2.8 CV axles / half shafts

[DomiMik]

Hi guys,

I have a problem finding new CV shafts (is this the correct term in English?) for my 2.8 as the old ones have too much play.

Tried to stick to OEM suppliers or remanufactured shafts but all of them are discontinued for quite some time (Löbro, Spidan, GKN). There are lots of other suppliers but I'm sceptical because none of them are known for high quality.

I would be happy if someone here has an advice or suggestion!

Regards
Dominik

 

[t-tony]

@Lee do you have any suggestions for Domimik please?

Tony.

 

[Lee]

Unfortunately options for drive shafts are very limited for the Z3.

Lot of company's list them as fitting the Z3 but non have proof, I had to spend £££ of my own money buying them to try, only to find one company helpful enough to modify to get it right.

Annoyingly I've had 3 sets off them and still waiting on another. They're very slow to get them out to me.

If you can find another supplier that would be helpful.

I went through this process early last year so hopefully someone has started making them.

 

[Andyboy]

Autodoc have a pair of Ridex ones and they are quite good. Avoid Chinese ebay junk though, they just snap like carrots.

Also Stark, not a bad brand.

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/car-parts/drive-shaft-10162/bmw/z3/z3-e36/7746-2-8

Alternatively just replace the inner CV's as they wear out more than the outer ones. 1999 onwards stuff is worse just like E46 CV's are crap compared to E36 ones.

 

[Andyboy]

Before you get too involved though, make sure you can a) undo the driveshaft nut and b) drift the shaft from the hub.

This is a nightmare I had recently. The nut had fused itself into the hub flange with rust. Nothing was going to shift it. I tried everything and in the end had to cut through the flange with an angle grinder and through the nut - and the b*****d still wouldn't let go. Eventually it relented and thankfully the shaft (now scrap - but it was knackered anyway) drifted out.

 

[Lee]

None of the brands I tried were Ridex so Andy’s suggestion could work. Let us know what you do

 

[Mint]

...This is a nightmare I had recently. The nut had fused itself into the hub flange with rust. Nothing was going to shift it...

Mine were a little worse Andy, no nut at all, completely rusted away...

 

[Andyboy]

Later cars are definitely worse. The corrosion is the nut's steel lock plate. I popped a pair of shafts from a 1997 1.9 Z3 onto my Compact before Xmas and the locking plates were still clean and anodised on both cars. My rear trailing arms are still pretty good as well but Compacts don't seem to have that ghastly rubberised coating.

 

[DomiMik]

Thank you all, the nut came off without problems @Andyboy.
I know about Stark and Ridex but couldn't find anyone who actually installed one of these and had some experience apart from usual internet wisdoms, so that's an option.

One of our main BMW online part dealers lists GSP shafts as an alternative, so I think I will simply order two or three different shafts and see which one makes the best impression.

Quite a coincidence; after weeks of searching and writing dozens of mails, yesterday I rceived an answer from an internet shop that might have two original Löbro shafts which weren't listed for sale. That would be a sensation

I'll post an update here!

 

[DomiMik]

In the meantime I ordered shafts from the following brands:

- GKN / Spidan / Löbro (seems this is one company now, Löbro was the manufacturer of the original BMW shafts) - last pair available

- Ridex

- Stark (looks like Ridex on all pictures)

- GSP

- ERA Benelux (they sell reconditioned shafts, quite pricey though)


I'm very excited about the comparison!

 

[Lee]

Watching this thread closely! Need a new supplier ourselves.

 

[DomiMik]

First shafts from GKN/Spidan/Löbro arrived yesterday.

Some background first: after a lot of research I came across a supplier who advertised the model 22000 from GKN/Spidan as an alternative to the original shafts. According to most online shops, this shaft does not fit the Z3 but various models of the E36 series (also 2.8), but since the dimensions were identical except for the nut (M22 vs. M24, a lesser problem which can be solved), i wanted to give it a chance.

Considering the price though (~ £170 each) it's one large disappointment: there's paint all over the boots and clamps as well as starting corrosion on both shafts. Obviously the shaft was packed while the paint was still fresh. They failed with such simple things as derusting and painting, what quality can one expect from the rest of the work then?
And that leads us to the biggest flaw: one ball joint already has some slight play, barely noticeable but it's there. That's totally unacceptable for a company that claims to be among world's leading suppliers for shafts, joints and other suspension components. I know they didn't recondition it themselves but it's being sold under their name.

Concerning the measurements: the thread is M24 instead of M22 which means you would have to use the right nut from an E36, everything else is identical. BUT: while the length of the Spidan shaft is almost identical to the original shafts while compressed, it's much longer when it's fully extended although length difference should be only 5 millimetres according to the data sheet.

The other shafts should arrive in the course of the week.

 

[Lee]

Quite the difference already. Other issues we came across were the position of the abs ring in relation to the hole on the arm, some where 10mm out, also the bolt hole size on the diff end was always the smaller E36 bolt which was no good for our medium case diffs.

 

[Althulas]

That’s cruddy quality control for the price. I couldn’t find any suppliers for the ///M but after a clean up and repacking of grease they appear ok but will see once back on the road. Hopefully your purchases will find suitable Substitutes.

 

[Lee]

@Althulas

I hear you’ve nicknamed your car ‘Seven’ like the seven bridge as it’s taken so long you’ll be starting again in a few years time

 

[DomiMik]

Yesterday the shafts from Ridex, Stark and ERA arrived.



Ridex: overall very good quality, the ring for the ABS sensor is positioned correctly such as all the other (important) dimensions match the original shafts.
Nonetheless the overall proportions are different, but that's irrelevant unless it should look like 100% OEM.
There's some minor play in one of the joins though so I guess you just have to live with that.



Stark: absolutely identical to Ridex, nothing else to say here.



ERA Benelux: reconditioned shafts with overall very good quality, but again: quite expensive (~ £180). Again, some play in one of the joints but barely noticeable compared to the GKN shafts. While the position of the ABS ring matches the original shaft, the joint itself is quite smaller (in height and diameter) so I hope this is no indicator for robustness.



I'm still waiting for the GSP shafts which should arrive tomorrow.

 

[Lee]

Those Benelux recon's look a good fit. Those catch my eye.

The shoulder on the stark units might cause you issues with clearance. (first shoulder after the spline) we have a set identical that had to be machined down.

 

[DomiMik]

Those Benelux recon's look a good fit. Those catch my eye.

The shoulder on the stark units might cause you issues with clearance. (first shoulder after the spline) we have a set identical that had to be machined down.

Good point, it didn't appear to be too large but I wanted to check this. Since I already removed the wheel hub and bearing, I tried to arrange everything as good as possible to be able to "install" the shaft.

As you said, it's a very tight fit but at least I couldn't see any contact to the trailing arm (as far as I can tell judging by this experimental setup ). Don't know if the pictures are any help.

But it wouldn't be my first choice either.

Now I put my hope in the GSP driveshafts because they are listed as an alternative to original parts in an official BMW online shop and they usually recommend good quality stuff like Lemförder, Febi and so on.

And just in case: the prices I listed above are for one shaft, so a pair from ERA costs £360 plus (at least here in germany) we have to send back a pair of old shafts otherwise they charge around £70 additionally. That's a lot of money, after all.

 

[DomiMik]

Today the GSP shafts arrived and their overall quality is similar to ERA and Ridex, although it looks more like an original shaft (same as ERA). They come with additional parts such as bolts which appear to be of good quality.

There is a bit of a peculiarity though: the shaft has no paint, it's actually bare metal. So while everything looks very solid you would have to give them a quick degrease and some rattle can paint job. On the other hand they cost only £50 each so I could live with that...

 

[Woodsta888]

Surprising from GKN as they are in the aerospace industry, maybe unrelated. GKN Westland - helicopters years ago. Now Augusta Westland

What helis you fly on out to the rigs Lee? Best check those AW189 Leonardo shafts arent a joblot of ex BMW mis-specs.