e36 diff
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fredbloke
- E30 Zone Newbie
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Will a e36 diff fit my e30?
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rich318i
- E30 Zone Addict
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only the e36 compact and Z3 diff will. or swap the insides of the e36 diff to the e30 one
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Brianmoooore
- E30 Zone Team Member
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Also depends what you mean by "fit". The above will have less than suitable ratios for use with an E30 gearbox for most applications.rich318i wrote:only the e36 compact and Z3 diff will. or swap the insides of the e36 diff to the e30 one
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fredbloke
- E30 Zone Newbie
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It will be used with a m52 engine and gearbox. I know it has two ears so il need to replace the back part.
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Brianmoooore
- E30 Zone Team Member
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In that case the ratios will be in the right kind of range.fredbloke wrote:It will be used with a m52 engine and gearbox.
Be aware that E36 diffs come in medium and small case versions, and that you will need a 188 medium case version for reliability.
Unfortunately the E36 saloon diffs have completely wrong mounting points on the cast main body, as well as the wrong back cover. (The two eared back cover can be used to advantage on high power/torque E30 applications with body mods to suit)
E36 compact (all small case??), Z3 (2.8 Z3 has a 3.15 torsen LSD), and E28 525e (2.91) are the ones that fit straight in, although the latter needs are change of backplate.
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fredbloke
- E30 Zone Newbie
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Thanks for th help. Messaged the guy to ask if it came from a compact or saloon
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Andyboy
- Alpina Colada
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Waste of time. Only the Compact diff bolts straight into the E30 rear beam, but it's the Type 168 small case unit that can just about cope with the 318Ti and it's getting hard to find one now that doesn't whine. Iirc, the E30 driveshafts don't bolt to the flanges, so you have to fit E30 small case output flanges. Only the retaining circlips are in the wrong place so they're not guaranteed to stay in place and not pop out/dump the diff oil. You can wash the flange/ditt splines out and use a mega thread lock like Wurth green, but good luck removing them again to replace an oil seal.
The 2.8 Z3 diff is a good one, but they're not common.
The best diff for that job (if you are using an E36 gearbox) is the 3.07 from an E28 525e. Swap the outputs and rear cover for 325i parts and it's a job done right. The E35/M50 gearbox has a direct drive fifth gear (1:1 like fourth on an E30 box) and the standard ratio Compact diff (3.38 or 3.45) is too low and revvy.
The 2.8 Z3 diff is a good one, but they're not common.
The best diff for that job (if you are using an E36 gearbox) is the 3.07 from an E28 525e. Swap the outputs and rear cover for 325i parts and it's a job done right. The E35/M50 gearbox has a direct drive fifth gear (1:1 like fourth on an E30 box) and the standard ratio Compact diff (3.38 or 3.45) is too low and revvy.