Got Shaft? (E30 Driveshaft differences)

[Nomadic]

There are two part #'s for e30 M42 driveshafts (aka propshafts )
AC Cars - 26111227012
non AC - 26111227014

Are they interchangeable?


I may be looking for a used or rebuilt drive-shaft for my 91 318is in the near future.  (CSB)  I'm wondering how hard it would be to find a good used driveshaft that fits.  Are there lots of differences between years/build-date/models/coupe/sedans ??  

Can I assume that late-model m20 E30 drivelines WON'T FIT our M42s?   RealOEM lists different part numbers for late m20/m42 for complete driveshafts assbly but many of the individual parts are the same.

They also list different part#'s for AC/non-AC for my  m42 318is.  WTF ?   and What's up with those big honking harmonic balancers?

MANUAL DRIVE SHAFT
26111227014  $719.82

FOR VEHICLES WITH
AIR CONDITIONING S530A=YES
DRIVE SHAFT ASSY
26111227012 $666.81

If used driveshafts aren't worth the trouble of sourcing .... do I need to send out to a driveline service that specializes in BMW (Driveline service in Portland ) or can a local Seattle shop do a good job with BMW shafts?


Cheers!

[papercutout]

In the UK the driveshaft goes between the diff and the wheel hubs, and these all seem to be interchangable, I've replaced 3 on mine so far (CV joints going).

If its the propshaft (gearbox - diff) then they change between 4pot and 65 pot engines for definite, you can PROBABLY use any 4 pot one, but don't quote me. Better safe than sorry and putting a wanted ad up for one?

Or am I still getting the wrong bit?

[Nomadic]

In the UK the driveshaft goes between the diff and the wheel hubs

Bastardizing English has been a sport in America so long... we forget we're doing it...   We could use German, but I'm not sure if Antriebswelle, translates to half-shaft, prop-shaft, drive shaft or if its German porn slang...

I'm talking about the bloody expensive one!

Like the drive-shafts (realOEM terminology ) ... RealOEM lists two different updated transmission part#'s for the USA E30 m42 manual overdrive Transmissions:
- 23001222035 240/5.62-TBCU for AC
- 23001222032 240/5.61-BCT nonAC

....  I cant fathom why this would be.   What difference could the AC make in the driveline? Do the USA non-AC cars come with some super-secret rally-spec drive line?  PM and I'll keep this quiet ...

Surely someone here has swapped driveshafts.  Are there any really differences between E30 m42 ac/nonAC?  

Thankfully have not found any different part#'s between e30 m42 production dates or sedan/coupe body styles.  The  only difference  seems to be AC non-AC.  

Cheers,

[papercutout]

You said it, not me

We just nicked French, Greek and Latin words for our language! Anyway, explain in plain terms what driveshaft it is that you want, where does it come from/go to? The prop shaft down the centre of the car?

On the realoem website it showed a pic of a gearbox with 5 part numbers underneath in a green and purple chart, 2 of which were damned expensive (near $2500) 2 others weren't, due to being obsolete, and the 5th was just a bearing.

Link I got upon search for the long part number:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=AG71&mospid=47294&btnr=23_0290&hg=23&fg=05


Clarification?

[Nomadic]

Yup,  I'm talking about the drive-shaft that runs down the center with guibo's & u-joints and CSB.

I didn't mean to muddy up the conversation with transmission talk.... I was noting that USA AC/non-AC cars have different transmission #'s as well as different driveshaft #'s.  The situation might be different for UK/Euro cars.

I have an US E30 318is with factory AC... and I'll bet the vast majority of USA E30 318i/318is came with AC.  

I'd like to know if anyone has personal experience with E30 M42 AC/nonAC driveshaft differences.

I'm not a big fan of crawling under cars.... so I don't want to do this twice.  


Cheers!

[papercutout]

No, you don't, trust me, its a pig! I ended up having to undo the rear gearbox mount, and so tilt that and the engine down slightly to get a decent angle to get the driveshaft out with the downpipe still there.

It SHOULD be no different. But being a non-AC spec, obviously I can't confirm. I can't imagine it'll make a difference to the propshaft though?! Gearbox to diff, unless the linkage in the gearbox is slightly different.

[Nomadic]

bump-  anyone?   Are the two different drive-shafts PN#'s interchangeable?

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