From Scrap: Building the ultimate E36 3.73 differential for drifting! 188mm shimming

Here is how I assemble and shim a BMW 188m diff. This concept can be applied to almost any automative differential.
This is a set of 3.73 E30 gears built into an E36 diff for drifting
Bearing Puller
amzn.to/42BNCLd
Yellow Marking compound
amzn.to/40wo40e

[@wayneflittner4970]

Totally dig all this guys videos. He can do just about anything and there is always a little humor. 4th gear rubber tied to a tree or what ever. Totally Classic. LOL

[@LowkeyAkuto]

What an awesome video! I really love the Bmw vids cause you always make them looks so easy. Keep it up!

[@spankranchgarage]

I break plenty of BMW stuff so lots of content on them coming up

[@wilska8835]

You explain these so well, learned more about the diffs once again

[@bas0puh]

Amazing video bud.. Really good information

[@blakesommers77]

Great video, lots of info and easy to watch. Having a 3.91 currently I’ve thought about this swap. Cheers

[@spankranchgarage]

Thanks! So far I am loving the additional wheel speed for the 3.73

[@jasonlouis5498]

Wish I had this video like 3 years ago lol - some great info in here. Thanks! 😎

[@spankranchgarage]

Glad it was helpful!

[@jbornelas56]

Good job.

[@GEARHEADdezign]

Beretta😍

[@spankranchgarage]

Dust collector/spare parts shelf

[@GEARHEADdezign]

@@spankranchgarage I got a Camaro like that

[@fjm9898]

There are two options for the bearing puller, do we need the group 1 or group 2 for the e36? it looked like you used the black one so seems like only need the group 2 puller?

[@freakboy9189]

Great video! Can you explain that pinion nut torque again - the spec says 22in/lbs, you have it at 24in/lbs? And because this is for a non-street car, it being a bit tight is ok? Also, the front pinion bearing, is it pressed in, or just driven home when you tighten the pinion preload?

[@spankranchgarage]

Its okay for a drift car. If it was a race car I would keep the pinion preload a smidge looser to help with heat as it would see higher rpms for long periods of time, where drifting is much more intermittent. Yes the front bearing is pushed on with the pinion flange. It fits snug but isn't a super press fit

[@aarondemirovic1375]

Would you be willing to build out a diff for locals?

[@davidolvera5648]

Good video, I have a quetion Do the internal parts of the differential of an E39 fit an E30? I heard that the differential of a z4 std is the same as the e30 but I have one from an E39 and I would like to know if it is the same so I don't have to buy the one for the z4

[@spankranchgarage]

E39 and E30 are not compatible. Also, I think Z3, not Z4, is compatible with e30.

[@ZeroKool360]

Where are you located? Would you rebuild a diff for me?

[@XFOX1996]

Would you say its posible to build a 2.29 ratio 188 diff using the 17t pinion of a 2.65 and the 39t ringgear of a 2.79? This would be used on a m57 swaped car with 5 speed manual, wich have 2.28 final drive from factory.

[@spankranchgarage]

The ring and pinion are matched at the factory, so we cant mix/match them unfortunately. The teeth aren't always cut the same as the ratio changes. Also the offset of the ring gear changes.

[@XFOX1996]

@@spankranchgarage mm i see, i figured this might be the case.. oh well thank you for the answer 👍 then 2.56 from 325tds it is

[@LetsPlay2003]

Hey! Thanks for the video, i have a short question. I have an 168mm 3,15 lsd for my e36 and tried rebuilding it, i basically did all the internals new (bearings, locking plates etc) and when i put it all back together i had the problem, that when turning it, it was reaally hard to turn for like 2-3 teeths. What might be my problem here? I dont really know if the 188 and 165 diffs are the same and if the things u said apply, and even if they do im still kinda clueless lol. would really appreciate your help

[@spankranchgarage]

When you are at the "hard to turn" part, does the backlash change to zero? Sometimes if the ring gear isnt seated onto the carrier fully this can happen, or if there is some residue stuck between the ring gear and the carrier mating surfaces. If the backlash is still okay at the tight part then we need to determine if its the pinion binding or the carrier. This is best done by hand, you will be able to determine which component is "tight"

[@LetsPlay2003]

@@spankranchgarage thanks for your quick response… how do i explain this (im from germany, so my english isnt that good in technical terms) i didnt fully rebuild it. i knew the two bearings were toast because it was whining so i didnt disassemble the input shaft thats connected to the driveshaft (?) i basically just took out the internals, „repaired“ them and put it back together hoping that the tolerances would still be good, so my theory is that the backlash is fucked, i still need to check this but i think thats it, and i can only set it by the things that go between the housing and the „bearing shield“ of the outer part of the bearing, right? i hope u could understand everything i tried to say

[@spankranchgarage]

​@@LetsPlay2003 Yes I understand you. Did you remove and reinstall the gear from the LSD? If so make sure there is no dirt stuck between the gear and the LSD causing it to wobble. If that's okay you can use the "shims" to change the backlash. The "Shims" are the discs of steel that fit between the bearing cup and the differential housing. These are specific to Left and Right, so if you got them mixed up that may have caused this problem too.

[@LetsPlay2003]

@@spankranchgarage yes i disassembeled it and put new bearings on it, (and i „revised“ the lsd thing that i disassembeled) there shouldnt be any dirt in between because i did it multiple times to check xd

[@LetsPlay2003]

and switched around the shims

[@wojciechmiskiewicz8278]

Tego się tak nie robi. Wprowadzasz ludzi w błąd, to jest bardziej skomplikowane niż Ci się wydaje. Najważniejsze jest osadzenie wałka ataku, a później regulacja mechanizmu różnicowego. Jeśli źle ustawisz wałek ataku to powielasz błąd przy regulacji mechnizmu róźnicowego. Nie dziwie się że poprzednie dyfry też się zepsuły.

[@spankranchgarage]

The intent of the video is more to show that you can use standard shims from other diffs to build a 188mm BMW diff. The specs I set this to are specific to the driving I do and I state its not recommended that anyone follows this. This diff is not built to be quiet or long lasting. It is built to take short duration, high power, low heat drift passes. For what its worth, the broken diffs were stock from BMW and this one I built hasnt broken yet.

[@armenianman5826]

hi there, thank you for your great video, do you think it's be ok to replace the diff unit 3.15 to 3.91?

[@spankranchgarage]

I think so!