BMW Front Differential rebuild for the e53 X5
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- Listed below is a breakdown of the parts needed and cost.
Axle seal 31508743675 - £13
Propshaft seal 31521428678 - £10
Side bearings LM501349/LM501310 - £15 X2
Big Pinion bearing HM88649/HM88610 - £15
Small pinion bearing M86649/M86610 - £15
Type 168 differential preload spacer- £16
Id 39x2mm O-Ring 31511213527 - £6
Diff oil gl5 75w90- £15
Total £120 plus £100 on tools if required.
Tool to hold the flange
LandRover Drive Pinion Flange Holding Tool 5.0L + 3.0L Diesel OEM Equiv 205-053
www.ebay.co.uk...
Preload for this differential is 0.6nm to 0.8nm
Torque specifications
Case 45nm
Pinion has no spec,it is right when at preload spec
Differential to engine is 45nm
Oil plug is 60nm
Axle to hub is 420nm
Propshaft to differential is 65nm 
I used eBay and www.hendersonb... to get all the bearing for this diff. (Not sponsored)
Any other questions just ask and I’ll try and help.
As an e53 owner, this video is absolute gold, thank you for providing the community the ability to repair
Thank you for your commit! I made this video to payback the community that helped me repair my e53 and without their videos it would of been much harder. As they get up in the mileage and age it is becoming impossible to find good 2nd hand parts like diffs, as they all have 150k plus miles on them. So I hope this video helps people rebuild their diffs and save money too.
Rear differential parts plus cost for the 188k (pre-facelift e53) and found on e46
I just rebuild the rear differential but could not film it sadly but I’m posting here the full parts list and cost
BMW Crush sleeve part number 33121744368
£8.50 (1 required)
Small pinion bearing TOYO HM88542/HM88510 £17
(1 required)
Big pinion bearing TOYO HM801349/HM801310
£27) (1 required)
Side bearings FAG (new design) F-587739 TR1-AM
£227 For 2 (2 required)
BMW Side seals 33107505604 £11 each (2 required)
BMW Input seals 31507609535 £8.40 (1 required)
BMW Lock plate 23211490120 £3.10 (1 required)
Victor-Reinz RTV £7
Castrol 75w90 gl5 oil 2 litres £24
Total £344
The preload spec is 0.8m to 1nm
40nm torque for the 8 16mm bolts
If this reply helps anyone please leave a reply. 👍
Thanks for the video and all details! This was super helpful for me to determine whether or not I wanted to undertake a rebuilt project for myself.
Thanks you for taking them time to comment. What did you decide to do? 👍
I think the slip-fit side races need Loctite 638 to help bond them to the case, otherwise they'll end up spinning and causing all sorts of noise.
It’s not used by factory and had 150k miles on it without problem but I don’t see why you can’t add some to be extra safe. 👍
Thank you for taking the time to make this video. My own '03 4.4 X5 is getting up in mileage and will surely need more in-depth repair work in the future.
Thanks you for commenting. It’s nice to know someone might find the information useful.
The whole point of making this video is to help others rebuild they’re car. Our cars are getting older and higher mileage and it’s becoming impossible to find good used parts like diffs. For the work involved in removing it I would hate to put it all back together just to find out the used one is failing too.
You said you like feedback so, I just bought a 4.8is with a blown front diff. I ended up on this video to see what the layout of the diff and how it was spaced and preloaded. I’m doing this in hopes that when I remove mine and break it down the spider gears will be the fail point and I can swap my ring and pinion into a 4.4 case rather than buying a diff out of a 4.8is which have a different final drive and are much rarer and more expensive.
This video was a massive help, thank you
Thank you for the feedback! It’s nice knowing how the video will be useful. I just looked it up and it looks like the front differential is the same as in the facelift 3.0d 3.91 ratio. I would buy that one as they cost about the same as the 4.4 diffs.
If I’m right the part number is 31507512665
Or you can delete the front diff for now and fix it later.
Thanks for the reply and It is currently deleted. I live in the states, we never got the 30d
Ah. I did a eBay search from the USA and with postage you can get a 3.91 front diff. Might be worth a look as you already have it deleted you might have the time to wait for postage.
Search: e53 front diff 3,91
Do keep me updated. I wound love to know what went wrong inside your front diff to pass the information on to others. So far I only know of the bearings failing and have not seen or heard of one with ring and pinion damage etc
Good way to bring those inner races off is a thin cold chisel, work with a small tapping hammer ether side lower seem 👌 similar method to the bearing splitter
Yeah that would work perfectly 👍
Wow, thank you so much, I bought a LuK kit for my 175AL, which is pretty much the dame but I could not find the preload for the bearings anywhere, could not have done this without you. Thanks
Great to hear! 👍
Great video! You explain all the important details. Thank you for sharing your knowledge :)
Thanks you 👍
FYI on the inner pinion race if you freeze the race and stick the housing in the oven at 350 degrees F and heat the housing for 15 to 20 mins the race will fall right in with no issues
You married guy might wanna ok with the wife before hand
Thanks for sharing this info! It was a pain to get them in and this would make it a lot easier.
I have the E90 335xi. believe my front diff bearings are howling.. (leaking oil I think for a few years).. video very good thanks. Not sure I'm going to put the labour into it but I know what needs to be done..
The e90 has the aluminium version of this differential. It uses different bearings and has a lower preload spec. The rebuild is very similar tho. Don’t ignore it for too long tho 👍
Great video, thanks so much for sharing it.
Thanks for commenting! Glad you enjoyed it. 😀
Great video man! Thanks it help me a lot!!
Glad it helped 😀
very informative ! Thank you !
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thanks for the valuable information and congratulations for the video... I'm overhauling a front differential of a 2010 BMW x6 3.0d xdrive e71, the version with the aluminum case and double ball bearings on the pinion axis. Can you tell me how many nm the preload should be done?
Here are some torque spec from racingdiffs official TH-cam channel. It’s not for that diff but they all use ball bearing style. Try and see if the what bearings are the same size or close and pick the preload for that.
168L 0.2nm to 0.4nm
188L 0.4nm to 0.6nm
215L 0.6nm to 0.8nm
I’d say go with 0.4nm as it covers 2 diffs of similar size and I know the ball bearing style diffs use a lower spec then the one used in this video. Good luck with the rebuild.
Doing it now but having a hard time finding parts. If you could add links to the description where the parts can be ordered, that would be great😊
I used eBay and www.hendersonbearings.co.uk to get all the Parts. I hope that helps. 👍
@@Thisbmwlife if you still have the links, especially to the crush sleeve, that'd be super helpful!
Thanks you so much
Thank you for letting me know you appreciate the video 👍
Great video sir
Thank you
I have a e84 x1 front diff and cant find the preload for the pinion.
So that would be the same design as this but made of aluminium and different bearings? If so I believe it was 0.4nm from when I did research about preload for this diff. Please do try and find more info to confirm but that’s the info I found on it at the time. Hope that helps.
Hi
Just had my third front diff explode in 12 month's 2006 x5 e53 traced it to the breather pipe had melted when the first diff exploded but could not see it.
Brilliant video just bought 4th used diff which I will use your tutorial to rebuild it prior to fitting will also replace rubber/plastic breather pipe for a metal one.
Is there a one stop shop for the parts or shopping around several sites.
Many thanks
Brian D
Sorry to hear about your bad luck over the past year. With your car being the facelift model, If all else fails you can always just make it rear wheel drive by taking the front prop shaft out or taking it all out e.g diff,prop, cv axles. (keep the cv hubs in tho). There will be no lights on the dash either.
I got my parts from Henderson bearings and eBay. Don’t recommend buying a kit as you have no idea what bearing manufacturer they picked and they cost over 100% more then just getting the parts yourself. All the info needing is in the description.
Im glad this video will help you rebuild your diff and was worth making. Good luck with the rebuild and if you have any questions just ask.
Hi
Purely down to original diff pinion seal failure but due to underbody trays not visible and sound deadening absorbed the oil all three failures have been high speed motorway cruising no warning other than James bond smoke screen out the back of the car and then the noxious stench of burning gearbox/diff oil.
Takes weeks to get rid of it from the interior of the car.
Attributed all failures to the unseen plastic breather pipe melted so will be replacing it with metal to inner wing then rubber up to high level and visible instead of factory plastic which is hide under the alternator and intake manifold with a big slab of BMW plastic trim to hide everything.
Brilliant video.
Does it make any difference if yo set the preload after full assembly or as you show with just the pinion gear installed.
Not knocking BMW owned the car for over 5 years and this year has been awful due to a small hidden plastic pipe so I hope this helps other owners😊
Cheers
Brian D.
Im glad after all that, you still like the car. Mine has been a pig to maintain but I still love it. There is something about the e53.
The preload has to be done as shown with just the pinion installed.
Is there any difference between the crown wheel and pinion from a rear diff?
I believe it’s smaller on the front but I didn’t measure it.
@@Thisbmwlife thank you.
You mentioned in comments that E90 "It uses different bearings and has a lower preload spec". Any tips where do i find preload spec etc?
Been almost a year now but I would start by looking everywhere online and phoning different rebuild places and see if you can get a nice shop to answer you. I was told the aluminium version of this is 0.4nm as the ball bearing style requires less preload. You can always take a preload spec before taking the pinion out and compare but do remember it will be lower then spec as the bearings wear down.
Here are some torque spec from racingdiffs official TH-cam channel. It’s not for that diff but they all use ball bearing style. Try and see if the what bearings are the same size or close and pick the preload for that.
168L 0.2nm to 0.4nm
188L 0.4nm to 0.6nm
215L 0.6nm to 0.8nm
Without checking and going off what they recommend and what I was told. 0.4nm seems like the best bet.
@@Thisbmwlife Amazing, thank u very much! Have been looking through forums and a lot more. Found a guy rebuilding the diff, including all the parts but no information about preload or anything like that. I can start with 0.4nm. It's still gonna be better than damaged ballbearing on the pinion right now.
At the same time i'm not sure but seems like the diff does not have preload spacer, instead it's hard washers and distance rings. That way it should be just to torque it down and everything should be right as long as bearings have the same width. :)
Glad I could help, thanks for keeping me updated. Yeah the bmw diffs uses large spacers and as long as your using the same bearings spec then your diff will be fine. The only time you would need redo the shims is if you replace the ring and pinion gears themselves.
Best of luck with the rebuild and don’t forget to order that o ring from the diff to the oil pan housing. 👍
hello and thanks for the video
do you know if the preload torque for the pinion is the same for a 2010 320d front diff
From my understanding the e90 uses the aluminium version of this diff, that uses different bearings and has a lower preload then the iron version. I don’t know the precise spec for it.
Great video. Would it be same parts on an f15?
Same way to rebuild it but it uses different bearings and the preload is lower
Thanks for the video! How do find out that something is wrong with the diff? My x5 makes noise thinking about a bearing. Definitely from drive train, can not exactly say Atc500 fails, 4x4 lights on, when you lift throttle cars is shaking like hell, also when I disable DTC...
Have you checked the centre bearing on the main propshaft and flex disc?
When the front diff starts to go you will hear a whine coming from the front end. From what you’re describing it could be the centre propshaft bearing and the propshaft flex disc. Very common to go and not very expensive to replace.
Is the 4x4 light always on? If so it could the the gear in the transfer case motor or the clock spring in your steering wheel with any luck. If not it could be a fault with the case itself.
I more then happy to help but please give me as much info as you can.👍
@@Thisbmwlife @Thisbmwlife changed the worn out gears of the motor from the Atc500 because 4x4 light. If I weight transfer the car, the noise will not get louder. On the highway it feels a bit like the car hoping forward and backward like unbalanced wheels. It's extremely shaking driving downhill, also when I change shifter in neutral. If I speed up it's getting louder. Center bearing is not getting warm, and it have no clearance in that bearing. I was driving in the garage downhill and the left front wheel vibrate as if it going over curbs on the race track so I changed oil in the front diff, no metal shavings but I missed 60% of the oil... The prohershaft to the rear end have a lot of clearance inside of the Atc500 if I rotate it clockwise and counterclockwise, wonder if this is OK. I know in my race car this is still normal because it have sequential Shifter and a dog Box :) thank you for helping me here I don't have another X5 to compare.
Saw on my car lift the Atc500 is jumping around if you speed up...
The x5 e53 facelift is 100% rear wheel drive as the main shaft in the transfer case connects directly to the main propshaft flange. It only becomes 4x4 when commanded by a the car and the motor on the side turns to active it. I would recommend removing the front propshaft and taking the car for a drive as then there will be no load on the transfer case itself and very little on the front diff. The play you feel in the transfer case itself is likely the chain stretch. When you put the car in gear with a new chain it will no longer make a clunk noise. You it can be ignored if it’s not skipping.
The shacking itself could be from many things, worn out bushing, cv, failing bearing etc I would start by having a good look at the bushing and removing that shaft. You will require 8mm socket, 16mm spanner for the propshaft and reinforcing plate. Very easy job and when putting it back together the flex bolt torque spec is 64nm.
You can’t drive these cars on a lift as there brake control system is never turned off. So it will always try and activate the 4x4 and abs. That could be the shaking you’re seeing. The only way to over come it is it pull all 4 speed sensors off and run the car for a bit till it fault codes the system and defaults to dumb mode. Then you can drive the car at full speed on the lift.
Keep me posted and I’ll try my best to help.
@@Thisbmwlife cv you mean CV joint on cv axle? 🤔 Sometimes it makes cracking noise from the front, when I turn the wheel hard, and circle into a parking lot. The x5 now have about 300000km done
Excellent video, thanks! Would this apply to Fseries front diffs as well?
Thanks, The front diff for the f series is very similar to this but made of aluminium. The rebuild is almost the same but you need use different bearings and I believe it uses a lower preload spec of 0.4nm.
@@Thisbmwlife I see. I'm trying to build a Fseries front diff with the bolted diff carrier from the older models, so I can put in an LSD. I ordered both since they're fairly cheap second hand now, it'll be interesting to see the size differences
@TheChumzo I would love to know the differences between them, please keep me updated on how it goes. 😀
Did you buy the metal diff found in the e53 like this one or the e70 aluminium diff?
The more I look into this all 3 are different but the rebuild should be the same. there might be some issues with swapping parts form one to another. Would love to find out in witch way they differ.
I got an E90 aluminum diff and an F22 aluminum diff. What size socket did you use to remove the pinion gear? It looks like its 30mm but mine is too fat to fit in that small space lol@@Thisbmwlife
I used a 30mm chrome socket. It just fit in perfectly. I would think a 30mm impact socket would be too big and require some grinding down if it’s a cheap one. Do keep me updated on how it all goes Im very interested in the differences of them. 😀
what year is yours is it a 4.4 ... my diff started leaking oil badly from a seal, and i was forced to drive over 300 miles , at a slower speed of course ...before i could get any oil in it, it started to wine a little, im hoping that its the bearings and not the the ring and pinion, so i want to preorder bearings, and sleeve, ive already bought at all seals.. i dont think i will find a ring and pinion other than buying a used diff, in which case if its the ring and pinion, then ill buy a good used unit and rebuild i
So my X5 is a 2004 3.0d (had 3.91 diff) but the differential in this video is from a 2002 as it’s a very well known issue for the face lift cars rear diffs to explode without warning. So I got a used set of 3.71 diffs off the pre facelift 3.0d and swapped both over to make the car more reliable for long trips away from home. Your difference ratio is 4,10 or 3,64. but the bearing are the same for the front diff no matter the radio or year. If you look in the description you will find all the part numbers you will need. If you need anymore help feel free to comment and I’ll try my best.
where'd you get the plastic tray please?
I got it off Amazon but eBay sell it too. It’s called “Laser 6379 Drip Tray” costs £10
@@Thisbmwlife legend
Great video! Considering doing it now that I have my front diff out anyway. Can't seem to find out the part number for preload spacer. Any links or part numbers anyone?
I could not find the part number from anyone but was told it’s the same from the 1 series rear differential, so that’s the one I ordered and it was the right one. So if you google or eBay “type 168 preload”. It will show you the one you need, as there the same for the front differential on the X5.
Hi ! Could you tell me the right torque for the main nut ? Thank you
There is no torque spec for the main nut. It’s all about preload setting of 0.6nm to 0.8nm. You need to measure it with beam style torque wrench as showed in this video.
The measurement is taken as you move the pinion around not the torque it take to Start moving it but the torque it makes as you move it round.
Thank you for your answer now i understand better about this preload. if this preload is wrong, how to set it ? what could be wrong apart bearing installation ?
@@Thisbmwlife
The only way I can see the preload being wrong is if you under tightened the nut or over tighten it.
To loose and the diff will make a sound on acceleration and deceleration and too tight it may or may not make noise at first but will go through the pinion bearing a lot faster then it should. E.g way too tight will lead to the bearings wearing out very soon and a little over tight will lead to the diff requiring a new set of pinion bearing sooner then it should.
To set it you would need to have just the pinion in and measure the torque required to keep turning the input shaft. Should be 0.6 to 0.8nm.
I have 2 KOYO options available: M86649/10 and M86649R/10 Which one do you recommend?
Had a quick google and they both seem to be the same but being unfamiliar with what the R means. I would go for the same ones that came out. That would be m86649/m86610.
Hope that helps 👍
@@Thisbmwlife in your video the M86649 has an RYR-N stamped on, my bearing also has it. Found some Koyo bearings, which have that RYR written on their box, perhaps I should try that one. Maybe you still have the original bearing’s box or remember what was written on it? Thanks
Sorry the box is long gone and I don’t remember what was on it. I did however check the measurements before installing and it matched the old one. I would say both would work. Go with the one you would like to use, As long as the measurements are the same I would not worry about it.
My e53 x5 3.0i has started making a couple sounds that I believe to be from the my front diff pinion gear. Under hard acceleration it makes a metal grinding/clicking sound as well as if i take off gently or switch from drive-reverse it makes a metal bell-like sound. Not worth replacing it yet as it still works and it hasn't left me stranded, plus who knows how long it's been going on because I cannot hear it with windows up. I have about 260k miles on it and I am invested enough to do whatever it ends up needing down the road, but I am just very curious why mine is failing when it doesn't seem like a common issue especially considering I have the low output motor option. Do the 4.10 gears fail more for some reason or maybe its more common on the pre-lci models? Any advice or feedback is very appreciated!
Sounds like it’s most likely the chain in the transfer case from what you’re describing. The pre-Lci cars used the nv125 transfer case and the car is always split 40/60. So the chain wears out alot faster as it’s always engaged. Put the car in d and then r, if you hear a clunk noise then it’s the stretch in the chain.
The front differential tend to fail as they get very hot and have very little airflow so the oil breaks down, it all seems to be down to how often the diff oil has been changed to how long they last. I have changed the front differential oil at 10k and it has been jet black. So I won’t say it’s any model or ratio that are more common to failure. It’s just bad design.
I would fix the transfer case sooner rather then later because if they chain fails completely you will be stranded in the pre-Lci x5
Hope that answers your question 👍
@@Thisbmwlife I am pre-lci and have changed the transfer case fluid recently. While I was down there I turned things by hand and felt slop on both ends, but the pinion side felt worse and I believe was making the sound I hear while driving. The transfer case fluid was still red and had some black bits in the drain plug but nothing notable in the fluid that came out. I need to replace the boots on my front axles anyway so I’ll try a junkyard front diff and see if any of my issues go away. If not I’ll be shopping for a transfer case soon it sounds like
@@Thisbmwlife Can I actually put an X-drive t-case in my X5? I know I would need to manually control the motor on it but if it bolts up that would help my front differential wear and maybe save some gas? Just thinking here, I know maintenance is the most cost effective solution but I do enjoy having a longer range than any other average vehicle
When changing your front differential, don’t forget to buy a new o-ring for between the sump and the diff.
Part number: 31511213527
Axle nut torque spec 410nm
Diff to sump 45nm
Flexi to front prop shaft 60nm
If you need anymore info, feel free to ask.
No they don’t match up. The nv125 mates up to the 5 speed auto box and the atc500 mates up to the 6 speeds auto box. They used different bolt hole.
Great video. I’ve rebuilt my x3 front diff and it’s back on the car now. (Not driven yet) I wasn’t aware of the importance of setting the preload before putting it back on the car. I nipped up the nut and there was a slight bit of back and forth and movement on the pinion and was gonna nip up when in place. I haven’t done this yet and discovered your video. Without taking it off again do you think if I just nip the nut up and feel the pinion for when the crush sleeve takes up the slack and leave it at that? I’ve rebuilt a few diffs before with that method and was unaware of how important preload is and therefore ever measured it. (I haven’t had any issues with the other diffs) thanks
The problem with using the incorrect preload, is the diff will suffer in the long term. Too tight and it will wear out sooner and too loose it will make noise.
For me on this differential, after taking up all the play I still had another haft a turn or more before it started to read on the gauge. So I would not rely on it feel alone.
I’d recommend taking it apart and setting it correctly.
Thanks for your reply and advice I appreciate it. I can do it on the car by removing the driveshafts yea I know the ring gear will be in there and not give a super accurate reading but will be near enough for the application it’s in. As I’m sure your aware the diff itself was a pig to get out and back in position so it’s staying put! I have the same beam torque wrench coming tomorrow as you have so il allow slightly more on the gauge for the ring gear in place
Don’t blame you for doing it that way. It was a royal pain to get in and out. Hope all goes well. 🤞
i need😔 i from georgia and hear nobodi can t 😔
If you have a facelift model and money is a problem or you can’t get it fixed. you could always make it rwd by removing the front propshaft or by removing propshaft and driveshafts but leaving the old diff in place and keeping the cv joint in the hubs.
Some proceas for e90?
No, the e90 front differential has the same design but is made of aluminium and uses different bearings and preload specifications.
I see, I have found a rebuild kit for the e90 front diff. Is it worth it at all? A new one is over 3k
All depends on the damage. The aluminium version of this diff is known for breaking the Center. If it’s just the bearings then I would rebuild it. The rebuild is very similar to this video but the preload spec is lower.