DCT Rear Diff Problem

R32GOJIRA · 12-06-2017, 07:12 PM

Ok guys, here goes.....

I have just recently had a whine develop in what seems to be my rear diff.
It came on pretty suddenly, one day i didnt notice it, and the next day it was pretty audible from about 40kms upwards.
I know its not a wheel bearing as the sound doesnt change under cornering loads, and I know its not the gearbox as it is constant with wheel speed and not rpm.
The car is a 2008 335i E93 DCT

1st question:
I know the diff is supposed to have a ratio of 2.56.
How do i know if i have a bolted or welded diff?

2nd question:
How do i know if I have a small or large pumpkin?

3rd question:
Are they easy to rebuild, or should I take it to a professional and what should I expect to pay?

4th question:
Should I just get a 2nd hand unit from a wrecker and swap it out?

vtl · 12-06-2017, 07:20 PM

1. Welded
2. Large
3. Bearings can be swapped out but needs to be set up again. If the gears are worn not worth it. Expensive either way
4. Will be the cheapest option

Checked the diff bushes yet? Getting any noise when going on/off throttle transitions? Rear diff bush will most likely be blown at 150k kms+

R32GOJIRA · 12-06-2017, 07:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vtl

1. Welded
2. Large
3. Bearings can be swapped out but needs to be set up again. If the gears are worn not worth it. Expensive either way
4. Will be the cheapest option

Checked the diff bushes yet? Getting any noise when going on/off throttle transitions? Rear diff bush will most likely be blown at 150k kms+

I've had one quote for $990 for a used rear diff so far with 3 months warranty.
I haven't checked the bushes yet, haven't had time with work and i wont have time this weekend either

It whines under acceleration, then when you back off, its quite for a split second before the diff then gets loaded up with engine braking.

Aus335iguy · 12-07-2017, 01:58 AM

Subbed for when mine does the same thing lol

Might be worth upgrading to an LSD whilst your at it...

Coupes33 · 12-07-2017, 04:35 AM

I got a whine in my big pumpkin diff which resulted having it replaced on the 18/02/2014 at 94,860kms. My car is a Sept 2006 model and at the time, I thought I would get it rebuilt by Diff Lapping. They could not get any bearings for the diff. I tried several places in the US with the same result. The bearing manufacturer told Diff Lapping that they were contracted to BMW not to sell diff bearings and seals to anyone apart from BMW for 10yrs from the date of manufacture. At that time, wrecked 335s were like hens teeth so I had no chose other than to buy a new one from BMW which cost $3,300. One Brisbane BMW dealer wanted my diff as well as the money while another just wanted the money. Needless to say, I still have my old diff. I emailed BMW Australia and Germany several times about acquiring new bearings with no success. They both came back with the same reply that I had to wait for the 10yrs to be up before purchasing bearings. Since Sept 2006, they are now available and I have had a quote from Diff Lapping of $1,200 for a rebuild. If you can get a low kilometre diff from the wreckers, it would be the cheapest way to go. It would be interesting to see if bearings are available for your diff since yours is only 9yrs old.

R32GOJIRA · 12-07-2017, 03:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aus335iguy

Subbed for when mine does the same thing lol

Might be worth upgrading to an LSD whilst your at it...

Dont know if i can be bothered to spend that sort of coin. Its only a daily driver for me and im not in it for the performance.
I have a GTR for that

R32GOJIRA · 12-07-2017, 03:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coupes33

I got a whine in my big pumpkin diff which resulted having it replaced on the 18/02/2014 at 94,860kms. My car is a Sept 2006 model and at the time, I thought I would get it rebuilt by Diff Lapping. They could not get any bearings for the diff. I tried several places in the US with the same result. The bearing manufacturer told Diff Lapping that they were contracted to BMW not to sell diff bearings and seals to anyone apart from BMW for 10yrs from the date of manufacture. At that time, wrecked 335s were like hens teeth so I had no chose other than to buy a new one from BMW which cost $3,300. One Brisbane BMW dealer wanted my diff as well as the money while another just wanted the money. Needless to say, I still have my old diff. I emailed BMW Australia and Germany several times about acquiring new bearings with no success. They both came back with the same reply that I had to wait for the 10yrs to be up before purchasing bearings. Since Sept 2006, they are now available and I have had a quote from Diff Lapping of $1,200 for a rebuild. If you can get a low kilometre diff from the wreckers, it would be the cheapest way to go. It would be interesting to see if bearings are available for your diff since yours is only 9yrs old.

I have yet to ring any diff places to see if they can rebuild it, but time will tell as i will be making some inquiries today hopefully if i get enough time.

T1M · 12-07-2017, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R32GOJIRA

Dont know if i can be bothered to spend that sort of coin. Its only a daily driver for me and im not in it for the performance.
I have a GTR for that

You bought one at the right time!!

R32GOJIRA · 12-07-2017, 05:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T1M

You bought one at the right time!!

I bought mine 14 years ago, so back then I still payed $32k for a clean stock car lol.

R32GOJIRA · 12-07-2017, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aus335iguy

Subbed for when mine does the same thing lol

Might be worth upgrading to an LSD whilst your at it...

Did you buy the diff for sale on the 1ers page?

Aus335iguy · 12-07-2017, 11:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R32GOJIRA

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aus335iguy

Subbed for when mine does the same thing lol

Might be worth upgrading to an LSD whilst your at it...

Did you buy the diff for sale on the 1ers page?

Which one ?

R32GOJIRA · 12-07-2017, 11:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aus335iguy

Which one ?

The one that had the quaife center in it.

Aus335iguy · 12-08-2017, 02:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R32GOJIRA

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aus335iguy

Which one ?

The one that had the quaife center in it.

If it's the one I'm thinking of I tried but hed sold it before I got to it

juld0zer · 12-08-2017, 06:07 PM

Only place i know of:
https://www.difflab.com.au/by-vehicle/bmw/E52-to-Current-2006-Onwards/215KL

A few years back i was tasked to find a shop to rebuild my mate's 323i E90 diff that had pinion bearing failure. In the end it was simply more feasible to buy a used diff, change the seals and oil and swap it in. A shop in Hornsby gave us a quote but it was simply too expensive compared to a low mileage used diff.

R32GOJIRA · 12-10-2017, 04:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by juld0zer

Only place i know of:
https://www.difflab.com.au/by-vehicl...-Onwards/215KL

A few years back i was tasked to find a shop to rebuild my mate's 323i E90 diff that had pinion bearing failure. In the end it was simply more feasible to buy a used diff, change the seals and oil and swap it in. A shop in Hornsby gave us a quote but it was simply too expensive compared to a low mileage used diff.

Yeah I had a look at the difflab site.
I am also coming to the conclusion a used diff may be a better option for what I need.

bradsm87 · 12-10-2017, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Coupes33

I got a whine in my big pumpkin diff which resulted having it replaced on the 18/02/2014 at 94,860kms. My car is a Sept 2006 model and at the time, I thought I would get it rebuilt by Diff Lapping. They could not get any bearings for the diff. I tried several places in the US with the same result. The bearing manufacturer told Diff Lapping that they were contracted to BMW not to sell diff bearings and seals to anyone apart from BMW for 10yrs from the date of manufacture. At that time, wrecked 335s were like hens teeth so I had no chose other than to buy a new one from BMW which cost $3,300. One Brisbane BMW dealer wanted my diff as well as the money while another just wanted the money. Needless to say, I still have my old diff. I emailed BMW Australia and Germany several times about acquiring new bearings with no success. They both came back with the same reply that I had to wait for the 10yrs to be up before purchasing bearings. Since Sept 2006, they are now available and I have had a quote from Diff Lapping of $1,200 for a rebuild. If you can get a low kilometre diff from the wreckers, it would be the cheapest way to go. It would be interesting to see if bearings are available for your diff since yours is only 9yrs old.

bearingkits.co.uk have the bearings and they're the best priced too from what I've seen. Mark there is extremely good to deal with too.

R32GOJIRA · 12-10-2017, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bradsm87

bearingkits.co.uk have the bearings and they're the best priced too from what I've seen. Mark there is extremely good to deal with too.

I will check them out, thanks

R32GOJIRA · 12-11-2017, 03:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bradsm87

bearingkits.co.uk have the bearings and they're the best priced too from what I've seen. Mark there is extremely good to deal with too.

Just got an email back from them saying they only ship to Europe and wont ship to Australia

EB89 · 12-11-2017, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R32GOJIRA

Just got an email back from them saying they only ship to Europe and wont ship to Australia

Use a drop shipper with a EU address

R32GOJIRA · 12-11-2017, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EB89

Use a drop shipper with a EU address

I will look at this once I have exhausted all other options.

bradsm87 · 12-11-2017, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by R32GOJIRA

Just got an email back from them saying they only ship to Europe and wont ship to Australia

I used a freight forwarder over there. The one he recommends.

12-06-2017, 07:12 PM	#1
R32GOJIRA Banned 258 Rep 1,581 Posts Drives: R32 GTR, WN Caprice Join Date: Sep 2015 Location: Wollongong iTrader: (1)	DCT Rear Diff Problem Ok guys, here goes..... I have just recently had a whine develop in what seems to be my rear diff. It came on pretty suddenly, one day i didnt notice it, and the next day it was pretty audible from about 40kms upwards. I know its not a wheel bearing as the sound doesnt change under cornering loads, and I know its not the gearbox as it is constant with wheel speed and not rpm. The car is a 2008 335i E93 DCT 1st question: I know the diff is supposed to have a ratio of 2.56. How do i know if i have a bolted or welded diff? 2nd question: How do i know if I have a small or large pumpkin? 3rd question: Are they easy to rebuild, or should I take it to a professional and what should I expect to pay? 4th question: Should I just get a 2nd hand unit from a wrecker and swap it out?
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12-06-2017, 07:20 PM	#2
vtl Brigadier General 1508 Rep 3,148 Posts Drives: 2008 BMW 135i MT Join Date: Apr 2015 Location: Melbourne, Australia iTrader: (0)	1. Welded 2. Large 3. Bearings can be swapped out but needs to be set up again. If the gears are worn not worth it. Expensive either way 4. Will be the cheapest option Checked the diff bushes yet? Getting any noise when going on/off throttle transitions? Rear diff bush will most likely be blown at 150k kms+ __________________ Build Thread
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12-07-2017, 01:58 AM	#4
Aus335iguy Colonel 660 Rep 2,139 Posts Drives: 2009 e92 335i MSport DCT Join Date: Jul 2015 Location: Sydney Aus iTrader: (0) Garage List 2009 BMW 335i [10.00]	Subbed for when mine does the same thing lol Might be worth upgrading to an LSD whilst your at it... __________________ When you doppelkaplung you doppel your fun.
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12-07-2017, 04:35 AM	#5
Coupes33 Major 378 Rep 1,398 Posts Drives: 2006 335i, 2017 Audi S3 Join Date: Aug 2013 Location: Brisbane, QLD, Australia iTrader: (0)	I got a whine in my big pumpkin diff which resulted having it replaced on the 18/02/2014 at 94,860kms. My car is a Sept 2006 model and at the time, I thought I would get it rebuilt by Diff Lapping. They could not get any bearings for the diff. I tried several places in the US with the same result. The bearing manufacturer told Diff Lapping that they were contracted to BMW not to sell diff bearings and seals to anyone apart from BMW for 10yrs from the date of manufacture. At that time, wrecked 335s were like hens teeth so I had no chose other than to buy a new one from BMW which cost $3,300. One Brisbane BMW dealer wanted my diff as well as the money while another just wanted the money. Needless to say, I still have my old diff. I emailed BMW Australia and Germany several times about acquiring new bearings with no success. They both came back with the same reply that I had to wait for the 10yrs to be up before purchasing bearings. Since Sept 2006, they are now available and I have had a quote from Diff Lapping of $1,200 for a rebuild. If you can get a low kilometre diff from the wreckers, it would be the cheapest way to go. It would be interesting to see if bearings are available for your diff since yours is only 9yrs old.
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12-08-2017, 06:07 PM	#14
juld0zer Lieutenant Colonel 480 Rep 1,600 Posts Drives: Prev 135i 7DCT, Now 130i 6sp Join Date: Jul 2016 Location: 2153 iTrader: (0)	Only place i know of: https://www.difflab.com.au/by-vehicle/bmw/E52-to-Current-2006-Onwards/215KL A few years back i was tasked to find a shop to rebuild my mate's 323i E90 diff that had pinion bearing failure. In the end it was simply more feasible to buy a used diff, change the seals and oil and swap it in. A shop in Hornsby gave us a quote but it was simply too expensive compared to a low mileage used diff.
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