Originally Posted by
Old F4 Pilot
I just got my 1990 535i, 5-speed back from a local BMW specialty shop yesterday. I had the same noises as you describe and the BMW dealer diagnosed it as carrier bearings (which is what I thought). If you check with recyclers they'll tell you that only another 535i diff will fit, but that either a 735i or 750i diff will also fit but that the front flanges will need to be swapped. I purchased a posi, 3.64 diff from Bavarian Auto Recycling in Sacramento, CA. ( after some mis-communications all was made right), the original diff was a 3.46 gear. All is now great and the 535i runs sweet. Now all I have to do is keep some pesky woods rats from taking my German Shepherd's Alpo dry food and depositing it along with rat droppings under the hood of my car! Some of the food has found its way into the fresh air intake and jammed my blower motor so I'll have to take it apart and do a clean-out with my shop vac. They also chewed into the wiring harness and cut the tach wire, the service indicator wire, the brake fluid resevoir wire and the fuel mileage wire, and all in one night! My local Vet gave me some incredibly powerful poison to leave under the hood. He told me that I'll probably find the dead carcasses under the hood.