Damaged Front Drive Shaft Pics!

[SeanIngstrum]

While I was getting pics of my coolant leak, I decided to take some quick shots of the front drive shaft to the front dif. I know they are not the best pictures, but I thought they would give some insight to what has happened. From these pics can anyone see furture potential damage besides the obvious? Any feedback is much appreciated! Thanks!

[Joshdub]

Well the guibo is shot but that doesn't explain your issue, nor does it really tell us anything about the condition of the driveshaft.

[SeanIngstrum]

Originally Posted by Joshdub

Well the guibo is shot but that doesn't explain your issue, nor does it really tell us anything about the condition of the driveshaft.

Yeah, I kind of figured. Pointless I guess, sorry about that. Well, next step is to pull it then we'll see. Question; Would it be smart to, after pulling the front drive shaft, try to engage the front differential? Obviously if the input bearing and anything else was damaged, I wouldn't think of doing so, but if all looked good? Wouldn't that tell me if it is in working order or not? Or is it bad to do that with the shaft off? Probably a stupid question I know, but it just popped in my head and seems logical.....to me anyway.

[wpoll]

Originally Posted by SeanIngstrum

Yeah, I kind of figured. Pointless I guess, sorry about that. Well, next step is to pull it then we'll see. Question; Would it be smart to, after pulling the front drive shaft, try to engage the front differential? Obviously if the input bearing and anything else was damaged, I wouldn't think of doing so, but if all looked good? Wouldn't that tell me if it is in working order or not? Or is it bad to do that with the shaft off? Probably a stupid question I know, but it just popped in my head and seems logical.....to me anyway.

Not pointless at all - quite the opposite! While the giubo is shot and requires replacement, it doesn't look like it was the source of the horrible noises - it's still all attached after all. I also cannot see why there would be any damage to the diff input bearing.

Have a look at the other end of the front drive shaft, where it leaves the transfer case on the back of the transmission. The red arrow in this picture...



There's plenty of cases where the shaft has stripped out, making nasty sounds. Threads like this one document it pretty well.

Makin' progress...

*edit* P.S. - maybe this munted giubo is what the BMW tech referred to when he said the front diff input was shot...?

[SeanIngstrum]

Ok, I definitely will! Thanks! Sometime this week I'm going to get it pulled out and get some detailed pictures in here for you guys to see. Hopefully all is okay and just the drive shaft and guibio is it. Fingers crossed!

[upallnight]

If you going to replace the Guibo yourself, pay attention to the markings on the Guibo. There a right way and a WRONG way to install the Guido. If you have someone install the Guibo, check their work to verify that they installed it correct.

The arrows on the quibo holes indicates if it should be bolted to the differential, or bolted to the driveshaft.