1988 325IS Drive shaft rebuidl?

[dkerley03]

Hello, I need some advice. 1988 325IS, last month my drive shaft started making noise, "sounded like bumping the floor behind the front passengers seat". I knew it would go sometime, but this is sooner than I thought!

I probably need to replace the drive shaft center support bearing, drive shaft flex joint, front drive shaft bushing, busing diff carrier support is there anything I am missing?

I had a garage I trust quote me $175-200 labor and I provide the parts. They have done good work for me before and I can trust them. Since this is my daily driver, they usually do the work for me while I watch and wait.

If my old catalytic converters failed to end up back on the car, would I see any power improvement or loss due to lower back pressure? I do not belief it will affect my engine operation as there appears to be no sensors that far back on the exhaust? I would leave the BMW mufflers on it.

All thoughts and feed back would be appreciated!

[dkerley03]

Somebody please guide me!

[dkerley03]

I am not sure what parts I really need for this job, of a driveshaft rebuild and my mechanics can't get the parts locally. Any parts dealers suggested?

[Bear]

have you looked at a Thrash rebuilt drive shaft, I bought one for my '88 750 and it went in smooth, and you could probably do the job.

[darkhorse737]

Originally Posted by dkerley03

Hello, I need some advice. 1988 325IS, last month my drive shaft started making noise, "sounded like bumping the floor behind the front passengers seat". I knew it would go sometime, but this is sooner than I thought!

I probably need to replace the drive shaft center support bearing, drive shaft flex joint, front drive shaft bushing, busing diff carrier support is there anything I am missing?

I had a garage I trust quote me $175-200 labor and I provide the parts. They have done good work for me before and I can trust them. Since this is my daily driver, they usually do the work for me while I watch and wait.

If my old catalytic converters failed to end up back on the car, would I see any power improvement or loss due to lower back pressure? I do not belief it will affect my engine operation as there appears to be no sensors that far back on the exhaust? I would leave the BMW mufflers on it.

All thoughts and feed back would be appreciated!

may i suggest you get under the car first and see for yourself exactly what needs to be replaced.

my way of thinking is: if u can't tell what is wrong when u are under... it's probably easier and cheaper for you to consult a local shop you can trust to show you exactly what is wrong , with priceq quotes before they do the work.

>>>I probably need to replace the drive shaft center support bearing, drive shaft flex joint, front drive shaft bushing, busing diff carrier support is there anything I am missing?<<< that alone is a bill of no less than $800.- more or less, amy may or may not even solve your prob

[dkerley03]

Originally Posted by darkhorse737

may i suggest you get under the car first and see for yourself exactly what needs to be replaced.

my way of thinking is: if u can't tell what is wrong when u are under... it's probably easier and cheaper for you to consult a local shop you can trust to show you exactly what is wrong , with priceq quotes before they do the work.

>>>I probably need to replace the drive shaft center support bearing, drive shaft flex joint, front drive shaft bushing, busing diff carrier support is there anything I am missing?<<< that alone is a bill of no less than $800.- more or less, amy may or may not even solve your prob

As I posted earlier, we (the mechanic and I) looked under the car! You can't see much, the exhaust (two pipes parallel) Resonator, catalytic converter, muffler and head shield pretty much obscure the drive shaft! I have been under my car, while it is on the lift! You can see the rear universal joint and in front part of the flex "doughnut" joint. That is not much to see compared to a sixties American muscle drive shaft.

This is a local shop, I trust! Have known and dealt with them for several years, over several cars. They are not a Bimmer shop, just a good ole country garage. We are in the coal fields of Eastern Kentucky and have no specialty Bimmer shops! They have quoted me four hours of labor, i provide the parts. I now have the carrier bearing,carrier bushing and the flex "doughnut" joint.

My concern is getting started on the job and have to wait for parts to ship in! This is my daily driver and am trying to plan a one day repair. While I stay, watch and help repair my BMW. I do this every time so far and know everything replaced or serviced on my car. Part of the benefit of living in a small rural community! I just don't want to have to stop in the middle of the job and order more parts!

Thank you all for your guidance so far!

[darkhorse737]

I probably need to replace the drive shaft center support bearing, drive shaft flex joint, front drive shaft bushing, busing diff carrier support is there anything I am missing?

<<< the universal joints. if you are going to take it down, and considering the age of the car, i would think they might be due for replacement too

*without the CAT, you will achieve a probable 15% increase in hp.

good luck.

[dkerley03]

We (Garage mechanics and Myself) pulled the exhaust partly off the rear of the car, removed the heat shielding and checked the drive shaft and replacement parts. A center support bearing came, but only the bearing! I have ordered a new complete center support and bearing, and two universal joints from OEM and original car Parts For BMW Mini cooper Porsche Mercedes Audi Volkswagen Saab Volvo| BimmerSpecialist.com and will try to complete the job next week.
They said the drive shaft is not going to fall apart yet, at least not in a week? The rubber around the carrier bearing is dried, shrunk and cracked, and the universal joints worn and have looseness in it.
I look forward to having my Bimmer repaired and back to full speed - Minus the catalytic converters! "15% more power" sounds really fun

[dkerley03]

Hello, I told you i would post updates on the drive shaft rebuild and adding headers when redoing the exhaust. Well, here it goes!

First off, no I do not have pictures yet! I will be posting some, but not tonight! I just woke up after a five hour nap. We were into this project all of 18 hours. It seems that no matter how you plan, some times things just go wrong!

The drive shaft was pretty strait forward as far as the carrier bearing, guibo, alignment bushing. These items will not be that bad to repeat in the future if ever needed again. The universal joints are a whole different matter! Evidently some BMW e30 universal joints are replaceable and some are not "easily" replaceable. My universal joint were factory original and the front one was seized and the rear very loose. The factory installed them and rolled the outside metal of the drive shaft in to hold them, a type of "crimp". We could not remove them as you would a normal u joint, so we cut them with a torch and punches them out. We used a head finishing tool to remove the rolled metal that held the old u joints in place. Put in the new u joints, with some frustration from the needle bearings. Getting the caps on with all the needle bearing in place and intact can get frustrating. For future reference, I am going to order a extra universal joint or two. Those needle bearings are trouble. But we got both universal joints in and lined up great! They cam with c-clips to hold them, but my drive shaft had no provision for that! So, in good old redneck fashion we made it work! I know this is not what you are supposed to do, but I needed my car and did not have eight hundred dollars to order A NEW DRIVE SHAFT! We nickel welded my universal joints with four welds on each cap! To be sure they stayed in place.

I know some of you may be cringing right now, and I know what we did was "WRONG" but I can drive my car! The drive shaft does not vibrate, rattle or shake any more! I am planning to save and order a proper commercial rebuilt drive shaft, but we bought some time at least. I don't know how long, but so far so good!

The 304 Stainless Steel headers went in really great, we had to move the oxygen sensor mount closer, but not a big deal. From the header x pipes we used two inch pipe back to the BMW dual muffler I already had from my previous custom exhaust system. My catalytic converter was partly clogged so we removed it and the resonator. The results are good, still plenty of torque, faster acceleration and a real growl to the exhaust note!
tomorrow, I will try to post pictures and maybe evena video with audio!

I will post more detail later.

[dkerley03]

We were playing around on the highway yesterday, i was driving my 1988 325Is automatic with headers, dual 2 inch exhaust and stock type dual pipe BMW muffler and he was driving 1987 325e 5 speed manual. We have done soem of this before and it was not possible for him to pull away from me! In the past his manual transmission gave him an advantage, but not any more! It is all in my favor, even with an automatic. I am now considering how do I improve my air intake and fuel system?

[blazein]

Can you tell where you got your header im having some problems finding performance parts for the 325is but... I am a newbe

[dkerley03]

I found my headers on Ebay from former e30 owner, He was never able to install them when he owned his E30. So They were New, never uesed but previously owned! I got a really good deal that way, the company is "Top Speed Performance" I have not be able to find them on the web? They are excellent quality and a great fit! I really love how they look, sound and work! I installed them with two others heat shield gaskets eBay Motors: BMW e30 Exhaust Manifold Gasket 325 325e 325i 325is (item 170041355055 end time Oct-09-08 20:28:02 PDT)

i wish you the best on find some, I would start with Ebay. I buy a lot of good parts there.