Just bought a rear differential LSD 3.64 gears

[uginer]

Hey guys, i just picked up a LSD diff for the 530. My mechenic Don from MrM///car said that it makes a big difference in the acceleration because of the 3.64 gears and the LSD is great too. Geting it put in next week.

[dennyg]

I also bought a LSD 4.27 for my 535IA......Taking a trip to Florida and will put it in when I get back...Don't want to waste too much gas for the long trip. I am a little leary about condition from buying used but I have read that it is hard to tear them up unless it was used at the track......any other opinions about buying used?......mine will have 150k on it

[uginer]

Its hard because its like a 50/50 toss up. I bought some used stuff and it was just fine and on the other hand i had plenty of experience with crap. The only thing i can say is to make sure that when you buy used part for these cars its prob best to get them from big companys like "Bav Auto Recyclers" or "Vines Auto" or "Zionsville".

[632 Regal]

these rear gear units usually work or dont work, the clearances impressed me when I checked them before swaping out bearings and stuff. the most likely time anything will go wrong is when someone swaps out the pinion flange... find my write up on this.

The auto trans with overdrive makes little difference on the highway mileage, mine revs a little higher but the mileage is no different. The city mileage is actually a little better, probably from less gas peddle getting the car moving.

[Kalevera]

At 150k, chances are the frictions are worn or done. They're relatively easy to change if you have access to a press (working on the LSD unit is much easier if you have a way of putting pressure on it). But first put it in the car and check the lockup. Be sure to change the oil, check for any debris in the old stuff.

[dennyg]

Thanks guys. Its amazing how many different experiences come from the same process. I bought a 4.27 differentail and will be putting it in my 89 535iA...it came from an 88 735......Will I have to swap out the axle hook ups along with the input flange? Are new seals easily available? I know its a risk changing especially since my drive train has only 46k on the clock...but now risk no reward and I figure I can also change it back to original if there are problems. By frictions you mean?

[gale]

I just bought new seals on Saturday for yet another diff that I'm going to try. The part numbers are:

33 10 7 505 602 -- side axle shaft seals $11.95 list

If for some reason you need to swap the input flange, here are the part numbers for the seal & flange nut lock plate

33 10 1 214 099 -- input flange seal $14.38 list

23 21 1 490 120 -- lock plate $1.27 list

The dealer actually had them in stock -- go figure.

As others have said, avoid messing with the input flange unless you need to swap it with the old one or it leaks profusely.

The axle hubs pop right out with a screwdriver or prybar & then the seals will be right there. I think Bruno wrote up details on doing the swap on his page at www.bmwe34.net