damn,damn,damn

[jiminEcricket]

o.k. today i am driving down the highway when all of a sudden i hear a knocking noise coming from under the car. i pull over and check it to find that a thick steel ring has come off from what appears to be a balancer on the front of my driveshaft (at the flex disc area) is this the flange that is attached to the trans? which the flex disc attaches to? and if so is there anywhere that is cheaper than the dealer to get it? also what parts are needed to fix a sloppy (loose when in gear) shifter? the car is an 89 525i with a manual trans. thanks for any help

[calmloki]

I'm thinking you need to replace the flex disk and leave the balancer off. Course that's based on E30 5 speed, not E34 manual - but that '89 525 has the same engine so i betcha i'm right.

[mattyb]

jump on to real oem and have a look at the parts breakdown, youll see what it is there and a part number so you can shop about.

[jiminEcricket]

thank you for all of your info

[jiminEcricket]

i have looked on realoem and cannot seem to get the part number for #24 under the driveshaft section. also i have looked everywhere to find a replacement "vibration damper" and cannot find it available except at the dealer. does ANYONE know where i can find one of these. i have tried e-bay, bav auto, all links on this site to no avail.

[Kobe Diesel]

I have the same car as you do. When I replaced the guibo 8 months ago, I left the harmonic balancer off as it was worn out. I havent had any problems without it.

[winfred]

just get rid of the ballancer if that's whats broken, i find most cars run smoother without it

[calmloki]

It is a very common practice to leave that damper off with no discernable effect. Did that after checking a number of sites - didn't find anyone who said it was a bad thing. left the balancer off our '89 325i (same engine as yours) and haven't been able to tell the difference in the last 4 years.
Tom

[jiminEcricket]

then it's a done deal. OFF WITH ITS' HEAD. thanks guys