Jay 735i 0 Report post Posted October 2, 2016 Jeez, been a while since I've been a regular on here... the 735i has long since gone to the scrappy in the sky and I've moved on to newer things. These days I'm driving an '07 320i wagon (manual), which has a grumbly diff. It has been whiny for a while, but now the whine is definitely a grumble. A bit of net searching would indicate this is a knackered input or output bearing, but also that it is probably better to replace the diff than mess about trying to repair, shim up etc, especially as the whine was ignored for some time, which will probably mean more damage than just the bearing. Any opinion on the repair vs replace? Any diff I put in will obviously also have the potential for wear and noise, as apparently it's a relatively common issue for e90s, especially with high KMs on "lifetime" diff fluid (car has done 180,000km). Might be able to find someone who has wrecked a low KM crashed car that could donate it's diff though. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Herbmiester 909 Report post Posted October 2, 2016 I would just get a diff from a low KM wrecked car. Small case I think. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Jay 735i 0 Report post Posted October 3, 2016 (edited) Yeah it is a small case. I would say that is the right approach too, I rebuilt an OS Mini gearbox with a mate last year. Well I say rebuilt, it didn't like going from 3rd to 2nd when it was back together, so eventually he took it to a Mini specialist who pulled it apart and said we didn't so much rebuild the gearbox, as put some gears in a box. As a result, I'm reluctant to touch anything that has gears and shims involved Edited October 3, 2016 by Jay 735i Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
