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Thread: One Piece VS Two Piece Driveshaft Confusion

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    87 M6, 90 325iC, 89 iX

    One Piece VS Two Piece Driveshaft Confusion

    Why is it that I can't seem to find a "reasonably" priced driveshaft for my 1989 iX? Every vender that is in the $400.00 range lists drive shafts for manual as well as automatic cars but, my car has a one piece shaft and all of the venders shafts have the center carrier bearing even when I search under my year and model.

    What gives? Is the iX special in that they came with one piece shafts in manual and automatic?

    Do the bodies of the iX cars have the threaded holes where one could use a more readily available 2-piece with center support bearing shaft?


    I am doing a auto to 5-speed swap and don't really want to buy an unknown condition used driveshaft off Ebay that could have a bad u-joint that isn't replaceable.

  2. #2
    richardodn's Avatar
    richardodn is offline Old Guy BMW CCA Member
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    Yes the iX is different. No you can't use the non-iX shaft. IIRC, the same shafts are used between auto and manual cars.
    "Howdy, Folks!"

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  3. #3
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    You'll find a lot of parts on ebay listing the IX as a compatible model when that is not the case. Control arms, for example. You have to know whether or not the part you're buying is actually compatible. I wouldn't trust ebay sellers to know the parts compatibility with such a niche (and not high value) model like the ix.

    Any ix driveshaft will work. And yes, ixs are special with a one piece driveshaft. It's because the transfercase made the driveshaft short enough to be able to be one piece. Unfortunate that you scrapped your old one.
    If your e30 runs bad, switch to Megasquirt first. Then try new spark plugs, cap and rotor, wires, oxygen sensor, crank shaft position sensor, coolant temp sensor, air flow meter, idle control valve, throttle position sensor, digital motor electronics unit, harmonic balancer, fuel injectors, engine harness...

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    87 M6, 90 325iC, 89 iX
    Thanks Kershaw... If they are the same then I may be in luck as I have the driveshaft out of the auto car still. I just assumed that the auto was a longer transmission and hence a shorter driveshaft. I guess the safe thing to do is wait until the 5-speed is in and see if the length of my auto driveshaft fits.

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