Anyone ever changed their Drive Shaft before or know where to buy one?

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Kenny2g

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Anyone ever changed their Drive Shaft before or know where to buy one for a price not so ridiculous? I saw one for in Arizona and the company told me that they are not going to sell it to me directly, that i have to hook up with a "shop" then they'll sell it to the shop that will install it for me. Price $650 [?|] [?|] [?|]
 
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epj3

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Dude, how cheap do you think you'll find one? Driveshafts are precisely built. If not, when they are spinning at >7000 RPM, they would shread the car to pieces.

www.bavauto.com is the best place. They are super quick.
 
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Kenny2g

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carcus, i think need the whole drive shaft. I heard that it's not recommended to fix yours. i heard that to buy a remanufactured one is better. Is this true? is the flex disc usually the thing that does that vibrating feel? Should i change the whole thing or just the flex disc.
 
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epj3

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Kenny2g said:
carcus, i think need the whole drive shaft. I heard that it's not recommended to fix yours. i heard that to buy a remanufactured one is better. Is this true? is the flex disc usually the thing that does that vibrating feel? Should i change the whole thing or just the flex disc.
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why would you replace an entirely good driveshaft?!?!?!?!?!

Buy the 50 dollar flex disc, drop the exhaust a few inches and replace it. Simple.
 
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Kenny2g

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epj3, what if the flex disc isn't the problem? Have you ever had this problem before on yours? my is a serious vibration that comes when the car is on some gears or when i make turns and then assalarate.
 
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epj3

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Kenny2g said:
epj3, what if the flex disc isn't the problem? Have you ever had this problem before on yours? my is a serious vibration that comes when the car is on some gears or when i make turns and then assalarate.
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When you ACCelerate and you hear noises, the typical causes are (In order from most to least common).

-Flex Disc
-Driveshaft Center Support Bearing
-Differntial mounts
-Transmission mount
-Faulty bell housing (rarely the case)
 
Steve Neu

Steve Neu

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It is not likely to turn 7500 RPM at the drive shaft as you would need to be able to get to that RPM in 4th of 5th gear--the car would be going well in excess the legal speed limit!
 
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epj3

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Steve Neu said:
It is not likely to turn 7500 RPM at the drive shaft as you would need to be able to get to that RPM in 4th of 5th gear--the car would be going well in excess the legal speed limit!
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uh, if you're in 4th gear, which I believe on E36's is 1:1 - same as my car, that means that if the engine is going 6000 RPM, the Driveshaft is spinning at 6000 rpm.

Try 5th gear. My car is 0.81:1, meaning the engine spins .81 times and the driveshaft spins once.

You do the math.
 
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m5runner

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i agree with changing the flex coupling. its a cheaper attempt to fix it and if you have to replace the driveshaft you have to buy new ones anyway so go for the cheaper fix first if you aren't sure what it is
 
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Kenny2g

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m5runner what do you mean by the flex coupling? I guess am getting confused by all this termonologies like ( flex couping and Guibo) Infact, am confused on what to change first. I see a bunch of things that epj3 suggested to change first from "order" However, i cannot seem to figure out which part that does that gridding vibration noise to change first.
 
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epj3

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Kenny2g said:
m5runner what do you mean by the flex coupling? I guess am getting confused by all this termonologies like ( flex couping and Guibo) Infact, am confused on what to change first. I see a bunch of things that epj3 suggested to change first from "order" However, i cannot seem to figure out which part that does that gridding vibration noise to change first.
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Dude, you should just take it to a garage. Ever hold a wrench before? You don't even know what these parts do, so I doubt you'll be able to replace them.


That's a guibo -- connects the driveshaft to the transmission.
 
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Steve Neu

Steve Neu

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epj3 said:
uh, if you're in 4th gear, which I believe on E36's is 1:1 - same as my car, that means that if the engine is going 6000 RPM, the Driveshaft is spinning at 6000 rpm.

Try 5th gear. My car is 0.81:1, meaning the engine spins .81 times and the driveshaft spins once.

You do the math.
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Or put another way--how often do you drive your car at 140+mph?

Steve
 
Kirby

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epj3 said:
Dude, you should just take it to a garage. Ever hold a wrench before? You don't even know what these parts do, so I doubt you'll be able to replace them.
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Everybody has to start somewhere, changing the guibo is not a bad place to start...
 
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epj3

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Steve Neu said:
Or put another way--how often do you drive your car at 140+mph?

Steve
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That doesnt matter... the car was designed to go 140+ mph (well, the later models)
and dan -- even so, it spins VERY fast.

I disagree that the guibo is a good place to start. Try doing a brake job, spark plugs, and oil change first. Dropping the exhaust and removing the driveshaft isnt the easiest thing to do if you don't have a lift.
 
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epj3

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Steve Neu said:
epj3 said:
That doesnt matter... the car was designed to go 140+ mph (well, the later models)
and dan -- even so, it spins VERY fast.
/QUOTE]

Only if you decide to drive at "go to jail" speeds!

Steve
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Not on the autobahn or autostraase. Just becuase the car's shipped to the US doesnt mean it has different parts than the german-bought bmw's
Click to expand...
 
Steve Neu

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epj3 said:
Not on the autobahn or autostraase. Just becuase the car's shipped to the US doesnt mean it has different parts than the german-bought bmw's
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If you have not checked lately speed limits are going up in Germany these days. Even before you were unlikely to see much over 120mph.

My 325 would have to be doing in excess of 170mph to see a drive shaft speed of 6500 RPM--not likely to happen unless the car is operating in a vacuum. This is based on RPM at 75mph.

Steve--who has been in Germany and most European countries a bunch of times.
 
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