Questions concerning driveshaft replacement or repair, CV axles, etc

[Zeta]

I’m currently in the midst of a whole drivetrain overhaul, spurred by a failed center bearing giving the dreaded clunk clunk clunk on acceleration. So I’m also replacing the giubo. Since I’d be removing the exhaust system, I figured it was high time to tackle replacing the CV boots on the drive axles as well, because a couple of them are badly torn. And then since I have the drive axles and drive shaft off, what the hell, might as well drop the differential, get it cleaned up, and replace its various seals and gaskets, cause it’s not likely I’ll have it this accessible any time in the near future. I already removed the rear half of the exhaust pipe (might as well replace the exhaust gaskets while I’m in there, they’re pretty crumbly). So overall, my goals are:

• Remove drive shaft, replace center bearing and giubo
• Remove drive axles, clean and rebuild with new CV boots
• Drop differential, clean, disassemble, and replace all seals and gaskets
• Replace differential rear rubber mount
• Replace exhaust gaskets and hangers when reassembling everything

I hit a snag, however, when attempting to remove the front exhaust to manifold nuts. It seems that no matter how many applications and soakings of Blaster I employ, they refuse to budge with my impact wrench, and obviously it’s way too confined to get at them with a breaker bar.

As it stands now, I have the heat shield off so I can clearly see the center bearing, with its rubber surround utterly destroyed. I read here that it is possible to remove the driveshaft without removing the exhaust. That sounds nice. If anyone has any tips and tricks for doing that, I’d really appreciate it. For instance, is there any specific trick in unbolting the giubo with the exhaust in the way? Seems like it doesn’t give much clearance.

I’m probably going to get around to that next weekend. I got the drive axles off yesterday so today I’m gonna tackle the CV boots.

[Mike W.]

Never tried to do a D/S without pulling the exhaust.

On trying to remove the bolts holding the exhaust to the manifold, extensions and cheaters. Don't know how strong your impact is, but if you get it up high enough I think you can use the right extensions so you can do it from outside the car, with a breaker bar and a cheater on it, not laying on your back. One critical point is you have to use a 6 point socket. A 12 point will strip. Multiple short extensions will give you a little bit of a U joint effect also.

For future reference and others, this is why you should always use new copper lock nuts, or stainless when doing exhaust work. They'll come off the first time, but the copper is just a flash and gone for the second, so they're no longer copperlock. The nuts will go on ok, but getting them off will have you inventing new swear words as you've discovered.

Since you're looking at the halfshafts too I'll give you a little trick I use on them. They can be far tighter than it seems like they should be. So after cleaning out the hole and making sure the bit is well seated, I'll grab a large Vise-Grips, put that on the nut and use a combination of the Vise-Grip and the allen bit to crack the bolts loose.

[Zeta]

Thanks Mike. I’ll definitely keep that in mind if I end up needing to pull the exhaust after all.

Regarding the half shafts, I’m now experiencing a problem I haven’t seen others mention before. I can’t get the damn end caps off. I assume it’s meant to just easily pull off, because instructions that are written up don’t even mention it. Mine are all on there ridiculously tight so I can’t even get to the snap ring. I’ve tried prying it off using various tools but I can’t get enough leverage. PB blaster the whole circumference and hope for the best?

[Mike W.]

I've just used a screwdriver to chisel them off. No real damage. They do put up something of a fight but not that much IIRC. I suspect they use a sealant that turns into a glue over time.

[Zeta]

Damn, that's pretty much what I've been doing but to no avail. My screwdriver has been leaving little chinks in the metal of the cap yet it still won't budge. I'm honestly considering buying a set of cheap half axles to use for a couple years until I can afford to buy legit reman ones. I'm worried that I'll finally get the joints opened up only to find that they're totally shot since I've been driving around with gaping tears in the boots for several years now (I know, I should have addressed this sooner). Does anyone have experience with either of these?

https://www.rockauto.com/en/moreinfo.ph ... 30&jsn=355
https://www.ecstuning.com/b-gsp-north-a ... 27526~gsp/

The Rock Auto ones seemed to get mixed reviews in this thread, but I haven't found any info on the GSP ones. If they are significantly higher quality, I'd go with those, but if they're basically the same, I feel like I might as well just buy the cheap ones. I am in grad school right now, so both my time and money are quite limited. If I can get something that'll survive for the next few years, I should be able to get it done properly once I have a real job.

[Aldo525]

Hi,

Re the half shafts, see this video. It is for e34 but is the same at e28. I done this job and is just a flat screwdriver and hammering...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvXLO3z ... erThirteen

[camplo]

I have the cheap 35 from rockauto on mine. Have had them on for at least 3-4 years I think. I havent had any issues and install was easy from what I can remember. Here https://imgur.com/a/tc5jz are some photos of them new. They come pretty dry, so I would buy grease to pack it with.

[adam_poll]

I'm also running some of the cheap rockauto half shafts and so far they have been fine. Just make sure to pack them full of grease as they are pretty much dry from the factory like mentioned above.

For your exhaust to manifold nuts I'm guessing you are using extensions to get to the nuts, those things eat up the torque out of an impact. I always had good luck with really long extensions (the kind with ball head are nice so things don't have to run perfectly straight) down to a ratchet/breaker bar under the car where you can lean on it.

For the dust caps maybe a bit of heat from a propane/mapp gas torch would help loosen the sealant and get them off. You'll be replacing the boots and grease Anyway so not a lot of risk there. Make sure to use some sort of sealant when you put them back together, I use permatex aviation form-a-gasket (I use that stuff on pretty much all of my paper gaskets at this point too).

[1st 5er]

I hit a snag, however, when attempting to remove the front exhaust to manifold nuts. It seems that no matter how many applications and soakings of Blaster I employ, they refuse to budge with my impact wrench, and obviously it’s way too confined to get at them with a breaker bar.

Not sure where you are in the process, but a trick I learned many moons ago and have used with great success since is; when removing nuts where even the slightest amount of rust is involved, after PB soaking, hit it with a tightening motion first with however much torque it takes to get it to either visibly move or you hear even the slightest amount of give. Then alternatively lefty loosey righty tighty it until it's off.

HTH

[Blue Shadow]

Never tried to do a D/S without pulling the exhaust.

Did the guibo at Bill Arnold's shop one afternoon without dropping exhaust.

Pull the heat shield, undo the guibo, csb and pull the csb down to bend the ds. Might require a bit of a pry on the guibo to pull the end of the ds off the tranny. Replace guibo as you put things back together.

[Blue Shadow]

Then alternatively lefty loosey righty tighty it until it's off.

HTH

There is something to be said using that Tap and Die procedure of one step back, two steps forward, one step back again, two steps forward until things move smoothly. Forward and back are in the direction you want the unit to go. In this case forward is removal

Got a broken distributor cap now headless bolt out that way.

[Mike W.]

Never tried to do a D/S without pulling the exhaust.

Did the guibo at Bill Arnold's shop one afternoon without dropping exhaust.

Pull the heat shield, undo the guibo, csb and pull the csb down to bend the ds. Might require a bit of a pry on the guibo to pull the end of the ds off the tranny. Replace guibo as you put things back together.

I wasn't trying to say it either could or couldn't be done, just that I've done more than a couple and never tried.

[Zeta]

Well, today I decided to take a crack at the drive shaft, but then I noticed that the transmission mounts are totally shot, and are likely part of what started this whole problem. Seeing as there's more to do up in there than I thought, I decided I'd go ahead and drop the exhaust. I went and got myself an 18" extension and I was able to finally get the exhaust nuts off no problem! Needed the swivel for two of them but overall it wasn't too hard. That long extension really is the key.


I then took a look at the engine mounts, and I can't believe I never noticed how terrible they were:




Now, I'm a little bit confused regarding the replacement parts for the engine mounts.
There's these guys, like a solid rubber cylinder: https://www.pelicanparts.com/More_Info/ ... =c&SVSVSI=
And then there's these, which appear to be like the ones I currently have: https://www.ecstuning.com/b-hamburg-tec ... 75735~ham/

I've seen mixed opinions in threads here about which style is more durable. I'd prefer to get the solid Meyle ones since they are significantly less expensive, and also because I have heard a lot of negative stuff about HT, and personally had some exhaust hangers of theirs that I purchased fail in less than three months (granted, that premature failure may have been partially due to my godawful engine mounts). I'm surprised that there aren't more options available for these, considering they are important parts that seem to be a pretty common thing to replace. If anyone has any strong opinions one way or another, or knows where I could find some better options, I'd be happy to hear.

[Mike W.]

I'm pretty good at finding parts. But not so much this time. HT does have a terrible reputation, though I've never used them so no personal experience, but given that I'd go with the solid Meyle part. The fact that it's a quarter of the price is just a bonus.

[Aldo525]

Seems to me you are looking the wrong mounting: Euro 525e have the same engine compared to US 528e, but the 525e use these solid rubber mounting instead of the metal & rubber mounting at 528e....Didn't know why this difference between US and Euro but the right mounting for your engine is: 11811130428

Check if the mounting offered at Pelican is the same as this.

[1st 5er]

Well, today... finally get the exhaust nuts off no problem! Needed the swivel for two of them but overall it wasn't too hard.

Glad to hear this.

Enjoy the "while you're in there".

[Zeta]

Seems to me you are looking the wrong mounting: Euro 525e have the same engine compared to US 528e, but the 525e use these solid rubber mounting instead of the metal & rubber mounting at 528e....Didn't know why this difference between US and Euro but the right mounting for your engine is: 11811130428

Thank you, that clears things up tremendously! For the 528e on RealOEM they have the opposite mount shown, with its respective part number, as you can see here. Very odd that they'd use a different part there on Euro cars vs US cars when they seem to be interchangeable. It turns out the Meyle ones are out of stock at Pelican. However, they have Genuine BMW ones for $33, which is still half the price of the metal-and-rubber-possibly-piece-of-crap HT ones. Who'd've thunk the Genuine BMW part would end up being the most attractively priced option!

Glad to hear this.
Enjoy the "while you're in there".

Thanks!

[Zeta]

Well. Over the last 24 hours, the engine mounts I ordered from Pelican took a disappointing turn from “In stock!” To “This part needs to be special ordered” to “We were not able to source this part from any of our suppliers.”

I managed to find the Meyle ones on eBay though: https://www.ebay.com/itm/144388529978

Ordered a pair. Hopefully they actually exist.

[Aldo525]

Well. Over the last 24 hours, the engine mounts I ordered from Pelican took a disappointing turn from “In stock!” To “This part needs to be special ordered” to “We were not able to source this part from any of our suppliers.”

I managed to find the Meyle ones on eBay though: https://www.ebay.com/itm/144388529978

Ordered a pair. Hopefully they actually exist.

I bought from that seller before (from Latvia at eBay) without any issue. And the mountings are for euro 520i and 525e so I presume really there are those spare parts.

[Zeta]

Glad to hear it! And since they fit the 525e I believe they should fit my 528e no problem, since they are effectively the same vehicle. They're slightly less expensive than the BMW ones from Pelican too, even with the relatively high shipping cost from Latvia to the US, so that's an added bonus. They may not arrive until late next month, which will delay getting my car back on the road somewhat. Worth it to get good parts installed though.

[Aldo525]

Glad to hear it! And since they fit the 525e I believe they should fit my 528e no problem, since they are effectively the same vehicle. They're slightly less expensive than the BMW ones from Pelican too, even with the relatively high shipping cost from Latvia to the US, so that's an added bonus. They may not arrive until late next month, which will delay getting my car back on the road somewhat. Worth it to get good parts installed though.

To Chile those rubber mountings from that seller is usd 16 (2 pieces) shipping rate....how much is from Latvia to US???....and it's true, at least to my country any packet from Latvia is 4 to 6 weeks.....but always arrive.

US 528e, Euro 525e and Euro 520i use the same front axle support and the same engine supporting brackets....so no reason for no fitment. Weird thing is why US and Euro use different mounting...

[Mike W.]

US 528e, Euro 525e and Euro 520i use the same front axle support and the same engine supporting brackets....so no reason for no fitment. Weird thing is why US and Euro use different mounting...

No, not really. The US market was always more of a luxury market and the cradle type is probably a bit softer than the solid mounts for a cushier experience, even if a bit more expensive even then, when new. At least that would be my guess. Doesn't mean it's better, but perhaps better vibration isolation.

[Aldo525]

No, not really. The US market was always more of a luxury market and the cradle type is probably a bit softer than the solid mounts for a cushier experience, even if a bit more expensive even then, when new. At least that would be my guess. Doesn't mean it's better, but perhaps better vibration isolation.
[/quote]

Your are right....in my experience, my father bought an US' 91 e30 318is here in Chile (car was brought here by a diplomatic guy) back in 1998. Same time I had an euro 87 e30 318i. Different engines, M10 and M42, but the quality of the US market car parts, upholstery, door cards material, dashboard, car paint, carpets, etc was substantially higher than Euro....the feeling of all you could touch at the US car was more luxury than euro version.

[dsw99a]

No, not really. The US market was always more of a luxury market and the cradle type is probably a bit softer than the solid mounts for a cushier experience, even if a bit more expensive even then, when new. At least that would be my guess. Doesn't mean it's better, but perhaps better vibration isolation.

Your are right....in my experience, my father bought an US' 91 e30 318is here in Chile (car was brought here by a diplomatic guy) back in 1998. Same time I had an euro 87 e30 318i. Different engines, M10 and M42, but the quality of the US market car parts, upholstery, door cards material, dashboard, car paint, carpets, etc was substantially higher than Euro....the feeling of all you could touch at the US car was more luxury than euro version.
[/quote]

That little tidbit is quite interesting to me. If this is true, and i dont doubt or have any reason to doubt; is that BMW was more invested in sending luxurier models to the US, but not the "better"engines, which i guess was more due to out more stringent emission standards? Just an intriguing thought from first hand experience.

[Mike W.]

That little tidbit is quite interesting to me. If this is true, and i dont doubt or have any reason to doubt; is that BMW was more invested in sending luxurier models to the US, but not the "better"engines, which i guess was more due to out more stringent emission standards? Just an intriguing thought from first hand experience.

They definitely optioned up the US cars.

"Better" engines is a complicated term. Euro E3s got FI before the US. But US E12s got 3.0, which Europe never got, and 176 rated HP, which I actually think is a little bit optimistic, and the Euro 528i with higher compression was only 1 HP more. Until the E12 M535i which was a whole different category at 218HP. But only for about a year. E28s. All US cars got Motronic, looks like Europe didn't until '85. The 533 was rated at 181 or a whopping 3HP less than euro 528i, which was the highest output until '85 with both the high compression 535i and M5 arriving over there. Yes, we were definitely at a deficit there. US emission regs played a huge role in what we got and didn't get. And BMWs approach to emissions from 79 on was pretty much just an O2 sensor, FI and a three way cat. No miles of vacuum hoses, no EGR, no smog pump, which 40 years later is a mixed blessing as difficult as it can be to pass Nox today. Mid 70s into mid 80s domestic V8s were often in the 120-140 HP range so even a smog M30 was way above that.

On the other hand, we never got 518's or 520i's or non turbo 524 diesels. Now on the third hand, regardless of HP, US cars were slower since they were loaded up with options stock and had US safety regs and bumpers and were heavier.

[1st 5er]

They may not arrive until late next month, which will delay getting my car back on the road somewhat.

Doesn't necessarily have to,
unless you've got track days calendar'd.
They're a fairly straightforward install regardless of those mid and final driveline assemblages being in place.

[Zeta]

I had somewhat of a setback that I detailed in another thread, but yesterday I got back to it, starting where I left off with the nuts attaching the driveshaft to the diff input flange. Unfortunately it seems I got the easiest nut off first, because even my (newly replaced) flared crowfoot wrench is slipping on the next one I'm going after. I'm worried it's going to get rounded off and give me bigger problems.

So in the meantime, while I try to think of a better way to get those and let them soak longer with Blaster, I replaced the transmission mounts and engine mounts. The transmission mounts were even worse than I thought. Once I lifted the transmission, it became clear that they weren't even attached anymore. Crumbled to pieces.

New ones in, and the transmission is sitting comfortably, probably a good 1/2" higher than where it was before. I'm surprised that the Giubo isn't looking worse considering how much strain it must have been under. It's clear why the center bearing surround failed so catastrophically though.


Regarding the engine mounts, the passenger side one was horrendous: it came off in two pieces, with a third clearly having already been left behind on the road somewhere. The driver's side one was still mostly intact but also quite rough. Removing these, particularly the passenger side, was far easier with the exhaust removed. I can imagine accessing the nuts on that side would be quite annoying with the exhaust in the way.


Since I got the Euro style cylindrical mounts, I just wanted to verify correct fitment before I go driving it around like this. The engine just sits directly on the rubber like shown in the image below, is that correct? It feels like there should be some kind of wide washer/metal plate between the rubber and the metal brace, but since my car had the different style mounts, I don't have anything like that. If Aldo or someone else who has a car that came with these could confirm, it would give me some peace of mind.

[Blue Shadow]

I think we loosen those with a box end wrench with another wrench hooked onto it for a longer arm. Been a while since I've had to do it. Other option is air and a box end wrench on the other side.

[Aldo525]

[/quote]
Since I got the Euro style cylindrical mounts, I just wanted to verify correct fitment before I go driving it around like this. The engine just sits directly on the rubber like shown in the image below, is that correct? It feels like there should be some kind of wide washer/metal plate between the rubber and the metal brace, but since my car had the different style mounts, I don't have anything like that. If Aldo or someone else who has a car that came with these could confirm, it would give me some peace of mind.

[/quote]

That's right, rubber mounting goes directly to the engine mount, no washer in the middle

[Aldo525]

More on this, in my 525i is the same, no washer between the engine mount and support.