What diff does my 325i Touring have??

Post Tue Feb 09, 2016 9:42 pm

Hi, can anyone tell me what diff my 325i e30 Touring has fitted?
The car is totally standard from factory, but was stood for a long time so the tag is unreadable.
The reg is F443AWX i know there is some how as to find out from the reg but not sure.
Any help much appreciated.

Post Tue Feb 09, 2016 9:45 pm

3.91 was standard. One of the best mods. I did to mine, was to fit a 3.76 from a saloon.

Post Tue Feb 09, 2016 9:53 pm

Thanks for quick response, so i wouldnt of been blessed with a lsd

would you change it even if the car has only done 64,000 as all bushes and shaft rubbers and pipes are been changed, i'm thinking do all at once.
This is a keeper.

Post Tue Feb 09, 2016 10:16 pm

If the original purchaser ticked the LSD option box, then it would have (or at least had) a LSD. It wasn't a particularly expensive option, but the 'yuppie' types who bought these cars in the late '80s, generally wouldn't know a LSD from their left elbow, so not many had them.
A couple of years ago, someone posted a link to a site that lists the original spec. for a BMW if you enter the VIN, and just to try it out, I typed in the VIN of a random touring of mine, from a folder of V5Cs that was handy, and discovered that it had a LSD from new, and a quick look under the car confirmed it was still there.
The change of diff. on mine was a 'distress purchase'. The original had been whining gently ever since I'd had the car, but had suddenly changed to a much louder whine about a week before I was to embark on a 2000 mile + round trip with the car. A 3.91 wasn't 'in stock', but a 3.76 was.
No noticeable change in acceleration, but a small, yet significant improvement improvement in fuel consumption and drop in revs. at motorway speeds.

Post Tue Feb 09, 2016 11:24 pm

Thanks i will have a search for the link, i know i have seen it but can i hell remember where.
I know what you mean regards yuppie buying, this one belonged to the accountant at BMW SCOTTHALL LEEDS and then my old milkman bought it, on that note i guess i'm hoping the accountant had the box ticked, it does have air con, fingers crossed.
Ive not driven the car since i bought it, another reason i am not sure.

Post Wed Feb 10, 2016 7:49 am

You could test it in the manual fashion, jack up the rear of the car so both wheels are off there ground, turn one wheel and at the same time watch the other, if the other spins in the opposite direction, open diff, if it spins the same direction, LSD

Post Wed Feb 10, 2016 12:36 pm

Jesus325iTouring wrote:You could test it in the manual fashion, jack up the rear of the car so both wheels are off there ground, turn one wheel and at the same time watch the other, if the other spins in the opposite direction, open diff, if it spins the same direction, LSD

Doesn't always work, some plate types are preloaded slightly open to make low speed parking easier/quieter and Torsen types, both diffs will behave as an open diff if tested in that way.
Most of the Z3 diffs I have come across do this, they all feel like opens if turned by hand or bench tested, all have worked fine when installed.

There's also the possibility that the diff is shagged and doesn't lock any more due to wear.

Edit - and this is the link for the vin decoder.

http://www.bmwvin.com/

Post Wed Feb 10, 2016 12:39 pm

Brianmoooore wrote:3.91 was standard. One of the best mods. I did to mine, was to fit a 3.76 from a saloon.

Why's that then?

Post Wed Feb 10, 2016 12:46 pm

HairyScreech wrote:
Jesus325iTouring wrote:You could test it in the manual fashion, jack up the rear of the car so both wheels are off there ground, turn one wheel and at the same time watch the other, if the other spins in the opposite direction, open diff, if it spins the same direction, LSD
Doesn't always work, some plate types are preloaded slightly open to make low speed parking easier/quieter and Torsen types, both diffs will behave as an open diff if tested in that way.
Most of the Z3 diffs I have come across do this, they all feel like opens if turned by hand or bench tested, all have worked fine when installed.

There's also the possibility that the diff is shagged and doesn't lock any more due to wear.

Edit - and this is the link for the vin decoder.

http://www.bmwvin.com/

Jesus has a lesson for the day

Post Wed Feb 10, 2016 12:56 pm

That said, E30 ones should always do as you say if they are original type and fully working.

Post Wed Feb 10, 2016 9:25 pm

Cheers guys just got back on here and all this info awaits me

.
I shall check out the spec on the vin check.
Once again the zone to the rescue.
I carn't believe its two years i've had this and not driven it yet!!!
All parts needed are ready and waiting so there will be stopping once i get started

Post Wed Feb 10, 2016 10:20 pm

Ah well guys my wishful thinking is well and trully over

There isn't the added extra of the LSD listed on my extra order list number: 209
The link to vin check is great, recommend this to anyone who hasn't used it already.
Cheers lads, no doubt i will be calling upon you all again

Post Thu Feb 11, 2016 10:01 am

That doesn't 100% mean it does not have one, just that it did not leave the factory with one.

The only way to be sure is to pop the back cover and take a look or get someone with a boroscope to pop it through the filler plug and check.

Always the possibility a diff swap has been done at some point in it's life. I have seen them pop up in places they should not be before.