lsd interchangeable

Post Tue May 15, 2012 12:17 am

hi,iam toying with scraping my sport now after 10yrs ownership and as it now has a damaged sump i cant use it,looking at buying a e36 328 sport instead,what i would like to know will the e30 lsd spool fit into the e36 diff houseing and will the e30 man g-box fit in replacement of a e36 box,and will my frount seats easy bolt into a e36 from a e30(not botherd about rear seat).dont want to have to go to the scrap yard to buy my parts back if i can take them off first!

Post Tue May 15, 2012 12:37 am

A 325i sport will have a medium case LSD, as will the E36 328i. Chances are your E30 LSD will be in need of some love by now and it's not a straighforward bolt-in swap as the bearings will require shimming up etc so unless you know what you're doing it's a job best left to somone who knows what they're doing... like me

Post Tue May 15, 2012 12:40 am

Your scraping a sport because of a smashed sump!

Put it on ebay as it is on an auction and see what happens, you would be suprised.

Post Tue May 15, 2012 1:01 am

leeparkes wrote:Your scraping a sport because of a smashed sump!

Put it on ebay as it is on an auction and see what happens, you would be suprised.

ive owned it for 10yrs now was only keeping it for 2yrs max back then!ive got no time to change it(this is the second time ive had damage to one,and i cant rember how i change it last time)so it time to part company with it,wasnt going to re test it this year its had 4yrs extra as it is!
its a tuff one as i dont want to see the car once any more.loved my time with it way to much over the years,never let me down in all that time,my next bm has a lot to live up to!
looking at e36 sport,god why didnt thay fit lsd's as standard in them!

Post Tue May 15, 2012 1:11 am

gareth wrote:A 325i sport will have a medium case LSD, as will the E36 328i. Chances are your E30 LSD will be in need of some love by now and it's not a straighforward bolt-in swap as the bearings will require shimming up etc so unless you know what you're doing it's a job best left to somone who knows what they're doing... like me

as long as it fits thats all i need to know,ive run rwd escorts most of my life so know about setting lsd's up,that one thing that will be done to the bm one new plates&shim it up more! i have someone who done all my drive line gear with no probs so this should be an easy set up.what about the gearbox as a lot of nice 36's are auto,so if i can retain my sport box a i know its a good strong box will this fit the 2.8?

Post Tue May 15, 2012 5:38 am

The basic answer to all your questions is no. The diff you have fitted is a Type 188, and those parts are interchangeable with some other BMW diffs, but work is required. Gareth (the first replier) is the Zone expert on this.

The gearbox itself will physically bolt up, but it will sit at an angle compared to how a proper E36 box should, meaning your gearstick will be off kilter.

No, your seats won't bolt in without some serious modification to the rails.

If your car is a genuine sport, it's worth more as a whole car than it is as scrap. Take a quick look at the For Sale section on here and you'll see what they currently go for, even in damaged condition.

Post Tue May 15, 2012 6:10 pm

Fair enough

Bear in mind a RWD escort has adjustable bearing mounts for setting gear meshing (backlash) and bearing preload, a BMW diff does not. it's carried out by selecting and replacing the shims on either side. These are available from BMW at around £100 a set

The LSD spools are ZF units so if you're used to RWD escort LSD's, you'll be in familiar territory there