. I cant tell you. I just knew it blew up and fast and knocked shit around.

The one I put in, is a febi guibo and its still there.

If e30 guibos are great nando....

why do e30 m3s have a bigger yoke and guibo size then, using the guibo and yoke size from the m30 5 series?

or better yet, why does the 6 cylinder e30 have the same size guibo and yoke as a 4 cylinder e30.
http://www.pelicanparts.com/cgi-bin/...-7-511-454-M57


Yet a 6 cylinder e36 has a bigger yoke and guibo than a 4 cylinder e36 ( which also is the same size as a six cylinde e30)

why is the guibo on the six cylinder e30 smaller than the one on the 4 cylinder volvo 260 where as the one on the volvo 260 is the same as the one on the m3 and the e36 m50?

Its because its weak ass small guibo!!! LOL bury your head in the sand lol. Brilliant german scientists worked for years on a chalkboard and decided the small one was enough. I hear you.

most car owners other than bmw owners dont even know that guibos wear out.


you cannot even go to google and type bmw e30 common problems

http://e30world.com/Maintenance/BMW-E30-common-problems

without getting the word guibo for the first 50 entries.

Porsches have guibos too, but most porsche owners dont even know what they are. something you replace with the driveshaft breaks.

Go to google and type "guibo problems" and find how often the internet is talking about bmws. Its common knowledge... If you even try to type porsche guibo problems, most of the results that come up in google are bmw owners saying " my porsche never did this" or porsche owners saying " my bmw used to do this"

Also, 911s tend not to blow out guibos because they are rear engined. So the only time you have a guibo to blow is if it's AWD, and even then, it doesn't have a lot of torque going through it.

Really, though, I don't know why I'm bothering to respond to a typical stamar post. We have determined that E30 guibos are undersized on the basis of one that was probably an incorrectly installed Chinese knockoff, even though the replacement has been working fine for years. Oh yes, and furious googling.

[Kershaw]

Really, though, I don't know why I'm bothering to respond to a typical stamar post.

i did that a few too many times and realized i got nowhere. now he's on my block list.

[Wanganstyle]

it's a lot harder to search for all the people who have perfectly functioning guibos, because they aren't posting about it.

++ agreed.

took me a season and half of events (dozen + track days) +3 months of S54 engine swap street time to wear out the e36M OEM guibo on my e36 (running slick tires and high locking diff). Even then it was just cording; not exploded or destroyed.

[Tron]

Clutch kicks kill my guibo's(and engine mounts and trans mounts) also I'm pretty sure I need my Drive shaft rebuilt as well.