E46 & E85 diffs interchangeable?
- Thread starter Peter-E36
- Start date
UNLESS you are thinking of an E46 M LSD, when that isn't a straight swap. Can be done, but it's involved. I think Mat has one on his.
Mike
Mike
piotrZ4 said:
He actually DIDN'T specify which model diffs he was talking about. Thanks for your as ever helpful comment though.
Mike
piotrZ4 said:
Sorry don't get this - do you mean casing or ratios?
Crazy Harry said:
The casings look the same, there are a lot of different ratios available though.
Mike
Ducklakeview said:
Yea that was the bit I was having trouble with - I'm sure the E85 and E86 ratios are different (got a spare E86 rear assembly in the shed to break for the diff carrier to referb my E85 -but know I need to swap diffs) so I didn't get how 'all petrol' could be substituted for each other.
I'm looking for either a 3.64 or 3.46 to fit in my 03 E85 3.0i manual, the 3.07 in it makes for really long gears. Since automatic Z4s for breaking are very hard to come by I'm hoping maybe an e46 diff will fit, but I've yet to do some research on which one will have the ratio I'm after. If anybody knows for sure, or even better if you know where to get one or any general info it'd be very helpful 
I knew ///M diffs are always awkward to try and fit so trying to take the path of least resistance
I knew ///M diffs are always awkward to try and fit so trying to take the path of least resistance
Facelift 3.0 also has the 3.46 in it. I know as my LSD came from one, and my pre-facelift auto diff went back in his car.
Mike
Mike
THIS may help..
Interestingly, almost all the auto E46's seem to have the diff you want.
Mike
Interestingly, almost all the auto E46's seem to have the diff you want.
Mike
Ducklakeview said:
Good table - better than trying to find the details from realoem. Looks like I was correct about not using the E86 diff in my E85 so I have a 3.46 diff spare!
Crazy Harry said:
Which is just what the OP is after - And if he doesn't want it, I may have it as a spare in case I ever sell my car...
Mike
Kierandc5 said:
To help them lug that heavy roof, tailgate and rear window around
Rumour has it that they had to change the ratio as the extra weight meant it couldn't keep up with the roadster..
Mike
Thanks a million Mike, it should be a lot easier and hopefully cheaper to source an e46 diff than an e85 one, at least in Ireland anyway!
So this 3.46 is from an E86, which means it should fit my early E85, correct?
If so, any chance you were thinking of coming to the North Wales run....?
Crazy Harry said:
So this 3.46 is from an E86, which means it should fit my early E85, correct?
If so, any chance you were thinking of coming to the North Wales run....?
I'm pretty sure they're issues interchanging the e46 and e85 diff even when the ratio is the same. I looked into this ages ago (2+ years ago) and was advised there was. After this i did a bit of research of my own on real oem and the e85 diff are only used on the e85. At first I though this might be limited to casing differences but then I noticed that aftermarket quaiffe diff are e85 specific however some e89 quaiffes (4 cylinder engines)were actually the same as the e87 ones iirc.
Never bottomed it out but figured there must be something different about the e85 stuff compared to the e46.
Never bottomed it out but figured there must be something different about the e85 stuff compared to the e46.