TehRaydarlover's AWD lover
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Time for some inspection!
Take some time to clean all of the parts you will be reusing. Clean the casing inside and out, I pulled the breather and replaced it even.
If your doing this its pretty safe to say your VC probably looks like this, o-rings blown out and nasty crap all over the inside of the t-case. Time to rebuild or source a replacement.
Hopefully you and your POs greased your front driveshaft splines like you should be doing. If your splines don't look like this its time to try and source a replacement :[
Check your chain for any excessive amounts of wear. Of the three I had to choose from, they all looked the same :dontknow: maybe I'm just lucky, maybe they're all junk. Maybe someone else can comment on what a junk chain looks like.
Check all of the sprockets, planetary gears, splines, and bearing fits for wear and damage. Replace as necessary.
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Time for the reassembly!!
First things first, install the shaft seals into the front half of the casing. As I'm sure you noticed there are two seals installed face to face on the front output sprocket. It's kind of a pain in the a$$ to get the second seal, I think I found a socket or something with a slightly smaller diameter to knock it in with. Make sure they go in straight, and preferably on the first try! I like to lay a very thin coat of RTV in the receiving bore while installing the seals. The RTV lubricates the seal as it goes in and also helps fill any leak causing imperfections in the receiving bore, do as you wish. With both seals installed to the correct depth we can lubricate them with some o-ring grease.
Next we can install the input shaft and retaining ring. The shaft just slides right in and fits loose to the casing for now. Install the retaining ring to keep it from sliding back out.
Next we can install the new bearing for the front output sprocket. Find something with a slightly smaller diameter and knock the bearing into place. Make sure it starts in straight.
Install the new bearing for the input sprocket, same method as above.
Now comes the tricky part, installing the input sprocket, chain, and front output sprocket. You have to first slide on the input sprocket onto the input shaft, with the chain on and front output sprocket loose in the chain. Then the sprockets need to be seated into the bearings at the same time. This is a pain in the a$$ because you have to get the front output sprocket through the two seals without it getting caught and damaging a seal. After my first failed attempt, I actually put some packing tape over the grooves to keep them from catching the seals.
When you get everything started and looking good you can seat the sprockets into the bearings with a dead blow hammer. Now you can also install the planetary gears.
You can also install the little brass or bronze crush ring. I think this little guy just keeps input and rear output shafts from being sloppy in the casing, crushing as needed to fill up the space. They are NLA from BMW so I was forced to reuse.
Now you can install the rear output shaft and your replacement or rebuilt VC onto the input sprocket. The gasket can also be set into place. When you order a t-case gasket from BMW it doesn't come with a gasket for the center hole. I just made one out of 0.015" gasket paper. I stuck a round file in the bolt hole to keep the gasket centered with installing the rear casing.
At this point apparently it was getting late and I stopped taking pictures, but its really pretty much done. The bearing shim, bearing, and shield thing can be installed on the rear output shaft, on top of the VC. Now we can install the new bearings for the front output sprocket and the end of the rear output shaft into the rear half of the casing. With the bearings installed the rear half can be installed. It may take a few tries to get the bearing and shield thing to align properly with the receiving bore but you'll get it eventually. Then all you have to do is torque the 6mm SHCS, install the rear output flange w/sealant on the splines, and torque the rear output nut.
Cheers!
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As for the car I'm still working on the body. I rented a bigger garage to work in and bought a welder. I've been cutting out a lot of cancer and getting ready for new sheet metal.
The go fast parts have been coming in also
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nice writeup on the t-case rebuilt. I had no idea they were chain driven!
also, i spy alpina goodness.
Dan
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nice writeup on the t-case rebuilt. I had no idea they were chain driven!
also, i spy alpina goodness.
Thanks!
Yep! Special ones too! 17x8.5 front 17x9.5 rear from an e34 b10 biturbo.
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will your 5x120 hub modifications let you run low offset wheels, or do you have fender mods in mind?
Dan
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will your 5x120 hub modifications let you run low offset wheels, or do you have fender mods in mind?
The 135i hubs in the front are actually going to hurt me to the tune of 10mm. The z4 hubs in the rear are about 2.5mm wider than stock, but the rear wont be an issue. I do have some fender mods in the works, as Earl eluded to lol. Even then I think it might be a squeeze up front. I might have to pull a few tricks out of my a$$ but it'll fit!
When I finally get some time away from work I'll get the bearing and hubs pressed in. Then I can do some test fitting :]
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Is the 135 front hub/bearing a bolt on unit? Or are you also working some magic with that?
Does it widen the track by 10mm, or reduce it by 10mm? -
Yep! The 1 series uses the same wheel bearing in the rear as an e30, and the ix uses the same bearing in the front as in the rear. BMW is kind of dumb though, the front and rear wheel bearings have different oem part numbers yet the FAG/SKF part number is the same, idk why the different OEM p/ns.
There are two different 1er hubs, one with a larger offset than the other, I have the shorter hubs. They have a 10mm/side wider track than a stock ix front hub. The wider track kind of sucks because fender clearance is already an issue for a stock ix, always have to run high offset wheels. I guess this is the best I can do without machining my own hubs. I'm kind of scared to test fit my wheels lol.
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Drove the Tail of the Dragon today. It was pretty fun. Can say the Buick Regal RS I had for a rental car handled better than expected lol. Should be big time lolz to see the pictures once they post them.
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Tail of the Dragon photos......
Tail of the Dragon photos......
Tail of the Dragon photos......
Dat post count tho
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Tail of the Dragon photos......
Tail of the Dragon photos......
Tail of the Dragon photos......
Dat post count tho
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