M42 driveline/engine alignment

[mark_i]

I'm a d1ck.
on saturday i front ended the 318iS...

bonnet, valance, grills, all damaged beyond repair.
in the collision, the engine ripped the drivers side mount and the whole driveline has shifted forward by about 1/2 inch, including the exhaust. car is driveable, but gearshift is stiff and not normal

Anyone had this happen...???
i guess the front section of the prop has pulled forward and will have to be slackened off to get the alignment correct again.

[kam-325i]

yes, had this happen in a 320i,

as a temp fix to get home, i jacked up the engine, rolled the car forward to get the mounts back in line, then dropped the engine back down.

the propshaft should be ok and the gear shift will be ok when moved back.

[mark_i]

thanks kam.

i tried that, but the engine only moved back about 1 cm...
apart from the wierd feel to the gear shift, it drove home OK... no vibrations or noise.

I'll get the rear jacked up and take off the exhaust and heat shields to take a look at the prop, centre bearing and joint.

[johnl320]

gear linkage may have popped off its rear mount and will need to be pushed back into it, you can confirm this if you can move the whole lever up and down.

[mark_i]

good point... but the gearshift is now very stiff... i will double check once i have the exhaust/heat shields off

[kam-325i]

the problem i had with mine was the output flange on the gearbox was hitting the trans tunnel, gear shift was all screwed up.