E30 diff install pics

[cali-ti]

check out my gallery for some early pics of the E30 diff install (more to come later, guess i should get to work now ).

my gallery

one pic of the "completed" job (diff and halfshafts installed) even though it's not really done. also some of the ABS sensor clearance problem and the shims i created to solve it (they will be painted before final install).

[mischief]

the year diff will fit a 318ti and how can i tell its a LSD type

[GDB]

Originally Posted by mischief

the year diff will fit a 318ti and how can i tell its a LSD type

any E30 diff will fit. Not sure on the LSD part.

[cali-ti]

Hey Eric

Glad you made a nice set of pics on your LSD install. I hate hearing all this talk about how an install went, with no pictures.

Was the issue with grinding on the diff more related to the finned cover, or would a 6 cylinder diff with a standard cover require grinding? I'm approaching this whole swap with kid gloves. Not even considering it till I find the diff I want, and have ALL of the facts, can't afford down time.

Does that shim you made work good? Did you make a trace template for it, I would like to make some too, when I do the swap?

L8, the top cover bolt clearance issues are NOT due to the finned m cover. the diff cover bushing mount needing to be ground MAY be due to the cover. the other thing that may be influencing the fit is my completely shot subframe bushings (the diff mount is attached to/part of the subframe and therefore there could be play in how that whole thing moves in relation to the mount for the diff cover bushing and where the top cover bolts currently hit the subframe that's part of the unibody. i've ordered new subframe bushings (along with trailing arm bushings as well as camber and toe kits). i'll make a report after i get those installed and see what effect they have on how this all fits together. no matter what, the large body diffs are DAMN tight fitting in there so you'll need to watch your clearance when you do your install to see if it's going to hit or not. at least you'll know ahead of time what to look for (unlike me because i'd never seen a report of parts needing to be ground or such). better that you prepare for dealing with it ahead of time and then not have to than the other way around

i really don't have much road time on the conversion due to the bad cv joint/halfshaft. the shim should work just fine (it's just a spacer after all). it wouldn't even NEED to be shaped like the ABS sensor mount on the hub, i'm just anal retentive and want the install to look nice. all i did was put the ABS sensor through the hole in the washer, outline it with a sharpie and then go to town on the washer on the bench grinder, finishing off the slot for where the mounting bolt needs to go through with a rat tail file (that took awhile ). just took a little patience again, some people need the shims, some people don't. it was obvious that i did (see the pics in the gallery). you can pull your ABS sensor out ahead of time to find the proper diameter washer (although you won't know about potential shim thickness requirements). if you have a grinder and maybe a drill press, access to a hardware store with a good selection of bits and pieces, you should be ok. i used c-clips initially to determine the required thickness and then walked to the hardware store to find washers to fit the bill.

i'll post more pics later, have to go pickup the gf at the airport now.

[cali-ti]

ok, the "new" halfshaft is in. there are still clearance issues at two points. i'm dropping the car off a rauch performance tomorrow for them to install the subframe and trailing arm bushings, weld in the rear camber/toe kits and the sway bar tab reinforcements. i'll also have them grind the two remaining contact points.

i found what someone else mentioned about the bolts to attach the halfshaft to the diff flange being too long. more on this later, i'm heading out to eat and have a few guinnesses to celebrate finding every possible problem that could be encountered while doing an e30 diff swap, lol. i can't freakin' believe it ... i will post a full and complete detailing of everything that needs to be done.

[Dredder]

Originally Posted by cali-ti

i can't freakin' believe it ... i will post a full and complete detailing of everything that needs to be done.

This is what this community is all about. Everyone should be very thankful that you’re doing this difficult task. I know I will be, because I planning on tackling this work when I get ready to do mine. Your experience, bad/good will benifit everyone. I would like to personally thank you if others do not. Keep up the good work.

[cali-ti]

posted a couple more pics in my gallery, i'm going to ask steven how to post a full write up with integrated pics so it will all be in one doc. i guess i could write it up in whatever app i want and then print it to pdf on my mac, but it would be nice if it would be directly viewable on the web. i'll see what steven says.

[city]

Originally Posted by Dredder

This is what this community is all about. Everyone should be very thankful that you’re doing this difficult task. I know I will be, because I planning on tackling this work when I get ready to do mine. Your experience, bad/good will benifit everyone. I would like to personally thank you if others do not. Keep up the good work.

Agreed, I plan on taking on this task sooner or later so a write up will greatly assist me since im only 18 and I plan on learning all this stuff on my own its nice to have others expierence in doing the swap to see the pro's/con's and what to watch out for. Thanks Cali-ti