Broken Differential Case At Mount

[salguod]

I've had my ti for less than 12 hours and I've got what appears to be a broken differential housing. It's dark, so I can't really see, but the loop that goes around the mount seems to be broken off.

The car makes a sound like a bad muffler at city traffic speeds, but only under load. Starting out I get a repetitive banging kind of sound, again only under load, that is speed dependent. Looking under the rear, however, it seems pretty clear the differential has come away from it's mount because the loop on the housing has broken.

I only paid $500 for the car because the PO thought the clutch was going out. I think the issue he was having was the differential moving in it's mount and it finally let loose.

How painful, in both money and effort, is this going to be?

[salguod]

Pictures. So it seems the mount is in the cover, so what I really need is a new cover & mount. Can the cover be changed without removing the differential?

Broken Differential Cover by _salguod, on Flickr

Broken Differential Cover by _salguod, on Flickr

[spidertri]

Yes it can be changed without removing the diff. You should be able to find a used cover for fairly cheap and press a new bushing into it. That'll get you moving again.

Remove the drain/fill plugs. Unplug speedo sensor. Remove the 6 cover bolts. Swap covers. Reinstall cover bolts. Lift diff with jack and install diff ear bolt. Refill with fluid.

I suspect the subframe bushings are probably shot too which allowed more movement at the diff ear. You only paid $500 though so I don't know how much you want to spend on the car in time/effort. New subframe bushings would probably tighten up the rear end and not allow that failure to happen again.

[salguod]

I was just reading your thread on changing the bushing. Doesn't look too tough, except for the bushing bolt. You don't happen to still have that spare cover?

I bought the car as a daily driver to get me through a year or two. I'd like to keep it up, but I'm not necessarily looking to spend a lot on upgrades. I'll examine the other bushings while I'm under there.

[salguod]

Will this cover fit my car? It indicates that it's for an LSD, but I'm not sure mine has one. I doubt that it does.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/111744429687...%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[ZEK]

I have a brand new OEM cover with bushing if you're interested. I'm in Toledo too so shipping would be cheap or a meetup. here is the ad: http://www.318ti.org/forum/showthread.php?t=40362

[salguod]

Excellent! I'll be in Toledo next weekend. I'll pm you later.

Sent from my SM-T320 using Tapatalk

[salguod]

Got the cover off & the old bushing out this morning. Was ready for a battle with the mount bolt based on the rust on the bolt and comments in another thread, but it came out pretty easy.

I pick up the new cover Sunday, it should be back on the road by Monday! I can't wait, I've been seriously itching to drive it.

BTW - I read a spec of 50 some ft-lbs for the cover plugs, is that right? That seems like a lot for just a plug. Another said something like snug plus 1/4 turn.

[spidertri]

Definitely not 50ft lbs, the cover will crack. I've heard the spec is 34ft lb but even that cracks the covers.

The new style plugs have a built in o-ring. Otherwise you'll need new crush washers. I would do snug and 1/4 turn. Then just watch and see if it drips.

[salguod]

Got it put back together last night. Everything went pretty smoothly, but it only took 1 qt of gear oil before it was dribbling out the opening not the 1.2 listed elsewhere. It was sitting level on all 4 wheels in my garage. I also didn't have the new crush washers so I reused the old so I could get it back on the road in time for today's commute. I'll keep an eye on the drain plugs for leaks.

I checked the service manual the PO gave me with the car and it's not very complete in the area of the diff and it seems to be for the general 3 series and not the it, but it did indicate something like 57 ft-lbs for the drain plug. I went with snug plus about a quarter of a turn and no immediate leaks were evident.

First big drive on the way to work this AM went pretty well. Several noises to investigate, but generally ran and drove pretty well.

[salguod]

Here's the broken cover with the mangled bushing:

Broken Differantial Cover by _salguod, on Flickr

[ZEK]

Glad to see you got it in and it's driving. As for the amount of fluid as long it was dribbling out that is a good sign. Are the noises coming from rear? Might wanna pop the rear carpet off and have a look and the shock mounts. Really easy to check and replace.

As I said I need to replace subframe bushings and as a result there is play I can feel under a launch and slight "thunk" over manhole covers/etc.