DCT drive shaft rebuild (U-joint failure)

[bond_007]

I normally do all my own work but outsourced a job to replace my CSB and guibo because of what was thought to be failure of one or both. The mechanic completed the job and the CSB was definitely toast but I still have driveline vibration. From what he can tell, the U-joint has failed. Have no reason to doubt this diagnosis because I know the parts were replaced and I still feel vibration that is not correlated to a specific engine RPM.

Has anyone else had this happen? Not really seeing anything on here about this. If so, were you able to get the drive shaft rebuilt at a local shop or is it not serviceable (or am I going to be the first one to try and get this repaired)?

Thanks!

[Sandye90m3]

Pretty unique problem, I don't believe I've ever heard about it on this forum.

Might be a good time to check any carbon fiber driveshaft

[W///]

Same here. Never heard of anything in that part of the car going bad. How many miles are you at?

[bond_007]

Yeah, my guy was also quite puzzled at this failure.

CF might be an option if not so expensive and if I was going to modify for power but that's not really what I am looking for.

The car has 103k and has become a heavy highway mile commuter between my home and my newly acquired business (shameless plug). I am in the process of looking for a Mini Cooper (S?) as a replacement commuter since I am doing about 60 miles a day x 5 days a week (as well as using it as a shop car to demo our sound/security/etc. in it before I spend bigger money on doing the same to my personal cars).

I have owned the M3 since ~66k (2.75 years ago). I was thinking about trading for a 2011-12 in the January/February timeframe to "stop loss" the more expensive bits as it ages. It has been good to me otherwise. I have only had to replace the WBO2 oxygen sensors, fuel pressure sensor and tires/brakes in terms of the total maintenance expenditures. Those beat out what it would have cost for an extended warranty...so I think I did okay given what I paid for it...

[surlynkid]

Don't know if he has ever played with BMW stuff but check out Jesse at www.highangledriveline.com

[bigjae1976]

It is not uncommon for a bad CSB to cause a driveshaft too fail.

These guys do BMW driveshafts...I plan to use them.

http://driveshaftspecialist.com/Impo...FXCmPAodbFoAVw

[bond_007]

http://driveshaftspecialist.com

...thinks it can be done but doesn't have a core on hand, so it would have to be sent off. At worst, the car would be down for two weeks. I am going to see if there is a better local option.

[Clem]

If you're considering a used one, I have one with 28k out of a 2011 that I parted out for $200 shipped. If you are interested, I can shoot you some pics on Friday when I return from vacation.

[Hujan]

Originally Posted by Clem

If you're considering a used one, I have one with 28k out of a 2011 that I parted out for $200 shipped. If you are interested, I can shoot you some pics on Friday when I return from vacation.

Sounds like a win-win for the OP. At the very least, this would be a nice "core" for the people from Driveshaft Specialist to do their thing without necessitating downtime.

Also, OP, if you haven't had one already, a Mini Cooper S is a great DD. I miss mine. Sold it to buy the M3. It was a lot of fun for commuting. And, yes, I highly recommend an "S" version or even a JCW if you can pull it.

[bond_007]

Awesome! Clem, you have a PM. My budget right now is a bit tight, so $200 shipped and me doing the RnR will probably be the winning solution here. I think I will save that extra $1000 to go toward a used lift to do other jobs.

For archival reference, if someone stumbles on this, I checked around some more and it looks like it can be done and the going rate is ~$400-450 for a full rebuild. I got a $350 "initial" from another shop but figure that $400-450 would be the real price. It depends on what shop you talk to in terms of if they can do it or not...so check around. If you can pull it and take it to them, that seems to be the best option to find out.

[bond_007]

Originally Posted by Hujan

Also, OP, if you haven't had one already, a Mini Cooper S is a great DD. I miss mine. Sold it to buy the M3. It was a lot of fun for commuting. And, yes, I highly recommend an "S" version or even a JCW if you can pull it.

I drove a friend's S a few years ago and it definitely put a grin on my face. I am hoping to take delivery of one within a week to minimize driving the M3 knowing that driving it the way it is now will wear the newly installed bearing out prematurely...

[W///]

Originally Posted by bond_007

I drove a friend's S a few years ago and it definitely put a grin on my face. I am hoping to take delivery of one within a week to minimize driving the M3 knowing that driving it the way it is now will wear the newly installed bearing out prematurely...

OT, but which year are you looking at? I was considering getting a Clubman S, but decided to just drive my 4Runner till the wheels fall off (it's at 300k miles now, that thing is a tank). Getting a Clubman would have destroyed my budget for an M2. They are insanely fun though. I had an R56 for 4 months and loved the hell out of it.

[bond_007]

Somewhere in the 2003-2007 year range depending on what my dealer connection can get their hands on...

[bond_007]

Happy days coming next week...the replacement driveshaft is on its way (thanks, Clem!) as is the Mini Cooper S! I already have the audio components on order for the Mini from the manufacturer. We will be working on a very much broken but upgraded 135i sound system next week (managed to get his rear speakers up and running again in short order) which will give me some more ideas for upgrading my M3's sound system.

I probably should stop browsing M3 performance videos on Youtube or I will start looking for a supercharger for it.