[blown07]

Originally Posted by jadidaskv

i put a magnet to one of the bolts today and they aren't aluminium. they sure do look like it though. especially with all the other aluminium bolts on bmw's, i thought for sure it would be. i guess they just have a zinc coating on them. i tried to torq them to 40 ft/lbs but the angle i was at (one wheel up on a jack stand) i couldnt put pressure on them evenly so it just took way too much force it felt like they were going to snap, or round the heads. along with trying to keep the prop shaft from spinning it was jus a hell of a time. i got 3 bolts on the front and one or two on the back torqued, but ran out of time since i tried to do it after work and didnt have much time to begin with. i also spent a little bit on time trying to get the end of the axle throught the hub. theres about an inch left to come out before i can catch threads with the nut to get it the rest of the way out, but the damn thing jus wont budge. i know ill get it once i have more time to spend with it, and hopefully find a better way to keep the prop shaft from spinning and get those bolts torqued.

I get my wife to sit in the car and hold the front drive shaft (that's what she said) in place with the brakes while I torque one of the bolts. Release the brakes, easily hand turn the front shaft to the next spot, brakes on, torque it and so on.
Make sure the axle spline and hub spline are super clean and use some wd40. If you can put the axle in a freezer it will actually help. I used a 2x4 on the edge of the outer CV joint to gently tap it in far enough to start the nut.