Replacing the washer pump

The first thing I did to the car was to replace the washer pump. Very easy job. Pull the connector from the top of the old pump, and pull the hose as well. Then connect the hose to the new pump. Slide the old pump out, making sure that the seal comes with it, and slide the new one in. Finish by reconnecting the wires.

Installing a K&N cone filter

I've replaced the stock airbox with a K&N high-flow divergent cone kit from BMP Designs. Installation took about half an hour. The most difficult part was keeping the AFM/filter assembly in place while I bolted it on. I would recommend bolting the bracket on, then bolting the AFM to the bracket, not vice versa. The increased flow is very noticeable, especially at higher RPMs. The engine also ran smoother after I put the new filter on. The only disadvantage of the kit is that noise from the engine compartment is increased very slightly. It's a sporty sound, though, and very livable.

Some people have claimed that K&N filters allow dirt to get into the engine. After driving through some very dusty conditions, I took the filter off and checked the AFM -- it was still clean. So, I'm not terribly worried about this.

Upgrading the braking system

The brakes were 90% worn when I bought the car. I decided that if I had to replace the brakes, it'd be a convenient time to upgrade. I bought gas-slotted Brembo rotors from Jeff Krause, and on his recommendation, Repco/Axxis/PBR Metalmaster brake pads, Bavarian Autosport stainless steel braided brake lines, and ATE Super Blue racing fluid. As a precaution against premature abrasion, I bought five feet of 1/4" fuel line, chopped it up, and wrapped it around the brake lines. If I had to do it all over again, I would have bought the covered Earl's stainless lines, available from BMP. I promptly stripped one of the rotor locator bolts, so I went to my mechanic, Bob's Foreign Car Performance Center, and had them do the work. Although the pads and rotors aren't broken in yet, there's a discernible difference in the way my car brakes. Pedal feel is improved, and the car stops on a dime. There is still more "sink" in the pedal than I expected with stainless lines, but nothing to complain about.

Changing the timing belt

Although the previous owner said that the timing belt had been recently changed, the last recorded time it was replaced was 1990, at approximately 90,000 miles. The timing belts on all E30 sixes need to be changed at least every 60,000 miles or four years. Failure to do so could result in a broken belt, which causes valves to collide with pistons. That equals an expensive head job. So, I decided to replace the belt and tensioner. At the same time, I replaced the rotor, distributor cap, and cooling system hoses. All of this stuff can be done with little additional labor. Unfortunately, the fan clutch bolt was stuck pretty good. So, I had to pay Bob to do that labor, too. However, BMW makes a special tool to hold the water pump pulley while you remove the bolt, and the job didn't look too difficult after removing the bolt.

Changing spark plugs

At the same time I (Bob, rather...) did this maintenance, I replaced the spark plugs with Bosch Platinums. Despite BMW Digesters' bad luck with the plugs, they have made a noticeable difference in how smoothly the car runs. I also replaced the oxygen sensor, which also made a difference.

New tires

The 1985 325e came stock with Pirelli tires. The previous owner had always used Pirellis until his last tire change -- he switched to Yokohamas. Well, as the tires were worn down to 2/32" when I bought the car, I decided that I needed new tires. After careful research of the tires available, I decided on the Pirelli P600 M+S. The P600 is a high-performance tire, and the "M+S" (Mud + Snow) designation makes it suitable, though not ideal, for the conditions we encounter here in Colorado. The price for 195/60HR-14s was $60 at Discount Tire. The Tire Rack lists them for $50.

Hardwiring a Valentine One radar locater

After hearing the successes on the Digest about hardwiring Valentine One radar detectors into BMWs, I decided to do the same. It took about twenty minutes, and I am very pleased with the results. I first pulled the Active Check display panel from its console. It slides right out. I then cut the brown wire (ground) and used a crimp connector to connect these two wires and the ground wire for the V1. I used the big blue wire going to the sunroof switch for the positive. This wire is switched with the ignition. I soldered the ground and positive wire take-offs to the middle two wires on a standard phone cable to plug into the V1. This installation is very clean and looks great!

One problem that all V1s have with BMWs is voltage drop. When you turn on the high beams, the car's voltage momentarily drops below 12v, which is the cutoff point for the V1's circuitry. This causes the radar locator to "reset" itself. A bit disconcerting when it happens! Valentine Research has a fix -- send it to them and they'll install a capacitor for free.

Performance engine software

According to Digest lore, Jim Conforti makes the best performance chips out there. After installing one of his chips, I concur. The installation was relatively simple. First disconnect the battery. Remove the black plastic cover above the glove box. You'll see the Motronic unit bolted up to a bracket right there. There's a big wiring harness that connects to the Motronic unit. To remove this, you have to push a clip on the left side up, then slide the whole thing down and back to disengage the clip on the right side. Then unbolt the unit from the bracket. Be careful with the computer. It's very delicate and expensive to replace. You'll need to remove the back cover (no stickers on it) with a philips head screwdriver. Pull the cover off and you'll see the back of a circuit board. Keep yourself grounded at all times by touching the metal casing of the computer. Unscrew the four screws in the corners (two philips, two regular), and pull the rubber cone in the center off. You can then fold the circuit board out and inspect its innards. The chip you're looking for is just down and left of the center. Carefully pry this chip out with a small screwdriver. Place the new chip in the socket, making sure that all of the "legs" are aligned with the holes. Apply firm, even pressure to seat the chip. Screw everything back together & put it back in the car. Reconnect the battery, start the car, and let it idle for a few minutes (Motronic needs to "relearn" the car's operating conditions).

The difference is incredible. Idle is a bit smoother, and the power band (and delivery) is much stronger. The rev limiter is increased to 5200 rpm. You'll want to take it up there a lot more often. The car pulls much more strongly, but it is easier to drive smoothly, thanks to Jim's Motronic magic.

Replacing foglights

I replaced my foglights, which had yellowed and cracked, with new Bosch Compass foglights. They cost around $50, and the installation was incredibly simple. Use the 17mm wrench in your tool kit to remove the foglight mounting bolts, as the bend in it will help with clearance issues. Disconnect the wiring from the inside of the fog lamp -- you'll have to cut the connectors off eventually. Make sure to push the wires through the gasket before crimping on new connectors! Connect the wires to the bulb and housing, then bolt everything back up. Please take time to properly aim your foglights for the sake of fellow motorists!

Installing a shortshifter

One of the greatest things about BMW folk is their good old-fashioned ingenuity. Ben Liaw, while browsing a BMW parts CD, noticed that the ///M Roadster's shift lever should fit E36s. Subsequently, many of us upgraded our shift levers. In the early E30s (with a sheet metal console), the E36 M3 shift lever offers the best reduction of shift throw.

Installation requires that the car be on ramps or jackstands. First, remove the circlip on the bottom of the shift lever attaching it to the shift rod (you'll need "outside" circlip pliers). Detatch the two levers, then get into the car. Remove the shift knob by pulling straight up, then remove the boot by prying it gently from the console. You'll need to remove some padding to get to the shift bushing. Remove the circlip from the assembley (you'll need "inside" pliers for this one), and the whole lever should just lift right out. Transfer the spring, nylon cup, and spacers to the new shift lever. I had to cut the nylon cup to get it off my old shift lever. Installation is the reverse of removal -- except you're now enjoying pleasantly crisp shifts!

For more information and parts, visit UUC Motorwerks.

Troubleshooting brake lining indicator light

Although I replaced my brake pads and rotors recently, my brake lining warning light came on a while back. To track down this problem, you need to understand how the warning system works. Voltage is applied to a continuous loop of wire, which runs through the sensors in the driver's side front pad and passenger side rear pad. If there is a break in the loop (such as when the brake pads are worn and the sensor's contacts open), the idiot light illuminates. After checking my pads to ascertain that this was not the case, I started looking at the wiring harnesses on the body. In the front, the wires from the sensor had abraided against the caliper and split open; simple crimp connectors fixed that. However, the light was still on. I tracked the culprit to the rear wiring harness that wasn't continuous. Replacements are available from your local BMW dealer, part number 61 12 1 367 674. I simply spliced the new harness into the old one upstream of the discontinuity. To make things easier in the future, I used bullet connectors for the splice, and wrapped the junction in waterproof electrical tape.

Upgrading the suspension

My next performance upgrade dealt with the suspension. BMWs are fine-handling cars right from the factory, but that doesn't stop some of us from wanting more! After gathering information from the BMW Digest, I decided to upgrade to H&R Sport springs and Bilstein Sport shocks. I purchased both through Turner Motorsport, and was very satisfied with them. When looking for springs, I decided that the full 1.3" drop was too much, and the 0.3" drop of the H&R OE Sport springs was too little. Fortunately, H&R makes a set of Sport springs that are taller than their normal sports; the part number is 50406/29206, and Turner promised a 3/4" drop, which was just want I wanted.

Removing and replacing the springs and shocks is a time-consuming and potentially dangerous job! You'll need a few special tools: a spring compressor (this is not a time to be cheap -- springs make wonderful lethal projectiles!), a breaker bar, a tie rod pickle fork (I used a 21/32" fork for the job), and a large pair of water pump pliers.

I tackled the rear first. Put the car up on jackstands, and make sure that it's not going anywhere before doing anything (i.e., give it a good shove from every direction and make sure it doesn't move). Remove the sway bar link from the trailing arm and pivot it out of the way. This gives you some more room to work. Put the spring compressors on the spring. I found that I had to put one with the threads facing up, one with the threads facing down due to clearance issues. Get the spring compressors as far on either side of the spring as possible. Compress the spring evenly until when you try to screw the spring compressors any farther the spring rotates in its perch. You can now remove the shock to drop the trailing arm a bit further. The upper shock mounts are in the trunk behind the paneling; the paneling is a PITA to remove, but it does come out. Now press down on the trailing arm (I stepped on the caliper) to the point where you can slide the spring out from its perches. Be very careful with the compressed spring, as it is a loaded weapon! You might as well clean the perches up while you're in there.

Transfer the rubber pads to the new spring. I needed to compress the new springs slightly in order to get them to go back in. Once the springs are seated, you can put the new shocks on. Use new strut mounts, as they are cheap and good insurance against an old one going bad on you. Just bolt everything back up, being sure to use a new gasket between the shock mount and body. The bolt to to trailing arm needs to be torqued down pretty well, and it might not be a bad idea to use lock-tite on it. Remember to re-connect the sway bar links.

The front suspension uses struts, and is significantly more involved. Start by removing the brake calipers. The bolts that secure them to the strut are torqued to ~90 lb-ft, so you'll need a breaker bar to get them off. Turn the steering wheel to lock in order to gain more clearance to work. Slide the calipers off the disc and support them on a block of wood under the car. Do not let them hang by the brake line! Next remove the bolts connecting the outer control arm ball joint and tie rod to the strut. These are not too hard to get off; again, turn the wheel to lock to get more working room. Use the pickle fork seperator to loosen the ball joints from the strut. Be forewarned that you can easily destroy the ball joint dust boots. This isn't a big deal for the tie rods, as you can replace them easily, but to replace the control arm dust boots, you need to remove the entire control arm! You may need to remove the sway bar link so that you can pivot the control arm downwards to clear the strut. At this point, you can remove the three nuts from the shock tower (while supporting the strut from below) and remove the strut from the car.

Use the spring compressor to compress the springs as far as you can. Make sure that there is no tension on the upper strut bearings when you release them, or they will become deadly projectiles! Use a deep well socket on the big mounting bolt here, and thread a smaller socket through the hole to fit on the strut itself. You can use a pair of vice grips on the big socket and a ratchet on the smaller one to remove the bolt. Remove the bearing, spring perch, pad, and spring. Pay attention to the order in which parts come off to make installation much easier! To remove the strut insert's locking collar, we placed the collar in a vice, put two big bolts through the ball joint mounting points, and used a pry bar to turn the strut. Alternately, you can use the water pump pliers to remove the locking collar. Pour the old oil out of the strut -- you do not need to add oil to the strut if you are using gas-pressure shocks (such as Bilsteins).

Put the new strut insert in the strut. The little nylon ring slides over the strut tube, below the lock ring. Torque the lock ring down pretty good (Bilstein says 90 lb-ft). Before installing the spring, place the blue protective boot over the strut insert. It is held in place by the nylon ring at the bottom, and the spring perch at the top. You'll need to compress the new spring a bit to get the perch and bearing back on. This is not a complicated procedure, but it does take some time to get the spring to line up correctly with the perch. Use the two-socket method to tighten the upper mounting bolt.

Because we tore one of the dust boots on the tie rod and mashed the bolt pretty good, I decided to replace the tie rods. Cut the clamp on the tie rod protective boot, and slide the boot back to gain access to the inner ball joint. You don't need to completely remove the boot to do this. The tie rod is secured by a lock washer against the steering rack. I used a screwdriver and a hammer to bend the lock washer tabs back to nearly planar. At this point, I used a pair of vice grips on the inner ball joint to unscrew it from the steering rack. Before installing the new tie rod, try to match its length to the old one. The new rod screws into the steering rack; be sure to place the lock washer in between first! The tab on the lock washer mates with a notch on the steering rack. When you have the tie rods screwed on tightly, bend the lock washer over the inner ball joint. There is almost no clearance on the top, so do the best you can, but the bottom is easily accessable with a hammer. Re-attach the protective boot to the new tie rod.

To install the strut, first attach it to the shock tower. Place the ball joints into their respective holes. Place a jack underneath the ball joints, and press them upwards against the strut. This puts tension on them and allows you to thread on the self-locking nut without the joint spinning. Be sure to use new self-locking nuts on the ball joints. Re-attach the calipers, being sure to torque them down really well. After any sort of suspension work, you should have an alignment performed.

I absolutely love my new setup. We measured the drop, and compared to the specs in the Bentley manual, the new springs lowered the car by 1". It looks really good, and performs even better. In fact, the new suspension feels more compliant over small pavement imperfections than the stock suspension. However, my car now corners absolutely flat, not to mention more neutral. I can control the cornering attitude much more with the throttle now, and there's not that annoying wait before the suspension takes a "set" in a corner. It is exactly what I wanted: noticibly firmer than stock, but not kidney-jarring.

Many thanks to Neil Deshpande and Jack Money for helping me with this project!

Prepping for driver's school

For driver's schools, you need to give your car a good once-over to make sure that nothing is going to break on you at speed on the track. This includes changing oil and brake fluid, and checking the condition of all of your suspension and brake bits. Note that this list is not all-inclusive; please take the time to ensure your car is up to the rigors of a driver's school before heading to the track!

I changed my brake pads to Cool Willies, available through Turner Motorsport. I did this because Metal Masters disintegrate under the high temperatures encountered on the track. The pad swap is fairly easy: put the car up on jackstands and remove the wheels. In the front, there's a bolt that secures the caliper to the carrier. Remove the lower bolt and swing the caliper up, freeing the brake pads. Installation is the reverse of removal, but you may have to push in the piston slightly for the new pads. Use a piece of wood and a pair of water pump pliers to accomplish this task. Be sure to use a new bolt in the front calipers. They are single-use only! The rear pads are similar, but here you'll have to remove two 9mm hex guide pins to remove the entire caliper.

An update: I used the Cool Willies again for my second driver's school at Second Creek in Denver. Second Creek is notoriously hard on brakes, and I noticed that my brakes went away to a large degree during the day. Upon changing back to street pads, I noticed that the Cool Willies had pitted and cracked to a significant degree. Asking around, I discovered that the carbon-kevlar Cool Willies aren't as heat resistant as carbon-metallic pads. Next year, I'll likely run PF-90s.

I also flushed my brake fluid -- a procedure that should be done at least yearly, as brake fluid loves to absorb water (which then boils, leaving you with very reduced brake performance!). I used the brake bleeder cap available from Steve D'Gerolamo. This work of CNC'd aluminum art uses air pressure to force old brake fluid out of the system. If you don't have a source of compressed air, don't fret. Simply go to your local home and garden store and pick up a fertilizer/week killer sprayer. Cut off the sprayer from the hose and attach the hose to the cap with a hose clamp. (Be sure to use a hose clamp, or you could end up like me, cleaning caustic brake fluid off my paint after the hose parted company with the fitting!) Attach a some sort of reservoir to the bleeder screw to catch the old fluid as it's expelled, and begin bleeding from the side farthest from the master cylinder (the rear passenger-side caliper). When new fluid flows from the caliper and is free of bubbles, you're done!

Keeping water out of your trunk

E30s tend to have problems with water entering the trunk. There are several possible culprits in this case: a blocked sunroof drain tube, bad taillight gaskets, or a bad trunk gasket. I've had experience with the latter two.

Taillight gaskets are fairly easy to replace. Simply turn the two black knobs on the taillight assembley to unlock it, and pull it from the outer housing. Then undo the nuts holding the outer housing to the body. Pull the housing out, and replace the gasket.

A bad trunk gasket is also easy to replace, but a little trickier to diagnose. I finally tracked it down after a rainstorm when my car had been sitting on a hill. Rainwater was flowing down the channels on either side of the trunk, and pooling in the little triangular-shaped depressions on either side of the trunk (below the rear window). This water was then flowing over the trunk gasket into the trunk. A few bucks and a few minutes later, my trunk was water-tight again!

Replacing OBC backlights

The OBC backlights in E30s burn out from time to time. Well, recently, it was my time! There are two bulbs, wired in series, which means that if one burns out, the other stops functioning as well. When this happens, the display goes dim (like when the ignition is turned off). The dealer charges a bundle to change the lights, and the printed circuit board with the lights costs $20. However, if you get two 6V lights from Radio Shack (part no. 272-1140), you can solder them right in.

First, you need to remove the OBC. In order to do this, I took out the radio and the passenger's side console side panel. The panel is secured by several nuts and trim screws, none of which are difficult to remove. Once you have access to the backside of the OBC, remove the four philips screws that hold it to the console. This takes some dexterity, patience, and foul language. The OBC then removes to the front of the console. The light circuit board is the white thing on the right side - remove it with a pair of needle-nosed pliers. Once it is out, remove the white plastic from the circuit board. Use solder wick to remove the old lamps, and solder in the new ones, being careful not to create a short. I didn't find it necessary to re-install the little white lamp supports for the new bulbs.

At this point, re-install the white plastic "reflector". Insert the board back into the OBC, and check that the lights work! It wouldn't be terribly fun to put it all back together and find that it doesn't work. If it does, sew the whole dash back up. I only installed two of the corner screws to hold in the OBC (the rest had disappeared behind the dash). It holds perfectly well, and now I can see my display!

Replacing front kickpanels speakers

BMW factory speakers aren't the best to begin with, and as they were over a decade old on my car, they were starting to buzz whenever the stereo sent them a low frequency. Looking through the Crutchfield catalog, I decided on the Kenwood KFC-1386 speakers. These 5 1/4" speakers have a wide frequency response, and were resonably priced. Although Crutchfield doesn't list these speakers as fitting the E30, they do.

Installation is fairly simple. First, remove the old speaker grilles; they should pop right out. Then unscrew the old speaker, and remove it from the housing. Pull off the wires and install them on the new speakers with a thin coating of dielectric grease for good measure. Screw in the new speakers, but don't crank the screws down. Install the grille, and you're done! The driver's side is the trickiest part, as the hood release lever is in the way. You just have to hold it out of the way as best you can when removing and installing the speakers.

Installing a SuperSprint exhaust

Earlier this year, my stock exhaust developed a hole in it. As the year went by, the "sporty" sound became less and less enjoyable - especially after extended highway driving! In replacing the exhaust, I had several options:

Replace with a factory exhaust, $300

Replace with an E30 325i exhaust, necessitating an new cat, ~$800

Replace with an Ansa exhaust, $150

Replace with a Supersprint exhaust, $500

I chose the Supersprint exhaust because of their reputation for quality and the power gains (a few horsepower) over stock. Ansa exhausts, while cheap, don't tend to have a long service life. While the option of going to a 325i exhaust was tempting, the price was prohibitive.

Replacing an exhaust system is not nearly as daunting as it sounds. We first removed the strap that supports the muffler (as the muffler and resonater had previously parted company). Then we removed the heat shield (several 10 mm nuts), and finally the entire bracket. We then removed the three bolts that held the resonator to the catalytic converter (see picture). This involved using both an 11 mm and 12 mm wrench, and a lot of grunting. A shot of penetrating oil probably helped us get the bolts undone.

We were then ready to mount the new exhaust. Whenever you do exhaust work, use all-new nuts, gaskets, support straps, and rubber donuts. They're cheap insurance. The Supersprint exhaust system is a two-piece affair. First bolt the connecting pipe to the catalytic converter, using a new gasket and new nuts. Anti-seize compound applied to the bolts will make the job a lot easier the next time around. Once the connecting pipe is mounted, turn your attention to the muffler. First install the new rubber donut exhaust hangers on the car and support strap (see pictures). Apply dish soap liberally to the rubber donut to help ease it into place (trust me, it's a bear without the soap!). Re-install the heat shield, and remember to put a little anti-seize on the bolts. Lift the muffler into position, and insert the end of the muffler into the connecting pipe, making sure the clamp is already in place. Install the lower part of the mounting strap on the muffler loosely. Now you can adjust the muffler so that it clears the body of the car and is level. Once you have finished this, tighten the clamp between the connecting pipe and the muffler, and finally the mounting strap.

The Supersprint has definitely been a worthwhile purchase. It weighs four pounds lighter than the stock exhaust, and has a nice throaty sound under acceleration. It is, however, not terribly loud. You can tell it's there, but it is by no means obtrusive; in fact, I was a bit disappointed by the sound at first. I'm sure that I gained some power with the new exhaust, but gains are marginal and largely psychological.

Changing transmission fluid

At the same time we replaced my exhaust, we changed my transmission fluid. I used LubroMoly gear oil for the change. The early Eta transmissions seem to be different from later E30 transmissions, as the drain and fill plugs were both removable with a 17 mm socket (instead of a 17 mm hex driver). First, remove the fill plug. This insures that you have a nice stream of oil from the drain plug by allowing air to enter the case to replace the oil. Put a drain pan underneath the drain plug, and unscrew it. Let the oil drain out, and then replace the drain plug. Use a pump to move the new fluid from its container to the tranny - it will save you needless aggrivation. Once you've filled the transmission to the point where fluid starts pouring out of the filling hole, you can re-install the fill plug. Your transmission will likely take about 1.7 liters of oil.

The new fluid, being synthetic, has made a huge difference in shift feel. Shifts feel much more natural, and much less notchy. It hasn't gotten cold here yet, but one of the benefits of synthetic gear oil is reduced cold-shifting effort.

Installing an E36 steering rack

Parking my car one night a few months back, I heard a groaning from the engine compartment, followed by a large increase in steering effort. Getting out of the car, I discovered a nice big puddle of power steering fluid sitting on the pavement where I was -- my steering rack had blown a seal. As an interim measure before replacing the rack, I removed the belt driving the power steering pump; this hopefully prevented any great damage from the pump running dry.

Zionsville Autosport has a great writup on replacing an E30 steering rack with an E36 rack. They used an E36 M3 rack with a 3.25 lock-to-lock turning ratio, but I used a (cheaper and more available) E36 rack with a 3.5 lock-to-lock ratio. Either will provide a nice upgrade from the stock E30 4.0 lock-to-lock ratio. Check out Zionsivlle's excellent site on the conversion at http://www.zionsvilleautosport.com/Rack_Project/rackproject.htm.

All in all, the conversion is fairly simple. The thing that took the greatest amount of time was bending the new high-pressure line to fit my car. Be sure to study the pictures on Zionsville's site carefully before bending the high-pressure line. This will save you lots of aggrivation, and possibly from crimping the line (and they aren't cheap, either; new ones are ~$200!).

Be sure to get the little metal clamps for an E36 steering rack boot, as the E36 rack has a larger diameter than the E30 rack where the boots mount on it, and the E30 clamps will not fit it. Also be sure to fill the power steering reservoir with quality ATF and bleed the system (with the front end raised, turn on the engine, and move the steering rack back and forth from lock to lock until bubbles stop appearing in the power steering reservoir).

This was a relatively good improvement in steering feel -- it's definitely a lot quicker now!

Installing a 3.25 LSD

Eta-engined E30s came equipped with either a 2.79:1 or a 2.96:1 differential. Not many of them came with limited-slip differentials. For added acceleration, many Eta owners choose to swap in a 3.25:1 limited slip diff from an E28 533i or 535i. Picture the lower (higher numerical) diff as a longer lever arm that acts to increase the engine's effective torque on the rear wheels. Additionally, the limited slip clutch pack means that you generally can put power to both wheels instead of just one.

Mike Miller's article from European Car is an excellent resource for those interested in changing their diffs. It can be accessed here.

I bought my diff for $300 from a 533i owner. It was in pretty good condition, though I did replace the output shaft seals. These were easily driven into place with a large hex bit and a hammer. Additionally, I gave it a good cleaning, as diffs tend to get dirty by the time they have 150,000 miles on them.

Use the parking brake to set the rear wheels, as you will be disconnecting the engine/transmission from them while doing the swap. Remove the four nuts from the driveshaft/input flange coupling, and push the driveshaft forward. Then remove the six hex bolts from the output flange/inner CV joint coupling, being sure to support the halfshafts when they're disconnected. The four bolts that hold the diff to the axle carrier are difficult to undo, but with enough penetrating oil, leverage, and cursing, they'll come out. Make sure you've supported the diff by the time you remove the final axle carrier bolts! Finally, remove the bolt that goes through the rear bushing.

Installation is the reverse of removal. Be careful when you insert the axle carrier bolts not to crossthread them (as I did on one of them). The speed sensor that came with the new diff was different from the one that was on my old diff, so I had to swap them -- just undo the two 10mm bolts that hold the sensor in place and pop it out. I also filled the new diff with Redline 75W-90 Gear Oil.

My car feels much more lively now than it did before. I'm not sure whether acceleration was improved, as shift points come up much quicker than they did before. However, my exit speeds from corners have improved significantly. Additionally, I can feel the limited-slip clutch pack working to put power down to both wheels while I'm exiting corners, and I'm sure snow performance is much improved as well. About the only downside is that The engine turns several hundred RPMs higher on the highway, though this also leads to increased passing performance.!