Evil Driveshaft

GTSilver944

GTSilver944

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Ok, so I must be doing something wrong. I'm in trying to take off the trans and I'm at the step where you disconnect the driveshaft and "push it off." I have the six bolts that attach it to the trans removed. I loosened the the 1 3/4" cap thing just after the bearing. I disconnected the bearing from the chassis mounts. But, the driveshaft won't come off. Do I have to disconnect it from the differential as well? Also, the manual says to "push it off" (which makes me think of pushing it to the side) but it looks like you just need to pull it toward the rear of the car. Which way is correct?
 
GT SILVER
I always disconnect from diff. Won't collapse enough to remove otherwise.
Collapse as much as possible and pull forward and down to pop out of diff flange and pull rearward to clear shaft/guibo.
If you have it high on a lift it may be able to not disconnect but I am always working in my garage with limited height.
Pull center carrier bearing out and around the mount plates to make it able to fold downward. Truly not sure if there is enough room this way.
You need to be able to have enough travel to pull out the trans shaft after getting loose.
My description is not very good, sorry!
HTH
steve
 
So I have the trans off the car now. When I took it off, a few ounces of gear oil dripped out of it. It appeared that the oil wasnt coming from the drain plug or the trans seals. It looked like it had come out of the tube/splined shaft that connect the trans to the engine. There is also oil in the arm coming off the back of the trans that the shifter is bolted to.

So:
1. Is this normal?
2. If the rear of the trans was raised, could this have caused the oil to drip out of the front tube/splined shaft area? Was the trans maybe just overfilled with oil?

Thx,
Max
 
Is that something I could do myself or would it be better to bring it to a trans shop? Looking at the realoem.com parts diagram it looks like there are just three gaskets and a shaft seal on either end. Are those all the seals that would need to be replaced?
 
x_atlas0 said:
There is an excellent FAQ on the process in the articles section of the site.

http://www.cscoupe.org/tech/5speed/prep.html
Click to expand...

This is a great page. I have a 5-speed on the floor of my garage waiting to go in. This page is a great help - It clears up some questions I had. I still have some more (that I am sure the folks here will help with when the time comes)

Thanks!
 
Max
Unless you are absolutley sure that the seals between cases are leaking I would not break the cases and replace them.
Now woud also be the time to replace the rear engine main seal if leaking or mega miles.
Removing the front and rear shaft seals is not particularly hard to do. I did this when I was ready to install my 5 sp. A 1/2" air impact wrench is essential.
I believe that the entire repalcement of all 3 seals took less than 3 hours to complete.
Use the search function and there is plenty of info, or hit me up. I used the cs registry for this info. There is also a very near complete list of additional parts needed, M/C change, shifter change(to short shift), t/o & pilot bearing, speedo cable, additional hydralic line. Also shortening of d/shaft.
Replace the shifter seal also.
This is a cheap fix compared to most of the things that we do to our beloved cars.
HTH
steve
 
I topped off the oil in the trans and tilted it at various angles but no oil came out of either seal. Going to order a clutch kit, drive shaft center bearing, and ds/trans rubber bushing thing tomorrow. Not sure about the front/rear trans seals as they dont seem to be leaking. The gaskets between the trans cases definitely dont leak. 82K on the car. If the rear main seal were leaking, would there be a significant amount of oil in the bellhousing area? The bellhousing was dirty, but there was no oil in it.

Not considering a 5 spd conversion yet. I haven't even driven this car yet :shock: .
 
What the hell, maybe I'll just replace the rear main seal and trans in/out/shift seals while I'm in there. This car can be a PITA.
 
Max
Doesn't sound like bad rear main seal. But possibly front seal of trans.
Is this a Getrag or ZF trans?
Tilting the trans shows you nothing. It only leaks with heat and rotation.
steve
 
ZF. Just pulled the clutch off and I don't think the rear main seal is leaking. So, clutch kit, front/rear/shifter trans seals, ds bearing, and trans-ds rubber coupler it is then.

Youve been really helpfull steve, thx
 
Any work you put into the ZF 4speed is wasted.

It is a lousy box. Was right from the beginning and was phased out by BMW during the built time of the E9 for good reason. Later E9s all had the Getrag.

The ZF is allways noisy and leaky. I know of early E9s with less than 30000mls where the ZF is noisy and I have a ZF in my E3 that is a box of marbles.

Worst is, when you drive the car really hard (vmax for a longer time (hey, I´m in germany...) and then slow down to a stop, the box vibrates as if it wants to jump out of the car).

Really, once you have the box out, swap it for a Getrag. The 4speed getrag 262 is a direct swap, all you need is the box and the shifter and both can be gotten very cheap. The 262 is virtually indestructible and the external shifter is easy to overhaul for very good shifter feel (try that on the ZF...)

Or swap for the Getrag 265 5speed OD box. Just avoid the 262.5CR (dogleg Getrag 5Speed sport), it´s fragile.

ZF has built quite a number of good components and gearboxes over time, but the 4speed in the E9/E3 really is really only worth its scrap value.
 
The CS is actually a father-son project where my dad puts in the money and I do all the work. I'm a college student and only have til the end of winter break to finish up the projects on the car. So, I'm going to replace the seals on the ZF. If we end up hating that gearbox (haven't driven the car yet) I'll do a 262 or 265 swap this summer when I have more time. Rear seal is not leaking at the momement. I realize it's a good thing to do "while I'm in there," but I'm doing too many while I'm in there things already - I was orininally just changing out the slave cylinder. The goal is to have this car off jackstands and driveable by new years. Larger projects will have to wait.
 
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