[XutvJet]

Originally Posted by NISFAN

What's all this nonsense talk about the diff being a difficult DIY?
I did mine on the drive with a standard jack. I didn't follow the bmw wis, and didn't touch the exhaust. You can dismantle one hub enough to pop the shaft. Then slide the diff sideways off the other side. The popping of the shaft is very easy, a sharp tug and the circlip pings.
My replacement diff had the rubber donut mounted so didn't even have to use any special tools.

Hmmmmm.....I got out my pry bars and yanked like hell on the driver's side axle hub to get it to pop out and couldn't do it, but I also wasn't willing to risk tearing the bolts or pumpkin/axle seals so I wasn't getting extremely aggressive.

Impressive that you could leave the exhaust in place for the install but that sounds like a royal pain since you can't let the passenger side axle drop down and would be forced to pull/drop the diff sideways.

I would definitely check the torque on the driveshaft axle. BMW is pretty particular about that torquing process.

[NISFAN]

Originally Posted by XutvJet

Hmmmmm.....I got out my pry bars and yanked like hell on the driver's side axle hub to get it to pop out and couldn't do it, but I also wasn't willing to risk tearing the bolts or pumpkin/axle seals so I wasn't getting extremely aggressive.

Impressive that you could leave the exhaust in place for the install but that sounds like a royal pain since you can't let the passenger side axle drop down and would be forced to pull/drop the diff sideways.

I would definitely check the torque on the driveshaft axle. BMW is pretty particular about that torquing process.

I didn't touch the driveshaft in the hub either. Just removed the bolts on the top 3 suspension arms (hub side). This allows you to pivot the entire hub outwards, enough to pop the circlip out of the groove and slide the driveshaft out the diff.
Then, yes, you set the jack sideways across the car, undo the diff mount bolts and drop the diff a little in order to pop the other side. Tie up the side shaft and pull the pumpkin out. Exactly the same in reverse, although a little harder to balance the diff, insert the driveshaft and push it back in place.....I did it on my own, another pair of hands would have been a great help.

[aerobod]

Originally Posted by NISFAN

I didn't touch the driveshaft in the hub either. Just removed the bolts on the top 3 suspension arms (hub side). This allows you to pivot the entire hub outwards, enough to pop the circlip out of the groove and slide the driveshaft out the diff.

I agree this is an excellent method for removing a diff in a rear wheel drive car where you have 8 to 10 cm of lateral space to manoeuvre the diff into, I've done this on two cars myself, it is way easier than the typical manufacturer specified method that normally requires the driveshafts to be removed from the hubs.

[NISFAN]

Originally Posted by VPB74

I don't think any one said that it couldn't be done DIY, or that it was particularly difficult. It is, however, a job that takes special tools and techniques to do properly so that one doesn't potentially void the warranty on the diff and/or your vehicle. That coupled with the fact that the cost to do it DIY isn't any less that having it done professionally, and it just doesn't seem to make a lot of sense unless you just want the satisfaction of doing it yourself.

I don't get what you mean, it didn't cost me 1 cent, other than my time. Plus it's a cast iron cased diff, designed to pass through many 1000's of lb.ft of torque. Pretty difficult to damage. If you prefer to pay a pro to do it, perfectly fine, but it is a DIY too.