Differential Housing Question

Are all the e46 non-m diff housings the same size??

i know the mounting points are teh same & some of the output/input flanges are different, but are there any housings that are bigger in size?

The question is because i'm trying to fit an e36lsd unit with the e46 ring gear into my old 2.93 but it's just a 1/4th of an inch too big to get in there. once i get it in there, i'm sure i could get it to work fine.

Please save the flaming to yourself. I've talked to a guy in Australia who has put in an e36 lsd into our housings and i have yet to hear a reply to the pm i sent him. so i thought i'd post here since you guys are always knowledgeable.

Thanks

-Raj

I always thought they all used the same housing, maybe the X3's is different, but I've never seen a pic of it to know... are you doing a 2.93 limited slip, or did you change the ring gear too?

I think the X3 uses a slightly shorter housing. Not 100% positive, but I know you have to lengthen the driveshaft if you want to use it.

Could you possibly have the housing machined? Pictures!?!

Originally Posted by AdamBath

I always thought they all used the same housing, maybe the X3's is different, but I've never seen a pic of it to know... are you doing a 2.93 limited slip, or did you change the ring gear too?

Get the housing from a 3.46 I know the kaaz units do NOT fit in the 2.93 diffs, but they will work in the 3.38 and the 3.46... I'm glad to see someone trying this, hopefully it works out for you!!

curious to see where this goes!

Originally Posted by AdamBath

I always thought they all used the same housing, maybe the X3's is different, but I've never seen a pic of it to know... are you doing a 2.93 limited slip, or did you change the ring gear too?

well i have a 3.15 in now so i thought i'd just try it on my old 2.93 that was just sitting around. And yes, i swapped in the 2.93 ring onto the LSD unit. It fit fine onto the pack. Eventually i want to change it out to hte 3.15, but since that's already in the car i thought why not use the one that's off the car.

Originally Posted by aggieE46

I think the X3 uses a slightly shorter housing. Not 100% positive, but I know you have to lengthen the driveshaft if you want to use it.

Could you possibly have the housing machined? Pictures!?!

Yes, I could get it machine, or even just cut it out wiht like a little air drill and die, but i don't wanna weaken the housing. I'm scared if i do it that way, get it to fit, it's not going to be as strong and if i do some mad 6k dumps it'll just shatter on me.

I'll try and get pictures on my next day off.

Originally Posted by Activ3

Get the housing from a 3.46 I know the kaaz units do NOT fit in the 2.93 diffs, but they will work in the 3.38 and the 3.46... I'm glad to see someone trying this, hopefully it works out for you!!

Ohh, that brings up good and bad news. Good news is, a possiblity of an lsd. the bad, i gotta find a 3.46 now.

I hope it works out too. if it does... zomg dori doriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii. looll

Originally Posted by azzy989

curious to see where this goes!

yeah same here. hopefully i could get it to work.



Okay so a little bit more in-depth and some thoughts i have... The LSD pack is too big and not of a conical design to fit in the housing. Even without the ring gear on there. I was looking at pics of the e36 KAAZ unit and it LOOKS to be more of a triangular shape, which should help make it fit into the housing, but i'm not quiet sure on that. I guess right now my options are to machine out the housing (which i don't want to do because of safety & strength issues), buy a 3.46 housing (which will probably be the whole thing, not just hte housing), or buy an e36 OBX LSD and fit that in since it looks to be like it'll fit better.

I'm pretty sure that if i could get the lsd unit into the housing i could get it shimmed out to make it work. it's just getting it in the housing that is causing the problems right now.

Any more thoughts?

Exciting. I hope it works out for you. Guess I could start looking around for an e36 M3 differential.

in on this, following this project

Sadly, this project is on hold until i could find a 3.46/3.38 housing. which will be expensive since nobody sells just the housings, i'd need to buy the full diff.

As far as pictures go. i'll try and grab some when i have some extra time.

Send me the guts, I'll try to slap them in mine....

Hmm i actually just PM'd a forum member about a 3.46, so give me some more time. if i can't get the diff. i'll sell you the lsd pack.


I'm also waiting on the reply from the guy who originally did it, so if he can verify that a bigger diff will work. then i'll definitely get this done.

Is there a measurement I can take for you? I can run outside and look at mine.

^ Sorry man, i was on lunch when i posted all that stuff.

We'll i got pictures to help explain what problem i am having(if anyone was confused). These picturse were taken to demonstrate how even without the ring gear the lsd unit won't fit in. Also a few pictures of the rough dimensions. If anybody has a 3.38 or 3.46 diff that they have open, please get some measurements!!!






LSD vs OPEN







As you could see, the diff isn't even close to fitting even without the ring gear.

I'm still waiting on the other guys' PM.


_raj

All of the E46/E85 (non M) diff housings are the same. If you want the E36 stuff to fit, you have to machine the housing. I suggest getting something to fit. If you are really interested, I have a perfect LSD that came out of my E85 that is just sitting on the shelf.

Originally Posted by mrshelley

All of the E46/E85 (non M) diff housings are the same. If you want the E36 stuff to fit, you have to machine the housing. I suggest getting something to fit. If you are really interested, I have a perfect LSD that came out of my E85 that is just sitting on the shelf.

yeah i actually pm'd you about that awhile ago, but its too expensive for my budget.



SOOO the guy finally replied to my PM. he said he grind out a bit of the housing to fit the casing in. now i have to decide if lsd is worth grinding down the housing.

i gotta look at it again when i have time to see how much i really need to grind out.

I wouldn't be comfortable having to grind that much off the housing. How long has this guy been driving with it (aggressively)? Any problems?

we'll he has an S/C & he says he's been driving around in it for about 2 years and it's been working fine.

It's just a 2.93. They're a dime a dozen. Take one for the team!!!

I know that when Jim Blanton first did an e46 diff (in 2000) he had to machine out the case just to get the diff in. It worked OK but there were some problems and after 2 burned up diffs, he finally got a carrier to fit without machining and everything has been fine since.

I do suggest using the Redline Shockproof (Blue) gear oil.