Drive shafts — removal and installation (BMW 7 Series E32)

Removal

Unscrew the wheel hub nut

Caution: The nut is very tight. Therefore, for safety reasons, the car must be standing on its wheels when unscrewing the nut.

Mark the position of the rear wheels on the hubs so that you can later install the balanced wheels in their original positions. Loosen the wheel bolts when the car is on the ground. Raise and support the car from behind and remove the rear wheels.

Disconnect the propeller shaft from the rear axle final drive.

Remove the rear anti-roll bar. To do this, unscrew the nuts securing its rods on the left and right. Remove the rubber supports from the rear axle beam and remove them together with the stabilizer. Unscrew the bolts, disconnect both drive shafts from the main gear and hang them on a wire.

Caution: The drive shafts must not hang down, otherwise the outer CV joint will be overloaded.

Support the final drive with a jack, placing a wooden block under its head.

Unscrew the nut.

Remove the exhaust system end muffler.

Unscrew the nuts on the left and right.



Lower the final drive and disconnect it from the propeller shaft flange.



Press the drive shaft out of the wheel hub.

Note: This requires a suitable puller. Secure the support of the device with two wheel nuts and screw the spindle along the thread, pressing it against the shaft. The spindle should fit tightly against the shaft and move smoothly along the thread.

Remove the axle shaft.

Installation

Place the drive shaft and secure it with wire.

Insert the shaft using a special device. To do this, first screw the spindle completely into the support. Screw the threaded coupling onto the spindle and shaft. On the other side, screw the nut onto the spindle and pull them towards the support. Thanks to this, the drive shaft will be pulled into the hub. Then make sure that the splines of the drive shaft and the hub are aligned before installing

Lightly lubricate the new flange nut and tighten it lightly.

Use side cutters to cut the inner hinge boot clamp.

Insert the final drive and tighten the new self-locking nuts.

Tightening torques:

• Main gear mounts on rear axle beam in front (the bolt is tightened) — 180 Nm.
• The main gear mounts on the rear axle beam at the rear - 105 Nm.

Use a punch to pry the cover off the hinge ring.



Install the final muffler.

Place the driveshaft in the final drive.

Install the drive shafts onto the final drive and tighten the bolts with a torque wrench. Install the washers.

The tightening torque depends on the thread diameter and the type of bolts

• Internal slotted bolts (with an asterisk)and thread M10 - 85 Nm
• M10 bolts with locking (replace bolts and washers) — 95Nm.
• Bolts with M12 thread - 110 Nm.
• Bolts with TORX head and M10 thread - 85 Nm.
• Bolts with ribbed slots M8 - 65Nm.
• Bolts with ribbed slots M10 - 100 Nm.
• M12 ribbed bolts - 160 Nm.

Unhook the wire from the drive shaft.

Install the stabilizer, tighten the rod nuts to a torque of 40 Nm.

Install the rear wheels according to the marks made during removal. Do not lubricate the wheel bolts. Lower the vehicle.

Tighten the flange nut to a torque of 300 Nm.

Secure the hub nut to the drive shaft by driving the nut flange into the recess on the shaft with a punch.

Tighten the wheel bolts crosswise to 100 Nm.

Check the oil level in the final drive and top up if necessary.