I would like to invite my fellow club members ...
Content copied from here: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum....php?t=1803613

DATE: May 12, 2012

Who's interested in another DIY day with a focus on differential refreshes?

My new garage and driveway needs to be broken in appropriately.


I will be focusing on differential refreshes, however I have plenty of space for you to tackle other small jobs. I'll be using half of the garage to do differential work, but that should leave a one car bay open and level space outside the garage for four to five other cars.


If you want to come and just hang out, that's fine too - I now have the appropriate space to hold one of these events. Please make sure to write down all your differential questions and I'll try to answer some of them. I'm sure there will be food and beer too! (See Below)


Differentials


I wouldn't mind refreshing SEVERAL differentials. I'll show you how to do the grunt work and I'll help with the detail work. I'm confident that we could assembly line 6-8 in a single day.

Some ground rules (please!):

a.) You must bring the differential OUT of the car. It's a time consuming process to rebuild the differential and we don't want to waste time with installing and uninstalling.

b.) I'll have the parts on hand. There's need to send me funds up front. Please bring cash with you. I need a minimum of one week lead time (prefer more) for seals, etc.

c.) I don't want to get into resetting pinions or changing bearings. If the differential is not whining or making noise, don't mess with a good thing! We can do clutch refreshes / upgrades and seals.

d.) The differential must be a clutch type 188mm LSD. Z3, E30, E36 OK! I prefer to stay on one type for the day. (Others may be OK, however talk to me first.)

This would be a great opportunity to buy that differential that you've always wanted and refresh it before installing in your car, or to refresh that high mileage differential.

Easily accomplished in one day:

2-Clutch Refreshes (stock). Roughly 25% lockup depending on tolerances chosen.
3-Clutch Upgrades. Roughly 40% lockup depending on tolerances chosen. (NOTE: This is as AGGRESSIVE as you'd want to go for a street car.)

Here's an idea of how much this would cost you:

Standard 2-Clutch Refresh: $200

Upgraded 3-Clutch: $300

The big differential builders charge about $1500 (plus shipping both ways) to do this. Do it yourself for about 25% the cost!

NOTE: This is for standard clutch pack LSD's. No love for torsens or opens.


Other DIY Projects


Let you imagination run wild. Just make sure you can accomplish it by 6pm.


Some jobs that can be done: Valve Cover Gasket Replacement, Window Slider Replacement, S54 Valve Shims, etc. Heck, you can just come and wash your car if you'd like. You are more than welcome to use my tools, however they all need to find their way back into the appropriate spots.


Location


The Thayer Complex (my new house) is located very close to the intersection of Rt 50 and Rt 15 at the border of Loudoun County and Prince William County, Virginia. Easily accessible via I-66 (about 9 miles from exit 40), Rt 50, Rt 15 and Rt 29.


Time


I'm an early bird. We can start around 8am, but I ask that everyone is finishing up their projects by 6pm. For the differential refreshes, I'd suggest to arrive by 10am to account for any unexpected delays.


Food / Drinks


I'll have basic cookout foods on hand for the day. It would be appreciated if everyone who ate chipped in a few dollars to offset the cost of food (I'll have a kick-in can next to the grill). I'll also have a couple of coolers with ice - feel free to bring your favorite beverages to share with others.


Parts


I'll be sourcing the necessary parts for the differential builds. You don't need to pay up front, just bring cash with you so we can square up in person.


Sign-up / Registration


Please sign-up here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/...B6ZVE6MQ#gid=0


I need to do this in a systematic way so I know what parts to have on hand and what other jobs to expect. Even if you just want to come and hang out, please sign-up so that I can send you information a few days before.