325iX
The 325iX was BMW's first foray in four-wheel drive,
History
Up to twelve of these cars are known to have been professionally converted to RHD by BMW dealers within the UK. However, all were recalled to BMW for a steering issue and two were ultimately dismantled. Only one 325iX in the UK is an officially registered BMW-approved RHD car.
Technical
Despite the beefy requirements of powering all four wheels, the iX was fitted with the exact same 2.5 litre M20 engine as the 325i.
There isnt a centre diff, only front and rear. The front diff is bolted to the sump and is a complete PITA to remove. An iX gearbox is basically a normal E30 box with a small transfer case bolted to the back of it and its drive connects via a rubber guibo the same as a normal E30's prop connects to the gearbox, very crude IMO though I've had no experiance of any other 4wd systems ! There is then a splined prop shaft that puts power to the front diff, with this shaft removed I see no reason why the car would not drive as the transfer case is only cogs etc supplying drive to the front diff. E30 iX's are permanent 4wd and the viscous diffs can not be locked in any way . The power is a permanent 37:63% front to rear split so it may slow the car down removing the front drive shaft ??
I have had an iX transfer case apart and its only cogs and a chain drive, no "slip unit" like a rear diff,
Doing a conversion into a normal e30 to an ix is going to need the floor pan modifying and also inner wing and strutt towers are different. Front suspension from an ix will NOT fit straight up into e30 without alot of work
An e30 rack mounts in front of the cross member but on the ix it has a completely different cross member. The rack on an ix is mounted behind the cross member hence doing a RHD conversion using E30 rack won't work. Just a note the ix cross member is made of aluminium so not easy welding new rack mounts under the car!! If you manage find a rack that will fit then theres the problem of getting past exhaust pipes with the linkage next
- 325iX Gearbox, Transfer Box, Propshafts and sump-mounted front differential
General Info
Please also see the E30 325ix Register
