[0l0dom0l0]

Fellow N53 owner here, all be it an E92 330i.

Glad I found this thread, very informative and has answered a lot of questions I've been wanting to know the answer to so thanks for the great info you've put in here.

Interested to hear how you get on with the diff as was looking at the racing diffs conversion myself.

Also keen to see the result of the NOX DTC disable. I had a NOX sensor problem with mine and aging catalyst up on purchase a year ago. Ended up replacing the sensor with a second hand unit off eBay from an X4.0D. Cut the sensors off, soldered the new one onto the car and left the control box on the car. Total spend was £40. Worked a charm. I wasn't keen on the £350 odd for the NOXEM which seems to be the only real solution if you want to keep things working as intended.

Registered a new catalyst and the car ran stratified for about 6000 miles no issues but the aging code is back. Looking for a more permanent fix so interested to see how you get on and if the car still runs stratified.

I expect in your case it will as you haven't tripped the upper limit somewhere in the cal for allowed measured nox at the tailpipe.

Let me know how you get on

[tim_s]

Yeah, as I don't have an aging cat error (at 125k miles!) and the car runs stratified, any test would be a bit limited. At some point I'll probably give the map with all the NOX dtcs removed a go.
RacingDiffs are proving a pain in the ass, making me measure the pins, suggesting it's either assembled wrong (which makes no sense if the product is designed for a larger distance between the side gears) or wear on the shims behind the side gears (which also makes no sense as would make the fit too loose not too tight). I'm beginning to lose confidence in them.
In brighter news, the headlights are in and sorted and so I can get on with sticking the eibachs springs in and doing some mapping.

[4foothill]

Originally Posted by tim_s

Yeah, as I don't have an aging cat error (at 125k miles!) and the car runs stratified, any test would be a bit limited. At some point I'll probably give the map with all the NOX dtcs removed a go.
RacingDiffs are proving a pain in the ass, making me measure the pins, suggesting it's either assembled wrong (which makes no sense if the product is designed for a larger distance between the side gears) or wear on the shims behind the side gears (which also makes no sense as would make the fit too loose not too tight). I'm beginning to lose confidence in them.
In brighter news, the headlights are in and sorted and so I can get on with sticking the eibachs springs in and doing some mapping.

They did the same to me, they obviously know it's an issue because I went through the exact same thing, they're just trying to play dumb. Open an issue on PayPal, they sorted it pretty quickly once I did that.

I have an aging cat code and have disabled it in my tune, just need to flash it so I can test it. I doubt the code will disappear without registering a new cat, even with the DTC disabled, so not sure how we'll confirm it works except over time. I would like to be able to tweak the actual Nox parameters but I can't currently boot my VM with my damos and winols projects on.

Will also try and get that 188LW kit installed asap, just waiting on some more brake cleaner to arrive.

[tim_s]

You have an n53 damos?!

I've pretty much given up on RacingDiffs now, I've tried to work with them to get to a resolution, but they seem intent on insisting the issue is due to centering one way or another, or something that doesn't actually impact the problem I'm having in any case. They've offered a refund so I guess I'll open a paypal dispute and manage it through there so I've some evidence to use to try to reclaim import taxes. I'd urge anyone on here who is considering these to look elsewhere, really doesn't seem worth the hassle.
Think my plan is to try the diff as-is for now to make sure the flanges etc fit, then I'll prob order a Blackline helical later a bit later as I hear good things.

[AUDELA]

Originally Posted by 0l0dom0l0

Fellow N53 owner here, all be it an E92 330i.

Glad I found this thread, very informative and has answered a lot of questions I've been wanting to know the answer to so thanks for the great info you've put in here.

Interested to hear how you get on with the diff as was looking at the racing diffs conversion myself.

Also keen to see the result of the NOX DTC disable. I had a NOX sensor problem with mine and aging catalyst up on purchase a year ago. Ended up replacing the sensor with a second hand unit off eBay from an X4.0D. Cut the sensors off, soldered the new one onto the car and left the control box on the car. Total spend was £40. Worked a charm. I wasn't keen on the £350 odd for the NOXEM which seems to be the only real solution if you want to keep things working as intended.

Registered a new catalyst and the car ran stratified for about 6000 miles no issues but the aging code is back. Looking for a more permanent fix so interested to see how you get on and if the car still runs stratified.

I expect in your case it will as you haven't tripped the upper limit somewhere in the cal for allowed measured nox at the tailpipe.

Let me know how you get on

Another recent N53 owner. I have a 325i E93 which I purchased used a few months ago. Similarly have NOX sensor issue and the ageing cat error as well. I'm about to replace the NOX sensor with a brand new OEM and am hoping that will solve the aging cat issue. Although I've read that some people have the error come back in a year's time.

OP: I'd also be super interested to know more about the 330i map you managed to put on. I've contacted a couple of tuners and have considered having it remapped, even considered having the NOX cat delete done but the tuner wasn't able to assure me that it would run stratified. The technician who has trained as a Master Tech at BMW also talked me out of it.

I wouldn't know where to even begin with remapping to the 330i myself. But have greatly enjoyed reading this thread and would be very interested to hear if you manage to map out NOX with some success.

Would you expect this would eliminate the need for a new NOX sensor altogether? They're not cheap at over £400 a pop.

[4foothill]

Originally Posted by tim_s

You have an n53 damos?!

I've pretty much given up on RacingDiffs now, I've tried to work with them to get to a resolution, but they seem intent on insisting the issue is due to centering one way or another, or something that doesn't actually impact the problem I'm having in any case. They've offered a refund so I guess I'll open a paypal dispute and manage it through there so I've some evidence to use to try to reclaim import taxes. I'd urge anyone on here who is considering these to look elsewhere, really doesn't seem worth the hassle.
Think my plan is to try the diff as-is for now to make sure the flanges etc fit, then I'll prob order a Blackline helical later a bit later as I hear good things.

I have MSD81 damos, they have some n53 data specific modifications but I couldn't get winols to import them but I could only find a very old pirated version with the plugin. But there is a winols project for the n54 with them all imported from the damos. The offsets and some of the maps are different in the damos but it makes finding maps on the n53 much easier. I also have the funktionsrahmen which has logic diagrams for things like the nox functionality, but since I can't boot my VM I can't check and see how the variables match up to the winols maps.

AUDELA I would recommend going the noxem route rather than a new sensor since that's what I did but I still get aging cat codes. All we've done is disable the error code that decides the cat is not efficient enough, I'd imagine it still requires a working sensor to perform stratified charge etc. The tuners would probably using something like Swiftec which I think uses more advanced techniques, but I still can't see it being as effective as Noxem which estimate realistic nox values based off the other sensors and data.

[tim_s]

I'd be keen to get hold of the FR/damos/winols project if you ever get your vm booted.

I should do some testing of stratified mode and how it behaves with dtcs turned off, but it's very low on my list really and would be for academic reasons/the greater good.
I do quite look forward to trying the map I've been playing with though.

Today I fitted the eibach springs to the car, front shocks are good and top mounts reasonable so will be left alone for now, rear shocks are knackered so have ordered some Sachs 411s which I understand are tauter. I damaged the boot on a lower balljoint when pressing it in on the rear using a socket, have ordered another, need to find something better to press it in with.
May pull the diff out tomorrow and make sure it's going to fit then will prob order the blackline diff as the RacingDiffs thing is going back.
Here's some photos finally:




























One or two of the cab and the touring together:





And what normally keeps me away from old BMWs:

[Markos ZimZimma]

Nice pics Tim, are the lights just a cosmetic upgrade, they're not Xenons?

Curious with regards to your rear shocks going, did you notice any rear end 'shimmy' when driving over potholes or bad surfaces? My rear end passes the 'bounce' test, but it does feel ever so slightly unsettled when going over sunken manhole covers/potholes. Only 57k on the clock but it's 10-11 years old so trying to work out which parts need refreshing...

[0l0dom0l0]

Looking good Tim.

What part number is your diff? And what ratio?

[densil101]

Looks epic Tim!

[tim_s]

Originally Posted by Markos ZimZimma

Nice pics Tim, are the lights just a cosmetic upgrade, they're not Xenons?

They're projectors rather than reflectors on the low beam, so I can use LEDs in them without fear of blinding people! I did drive it a short distance after they were first fitted and noticed that although I'd sorted the cutoff to RH I'd not corrected the L/R adjustment and so the lights were pointing all over the place, so I've not yet had chance to properly test them. My initial thoughts are that I agree with folk who say the projectors aren't the best quality nor the cutoff the best. But they're undoubtedly better than the factory reflectors and will do the job.

Curious with regards to your rear shocks going, did you notice any rear end 'shimmy' when driving over potholes or bad surfaces? My rear end passes the 'bounce' test, but it does feel ever so slightly unsettled when going over sunken manhole covers/potholes. Only 57k on the clock but it's 10-11 years old so trying to work out which parts need refreshing...

Yes, it did shimmy and feel a bit unsettled over bumps. I've swapped the RH balljoint and the old one seemed fine, I've not yet done the LH which was what came up as an advisory on the MOT, but will do soon!

Originally Posted by 0l0dom0l0

Looking good Tim.

What part number is your diff? And what ratio?

It doesn't fit, so I wouldn't recommend it I'll update shortly, I'm hoping I can still use the CW and pinion off it. It's a 3.23. Ideally I'd go shorter (perhaps 3.46). I've had an 36 m3 evo that I put an e46 m3 diff into, swapping from 3.23 to 3.64, and it felt brilliant for it, one of the best changes I made.

[tim_s]

Diff off:


And into bits:

[Markos ZimZimma]

Impressive spannering Tim. I note the big mallet which confirms that it doesn't look like an easy job!

[tim_s]

Originally Posted by Markos ZimZimma

Impressive spannering Tim. I note the big mallet which confirms that it doesn't look like an easy job!

Got a new bearing separator turning up today that hopefully should allow me to swap the pinion bearing over onto the 3.23 pinion gear, then I should be set to get the Blackline diff and start putting it all back together. Just want to trial fit everything before ordering the diff.

Struggling with RacingDiffs, they agreed a refund so I opened a Paypal dispute to track the return and Paypal have denied the claim as 'if an item is materially similar to the seller's description, we do not consider it to be significantly not as described.'
RacingDiffs no longer appear to reply to my emails, so not sure what to do next. I've a number for the distributer to whom they asked me to make a refund, so might give them a buzz and see what the score is. As RacingDiffs are based in Serbia, don't have a phone number and don't reply to my emails, not sure on the best course of action.

[4foothill]

Originally Posted by tim_s

Got a new bearing separator turning up today that hopefully should allow me to swap the pinion bearing over onto the 3.23 pinion gear, then I should be set to get the Blackline diff and start putting it all back together. Just want to trial fit everything before ordering the diff.

Struggling with RacingDiffs, they agreed a refund so I opened a Paypal dispute to track the return and Paypal have denied the claim as 'if an item is materially similar to the seller's description, we do not consider it to be significantly not as described.'
RacingDiffs no longer appear to reply to my emails, so not sure what to do next. I've a number for the distributer to whom they asked me to make a refund, so might give them a buzz and see what the score is. As RacingDiffs are based in Serbia, don't have a phone number and don't reply to my emails, not sure on the best course of action.

Shit I didn't realise PayPal still pull that shit. I would appeal the case saying the seller had already acknowledged the issue and promised a refund. Failing that, write some damaging posts describing your experience on facebook, twitter, youtube comments, forums etc. - I bet they'd soon be willing to improve your customer experience then.

[Markos ZimZimma]

Originally Posted by 4foothill

Shit I didn't realise PayPal still pull that shit. I would appeal the case saying the seller had already acknowledged the issue and promised a refund. Failing that, write some damaging posts describing your experience on facebook, twitter, youtube comments, forums etc. - I bet they'd soon be willing to improve your customer experience then.

They seem active on a few social channels so I'd definitely consider that if PP won't help and they still keep forgetting to reply to your emails...

[tim_s]

Yeah, I don't want to resort to that until necessary, but it doesn't look great. Let's see. I've appealed the PP case, and I've stuck it up on ebay - if someone wants it I'm prepared to cut my losses and move on.
Also having trouble with removing the pinion bearing inner race from the original diff's pinion shaft onto the new one:



Given it loads of heat, bought another separator as mine wasn't the best fit, but annoyingly the one I bought wasn't much better anyway, but bottom line I can't get it out.
So my options are:
-New bearing and fit myself. Bearing is £60. Then crush washer, seal etc., the trouble of fitting it, risk of tolerances not measuring up/meshing nicely once the cw and pinion are fitted. But once done it'll have a new pinion bearing which I guess is a plus.
-Buy new diff - can get one for £220. Comes with risk that the diff is crap, but has a warranty of sorts so probably won't be too out of pocket. That and can then refurb and sell the original diff.
-Give the pinion and housing to a diff specialist and get them to sort it. Main problem with this is lockdown, plus I suppose cost especially if it doesn't work out for whatever reason.

I'm leaning towards buying another diff.

[4foothill]

Do you have access to a hydraulic press? Or are you ok at DIYing? Making a hydraulic press rig with a bottle jack is an option if you can be bothered.

[tim_s]

The bearing separator is the issue, I've enough force but it loses purchase/breaks (edges snap off) before anything else. A better fitting separator might help, but my gut feel is it really doesn't want to come out. I had a map torch on it and it was properly hot, too. I've come around to refurbing the original diff and buying another, is just a matter of finding one now.

[tim_s]

Quick update, made some decent progress on the diff, hopefully on the home straight now. The diff I had my eye on had sold and I couldn't get one for a decent price, so I decided to buy a new pinion bearing and go ahead with using the 3.23 cw and pinion in my original casing. I cut a slit into the old inner race that I couldn't remove then chiseled until it cracked. To get the new race on I froze the shaft and stuck the race in the aga, it then went on pretty easily. Removing the outer race was also quite tough, I wound in the new one without too many dramas however. Both diffs had a bearing of the same external dimensions, just the bearings themselves and the inner race were different style. The replacement bearing I ordered from rwbearings was in fact the same as the 3.23 and not my original.
Some pics:















The blackline LSD has arrived, it looks great, I'm really happy with it. I've fitted the output bearing races, trial fitted it and measured carrier preload which looks pretty good. I'm waiting on an input seal then I'll set final pinion preload, install the carrier again and measure backlash. I'm not sure what exactly I'll do about pinion preload as I'm reusing the little bearing but replacing the large bearing, so if I set to the original preload it will be insufficient for the big bearing, if I set to a higher preload for a new bearing it will be too much for the small bearing that's already broken in. I think I'll just gun for the lower end of the recommended preload for a new bearing.

I've also cracked on and sorted out the back axle. The 15mm ARB has been fitted, looks a good deal more beefy than the original. Had to drop the subframe to get it to fit. New balljoints, sachs 411 shocks and the eibach springs are also in, just waiting for the diff now. Was pretty happy with the state of brake lines and bushes etc, given everything a good dousing in corrosion block and flapwheeled, rust treated and dinitroled the subframe where crusty as well as some of the underbody and the brake line that runs across from psgr to driver's side. Will get some pics of that later.
I've got some spark plugs and a k&n element to go in, might fit a shorter shifter, need to bleed the brakes, then that's probably it for the mo. I was going to have the gearbox off and do the clutch but will probably leave that for now, got a B8 S4 to fit a pulley to and map and a few other bits soon.

Much beefier ARB




Holding the subframe up while unbolted as I left the brake flexis connected. Need to drop the subframe to get the ARB in


Dead shocks


I should probably post up some less grotty pics of the shiny new stuff in there.

[tim_s]

Another little update - fitted an input seal, set pinion preload and fitted the lsd today. Input preload is good, I checked carrier preload and it is the same as before - the blackline is a great fit.
But in my case the cw and pinion swap has complicated things a bit. It generally fits, but I have zero backlash. I swapped the L and R circlips around which in my case gives 0.25mm or so more clearance and that helped, it turns freely, but no backlash. If I don't seat the LH circlip properly into the groove giving it just a bit more clearance, I get some, so it doesn't feel far off. I've ordered some off the shelf 90mm circlips and a couple of bearing shims to play with. I'll see how well that works and get an idea of where I need to be. If I'm not 100% with using shims etc, once I've got it where it needs to be I'll order some circlips. Unfortunately the only place I've found to buy them is in Lithuania. If anyone knows of another source let me know!
Kind of wishing I'd just bought another diff and not tried to swap CW and pinion after all...
That it didn't just work and I'll end up moving the cw 0.3mm or so from where the original sat makes me worry a bit about pinion depth - I took a punt and used the washer from the original casing (and not the one from the 3.23 casing), I wonder whether I should have brought the washer over with the pinion. Gear marking should give me the answer, and so far it looks ok. Would be a right pain in the ass to swap it over, I'm not sure how easily I can get the outer race out of the casing, then would need a new input seal, and probably a new crush sleeve, then would have to set preload again after reassembling.

[tim_s]

Getting there with the diff. Pinion depth did need adjusting in the end, both diffs originally had a ~3,5mm shim, I think the depth isn't right due to the pinion bearing differences , the inner race appears ~0.3mm larger on the new bearing. I've made up a dummy bearing and shimmed the pinion to 3.2mm, it's not looking too bad - coast side looks good, drive side I'm not entirely happy with, not sure if I should try a touch more pinion depth or a bit more backlash, will have to experiment. I think possibly a touch more backlash might help (at about 0.07mm at the mo). I'm no diff rebuilding expert so happy to take advice if anyone is. Nearly there!
Coast:

Drive: