So a lot has happened since the last post, I have found the clutch kit that I am going to be using thanks to some helpful recommendations. I am waiting on the selector rod for the shift linkage to transmission to come in as well before I can start assembling. Other than that, I only need to order the clutch, flywheel bolts, driveshaft flex discs, stainless steel clutch pivot pin, shifter/pedal bushings and some transmission/diff fluids.
Some of the things I would like to do while this conversion happens are being delayed, I currently have a California rear sub frame waiting at a cross border mail store to replace my rusty one, but the borders are closed! Will be installing that at the same time as the wavetrac (probably in the winter, don't have the funds to do right now).
2.35 ratio differential arrived from England! Massive thanks to Ben for the help and sending it over!
Made sure to get an early differential with bolted style ring gear, will make adding the Wavetrac LSD unit a lot easier and cheaper, removing the need to have the ring gear machined off and holes drilled.
Seller of the differential let me know that there was a noise coming from the diff, suspected the front pinion bearing had failed so I dug right in to it. Good bit of ingenuity to pull those massive side snap rings at home with the proper tool sitting at work.
Pressed out the pinon after pulling the input shaft and all seals, old front pinion bearing on the side there. Crush sleeve also seen on the shaft. BMW does not list a part number (or diagram) for the crush sleeve, HOWEVER, you can buy a crush sleeve from your local BMW dealer that fits the E90 215 differential. The PN is 33121204657. I plan to make a more detailed video/post on the differentials in the future. They are really quite simple and don't require loads of fancy tools to work with. Never had one apart before this but hope I have the chance to again!
Front pinon bearing race is an a rather poor state.
The bearing balls follow suit! My suspicion is that due to the differentials design, any small metal wear pieces that come from this front pinion simply get stuck at the front, as they can't move towards the rear and the pinion seal is on the other end. Eventually they may accumulate and destroy the bearing. This diff had 120k miles on it and was well maintained.
New pinion bearing arrived! Shipped over from the UK. Tapered roller style instead of double ball bearing. Koyo brand bearing. The part number is F-237541 (although I think this is the F-A.G (blurred out before lol) OEM bearing number used as a reference for this Koyo Bearing. Ordered from bearings-online.co.uk.
Flywheel arrived from Kassel Performance. This is the OE LuK DMF flywheel for the E90 pre-LCI 330d. Nothing fancy, should hold the power well enough and be nice and quiet.
Was able to get lucky and order the shift linkage as an assembly rather that piece by piece or new from the dealer ($$$). Replaced the central bushing here. This shift linkage is unique to the 330d, has a weight on it to reduce vibrations as well. Will be purchasing upgraded shift bushings while it's out of the car.
Transmission arrived! bolted up the shift linkage (waiting on the selector rod now, that will be one of the main delays in this whole build). You can see the weight around the shift lever, above the boot. Will try and show it a bit better later on. The new hydraulic line running from the master cylinder is near the bottom of this picture too.
Part number of the transmission used.
Driveshaft arrived. very good condition, u-joint is smooth in all directions.The transmission brace also arrived, Did not snap a picture of it. Ever see a BMW transmission brace before? It looks like that!
Cleaned the mating surface on the diff casing.
And on the cover itself as well.
That's all for now! Waiting on finances/shift rod before I go a whole ton further, will be putting the diff back together and hopefully filming most all of that process as I have the crush sleeve and all of the diff seals.
Happy to answer any other questions your guys have on the build.
