Rear diff....is there something I should not have done.

dva99999

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I’m in the process of removing the back end (on my own 😳) and in my haste I think I may have removed the wrong bolts on the diff. The six bolts came off easily but when I pulled the axle away what looked like the output flange was attached to it. It didn’t look like the pictures on the tutorials. That’s what happens when you’ve been working on it for 10 hours solid. The torx bolts wouldn’t come off easily and I read somewhere that the ‘bolts‘ should come off easily so I made the assumption I was trying the wrong ones.

i cleaned it up and managed to push it back in but I noticed now that it slides in and out without it seems any kind of fixing. Basically it seems that once the suspension has dropped and the rear trailing arm and other bits are removed, the whole thing can just slide out and then click back into place.

Is this correct? If so, what would the reason be to remove the Torx bolts. If not, what do I need to do to ensure that it stays in. At the moment I’ve screwed the diff bolts back on until I can find an answer.

thanks in advance

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mwpe

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We had a similar problem when my car was in the Zedshed. Although the bolts all came out the flange would not seperate from the driveshaft and pulled out from the diff. It took a fair bit of persuasion with a hammer and chisel on the bench to seperate them. All went back together ok and there have never been any leaks.
 

gookah

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can be done that way but you risk damaging the seals.
Removing the torx bolts means you don't have to disturb any seals, also you can just pull the half shafts downwards and remove them. The other way you need to pull the complete spline assembly out which you may not have the room for,
 

t-tony

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E89 Z4 23i Auto
The shaft and glange have just corrided together. They need separating then rebuilding. Never forget these cars are old and most likely never been taken to pieces before.

Tony.
 

dva99999

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British Zeds
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Unfortunately gone
Ok thanks all. I’ll keep trying to remove the Torx bolts and hope I’ve not done any damage.
😩
 

dva99999

Zorg Guru (I)
Supporter
British Zeds
Joined
Feb 14, 2016
Points
85
Location
Wirral
Model of Z
Unfortunately gone
can be done that way but you risk damaging the seals.
Removing the torx bolts means you don't have to disturb any seals, also you can just pull the half shafts downwards and remove them. The other way you need to pull the complete spline assembly out which you may not have the room for,
How easy would it be to replace the seals should the problem arise?

thank you
 
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