E86 CV Axle part numbers help!

[Andrihallik]

Hi fellow z4 owners! Sorry for long post... asking for some help regarding cv axles and part numbers.

Just bought the highest mileage e86 i could find and rebuilt the whole rear axle - new subframe, sand blasting, painting, all the bushings and bearings etc. Did not have any problems just looked like it would want some loving hand.

While installing the cv axles to the wheel hub assembly i used mallet to get them through so i could pull them with hub nut. - bad idea. Bent something from the other side so the grease splashes out while driving - the rubber area that holds grease in is not damaged and not leaking from there.

By vin code numbers for cv axles are 7566231 and 7566232. Impossible to find from Ebay and other sites from Europe.
But i could find a lot of cv axles with code 7541439 and 754143940 from Ebay and other sites - some sellers say that they wont fit but others say they will..

By researching i did not find anything - only that they are discontinued and that LK & D are the same.

Does someone have experience with something similar regarding part codes or should i keep searching for the correct codes?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Spriteracer]

Hi,
I have just been through the same process and as you and found it very difficult to find an exact match. Difficulty increased by the fact that LH and RH are different lengths. I thought I needed a LH one and eventually found one after a couple of false starts, from Quarry Motors. It seemed to be in a rustier condition than mine although no obvious faults) In the end I had my originals checked out by a specialist and they turned out to be ok. Apparently the number you need is the one on the label on the inner end of the driveshaft. Not sure what is the difference between them. I do know that earlier ones (or some of them at least) are thinner. I got some 2003 ones from an E85 and which went back. The upshot of all this is that I now have a spare LH shaft 7 541 439 A103 which you can have for what I paid for it + carriage, if it is any use to you and if someone can confirm the differences. I can't find the receipt just now but I think it was about £60:00 + vat and carriage. I did ask what were the differences when I was looking earlier but got no response. For info mine is an E86 with December 2006 build date.

As an alternative can you not get yours repaired ? The specialist I used in Neath, South Wales does lots of these and propshafts for just about anything domestic and commercial. There are bound to be others around the country.