Yet another rear suspension refresh DIY

Sounds alot like my evening yesterday.

I swear to god I'm going to get that ****ing thing off today.

air impact is what you need!

Originally Posted by m3me1138

Really need suggestions with these axle nuts guys. My problem is the axle is able to spin freely and there isn't much I can do to stop it. (no diff, not attached to a car, etc...) if any of you have run into this PLEASE let me know how you solved it. Thanks in advance.

Do the axles connect to the diff via flange or splined shaft?

Flange

Get a thick piece of plywood or some aluminum and drill the pattern into it, then bolt the axle to it.

I've conquered the awful axle nut. Thanks for all the help guys!

I'm not sure how unnecessary this part of the DIY is for most of you. It's generally accepted that to do this whole job one would need a press. I disagree. I'm not opposed to buying one necessarily, I have three projects going on in my garage right now and I don't have much room for a giant free standing Harbor Freight press at the moment. Here is how I removed the bushing on the diff cover. This applies to any number of bushings on a few different models of BMW (E30, E36, E46, etc...) Hope this helps someone out there.

Originally Posted by m3me1138

I've conquered the awful axle nut. Thanks for all the help guys!

Forgot the outside was like that. I did the same thing with a piece of chain for a flywheel before.

EDIT: About the press, you could try to get a piece to put between to gear puller and the bushing to push the sleeve out at the same time. Could try a socket perhaps, just get creative.

The nuts and bolts (and some bushings) finally arrived. ECS actually sent me an email saying something to the effect of "are you kidding me?" and "we really don't have all these random washers and such in stock" and "why are you doing this to us?"

*parts of the previous statement may or may not be a complete fabrication.

They did seem to have trouble finding everything though. In the end, they came through. I don't think I've been so charged up about a bag of hardware in my entire life.

So m3, how did this end up, did you finish the job? I'm jealous of all that new hardware, and nice job on all of the purchasing.

Do you not have a machine shop around? If you had a local shop, perhaps you could have stopped by a few times to revove the axle nut, hot-dip the diff cover, & press bearings.

Would love to see some 'after' photos.

Last time this thread was active was 16 months ago. Haven't heard from m3me1138 since then.

I'm aware it's an old thread, I wanted some closure. I don't see the harm in posting in an old thread to see if the OP responds.

As per m3me1138's profile, his Last Activity was 09-20-2012, so we know he is lurking, at the least.

Originally Posted by alheim

I'm aware it's an old thread, I wanted some closure. I don't see the harm in posting in an old thread to see if the OP responds.

As per m3me1138's profile, his Last Activity was 09-20-2012, so we know he is lurking, at the least.

Best bet to get a reply from an old posting is PM the poster. They may not even be reading this forum these days.

Hi all,

Sorry for the long absence. I've been caught up in an E30 project that I finally shoved out the door two weeks ago, and I've been moving into my newer, bigger, better equipped garage....ok and there is a house attached also, but who cares about that part? Anyway, I'll start updating again in a few weeks. Promise.

He lives!

I think you guys just got shown up by the newb with 4 posts