Welding my 325 diff HELP please!!

Post Mon Jul 25, 2005 11:02 pm

Hi lads im sorry if this makes me sound like a pleb but i need some help.

Ii have a 325ise that i want to start drifting. Now from what i gather the 325 should have an LSD so i have two questions.

1. From what i can see LSD's for the 325 arent that easy to find so if im gonna weld the diff should i just get an open diff and weld that or should i stick the the LSD and weld that. if its an open diff what ratio should i get or does this matter once its welded???

2. If i am going to weld it, what exactly do i have to do? I've spoken to a lot of garages and most of them are too afraid to touch it?

Has anyone on here done it and if so could they give me some advice or pictures of what needs to be welded?

Thanks for any help.

Stevo

Post Mon Jul 25, 2005 11:09 pm

the limited slip would be to hard to weld(can't get to the gears without major dissasembly). On the open diffs when you pull the back cover off, you have a large round case with 3 gears in it, The case has two openinds one on each side, just weld the three smaller gears all to eachother(don't touch the large gear on the Left hand side(bolts to the center section) or the small pinion gear way down in the diff. This won't affect the ratio at all it will just make both wheels spin no matter what.

Post Mon Jul 25, 2005 11:35 pm

rs4pro3 wrote:the limited slip would be to hard to weld(can't get to the gears without major dissasembly). On the open diffs when you pull the back cover off, you have a large round case with 3 gears in it, The case has two openinds one on each side, just weld the three smaller gears all to eachother(don't touch the large gear on the Left hand side(bolts to the center section) or the small pinion gear way down in the diff. This won't affect the ratio at all it will just make both wheels spin no matter what.

Thanks mate,

So what ratio would you suggest if i want lots of torque in 1st/2nd/3rd gears cause im not gonna get much further than 3rd with the drifting tracks in Ireland.

Thanks,

Post Tue Jul 26, 2005 12:31 am

3.73 or 4.10 if it's an I engine

Post Tue Jul 26, 2005 12:37 am

rs4pro3 wrote:3.73 or 4.10 if it's an I engine

It is an I engine.

Thanks for the advice mate.

Stevo

Post Mon Aug 01, 2005 7:15 pm

just some info if you weld your diff you wont be able to drive it on the road comfortably

Post Wed Aug 03, 2005 2:40 am

a 3.91 open diff is you best bet for welding up, you will find most 325i's came with them and they are cheap as chips. the welded diffs last well, i never had probs with them, old skool ford boy swear by them, however the do make a bit of noise and scrub and wear your tyres quite quickly even with your regular enthusiastic road driving!