dickhead 0 Report post Posted April 29, 2008 ok, my 95 320i manual just blew its 3rd diff in a couple of years and im starting to get pissed off. i have little mechanical knowledge but gather that its a small case diff wheras 323i, 325i 328i have medium case diffs. is it worthwhile and how easy would it be to upgrade to one of these? is there anyone selling an LSD fo e36 which would be stronger? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPLEZR 0 Report post Posted April 29, 2008 ok, my 95 320i manual just blew its 3rd diff in a couple of years and im starting to get pissed off. i have little mechanical knowledge but gather that its a small case diff wheras 323i, 325i 328i have medium case diffs. is it worthwhile and how easy would it be to upgrade to one of these? is there anyone selling an LSD fo e36 which would be stronger? piece of piss mate, i should know i go thru them alot hahaha. may need to change back plate but thats also simple. matter of dropping the small case and putting med case in, same mounts. i have a med case sitting around that im not going to use but its not a lsd Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
IPLEZR 0 Report post Posted April 29, 2008 just noted your from chch scrub my spare 1 haha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
westy 614 Report post Posted April 30, 2008 How do you break a diff in a 320??? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted April 30, 2008 How do you break a diff in a 320??? Frigged if I know I didnt even break my small case with the M52B28 before I went medium case and M325 I axles Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dickhead 0 Report post Posted April 30, 2008 do you think it could be a problem with something else thats affecting the diff? i dont have a clue all i know is that it starts whining quietly then if you drop the clutch at 5 grand a couple of times it will just explode leaving the car immobile. i love the car, but might have to buy a gts-t or something gay like that as i like to skid it once every now and then Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
oscar90 0 Report post Posted April 30, 2008 is 320i's breaking diffs common at all? ive been doing afew clutch dumps at 5000ish in 1st, and no problems yet, its put the scare in me now ...probably a good thing really! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted April 30, 2008 If you abuse anything ....IT WILL BREAK Anyway.... you may have other problems. If the car is very low the axle angle will put more load on the diff. Another thing that people forget to check is the driveshaft. If the universals are worn, seized or the driveshaft is badly out of balance it will load up the pinion bearings and in the past two years I've had 1 E36, 1 E30 and 1 E39 break pinion shafts because of the driveshaft. Oil is important too 75w90 full synthetic must be used. This may help you...maybe not It may be right to say... change your driving style and treat the car with a bit more respect. I'm no nana driver, and theres alot of others on here that like to give their cars the occassional "fang" and we arent breaking things. I could understand it if you had 250+ RWHP. But not a stock 320. There might just be something else other than the actual diff, or youve just bought a couple of 2nd hand worn ones. Did you take the back plate of and have a look inside before you fitted them ?? and did you use the right oil ?? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dickhead 0 Report post Posted May 1, 2008 If you abuse anything ....IT WILL BREAK Anyway.... you may have other problems. If the car is very low the axle angle will put more load on the diff. Another thing that people forget to check is the driveshaft. If the universals are worn, seized or the driveshaft is badly out of balance it will load up the pinion bearings and in the past two years I've had 1 E36, 1 E30 and 1 E39 break pinion shafts because of the driveshaft. Oil is important too 75w90 full synthetic must be used. This may help you...maybe not It may be right to say... change your driving style and treat the car with a bit more respect. I'm no nana driver, and theres alot of others on here that like to give their cars the occassional "fang" and we arent breaking things. I could understand it if you had 250+ RWHP. But not a stock 320. There might just be something else other than the actual diff, or youve just bought a couple of 2nd hand worn ones. Did you take the back plate of and have a look inside before you fitted them ?? and did you use the right oil ?? i got all thwork done by professionals as i would probably do more harm than good doing it myself. thats very interesting about the driveshaft, il have to check that out. if thats all good then i think i might upgrade to a medium case diff, or the 6 bolt ones someone mentioned before as its a four bolt presently. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
*Glenn* 854 Report post Posted May 2, 2008 i got all thwork done by professionals as i would probably do more harm than good doing it myself. thats very interesting about the driveshaft, il have to check that out. if thats all good then i think i might upgrade to a medium case diff, or the 6 bolt ones someone mentioned before as its a four bolt presently. Yes I mentioned that before. 4 bolt is small case. But you will also need to upgrade the axles too. They are different. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Silver Fox 43 Report post Posted May 2, 2008 (edited) Look at all the cars running in the race series, E30's and open class. As far as I know, they all run BMW diffs, most open, but some open class run LSD's, and not one blown diff I can recall yet. Watch them launch from the start line, and I think you'll realise there's something wrong with your setup somewhere, you shouldn't be breaking them that often? ps, just remembered Conrad at Taupo, but look at his HP, and his driving style. Edited May 2, 2008 by Silver Fox Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
dickhead 0 Report post Posted May 2, 2008 To the original poster - are you doing donuts? I'd guess that one wheel spinning for several seconds is pretty hard on a diff. It would make the side gears do heaps of work... yeah done a few donuts many times, 2nd gear on the limiter no worries its just when you dump the clutch from stationary it just f*cks itself haha Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CamB 48 Report post Posted May 2, 2008 To the original poster - are you doing donuts? I'd guess that one wheel spinning for several seconds is pretty hard on a diff. It would make the side gears do heaps of work... Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kerrynzl 3 Report post Posted May 3, 2008 Doing 'donuts' is what f**ks them! The heat generated in the spider gears causes stress cracks when they cool down. The next day they usually break when you 'pussyfoot' out of your drive. I blew 7 Borg Warner diffs after "driving" around in circles in my R/T Charger on various street events. [ displaying my skills to my friends ] the same B/W diff is used by NZ V8's and they dont cause any problems. pm me and I'll give you a contact with a E36 manual medium case / axles / rear driveshaft Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BM WORLD 1265 Report post Posted May 3, 2008 buy a 535i or 540i they have large case diffs , they dont break. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
antony 0 Report post Posted May 7, 2008 Chuck a RB25DET in it. You know you want to. When you coming down next? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
