As requested by a couple of people....
This is a guide for changing your differential oil, this relates directly to a M135i, but I'm sure it would be a very similar procedure for any BMW. I did mine laying behind my car in the street in a few minutes.
Before you start, you'll need a litre of GL5 diff oil; a pair of rubber gloves (unless you prefer the spare bed), a 14mm Allen Key or similar; something to catch the old oil in; and tool/method for refilling the diff, here's my kit:
(I'm using 75w140 LSD oil for my clutch-type Drexler LSD, but) 99.9% of people with their open diffs will need a 75w90 GL5 (including Quaifes). Notice the Oil Gun, basically a big syringe, which makes things very easy. About £5 on fleaBay.
I'm fitting a Magnetic 'Dimple' diff plug today, M22x1.5mm, 9mm thread. . This is particularly important if you fit a Quaife, as they're known to create quite a bit of metal dwarf inside when running in from new.
Start by popping your gloves on (old gear oil is nasty stinky stuff - old clothes are also recommended). Position a tray / plastic sheet under the diff ( to save your driveway - although you really won't drop much ) then remove the plug. Next, suck the old oil out using the suction gun. After only 20k, mine was pitch black and a bit thin. It's doubtful you'll get 100% of the old oil out, but 900ml is easy enough to extract in 4 or 5 pulls. Try the tube in a few different locations to maximise the extraction.
Bear cleanliness in mind, you don't want to knock any crud inside at any stage, or you could do more harm than good.
Refill the diff with roughly 1 litre of nice new golden oil. I simply sucked it out of the bottle, and blew it into the fill hole. When it's full, it will just start trickling out again.
Refit your plug and torque to 60Nm / 44 lbft, done!
This is a guide for changing your differential oil, this relates directly to a M135i, but I'm sure it would be a very similar procedure for any BMW. I did mine laying behind my car in the street in a few minutes.
Before you start, you'll need a litre of GL5 diff oil; a pair of rubber gloves (unless you prefer the spare bed), a 14mm Allen Key or similar; something to catch the old oil in; and tool/method for refilling the diff, here's my kit:
(I'm using 75w140 LSD oil for my clutch-type Drexler LSD, but) 99.9% of people with their open diffs will need a 75w90 GL5 (including Quaifes). Notice the Oil Gun, basically a big syringe, which makes things very easy. About £5 on fleaBay.
I'm fitting a Magnetic 'Dimple' diff plug today, M22x1.5mm, 9mm thread. . This is particularly important if you fit a Quaife, as they're known to create quite a bit of metal dwarf inside when running in from new.
Start by popping your gloves on (old gear oil is nasty stinky stuff - old clothes are also recommended). Position a tray / plastic sheet under the diff ( to save your driveway - although you really won't drop much ) then remove the plug. Next, suck the old oil out using the suction gun. After only 20k, mine was pitch black and a bit thin. It's doubtful you'll get 100% of the old oil out, but 900ml is easy enough to extract in 4 or 5 pulls. Try the tube in a few different locations to maximise the extraction.
Bear cleanliness in mind, you don't want to knock any crud inside at any stage, or you could do more harm than good.
Refill the diff with roughly 1 litre of nice new golden oil. I simply sucked it out of the bottle, and blew it into the fill hole. When it's full, it will just start trickling out again.
Refit your plug and torque to 60Nm / 44 lbft, done!