Replaced CSB and guibo. Separating and reconnecting the driveshaft is a PITA with a regular combo wrench! Would have helped a lot to have an 18mm ratcheting box wrench. This is the first time I've replaced something twice on the ZHP, other than oil, filters, and foglight trim rings. Guibo was replaced ~30,000 miles ago, but it was bolted up wrong so maybe that's why it failed early.
The driveshaft was not exactly as I'd expected. Based on the Pelican DIY I thought the u-join would be behind the CSB and the clamp holding the two parts together would look like this:
But no, on my car the U-join was in front of the CSB and instead of an external clamp calling for a pipe wrench there was an 18mm bolt head hiding inside the universal joint. Maybe it's something specific to the 6-speed. Or maybe in the past somebody put my driveshaft together backwards! After all, shouldn't the U-joint be after the CSB to allow for rear suspension movement? On the other hand, assuming rear subframe bushings and diff bushings are in good shape, the rear won't move around much relative to the CSB, while the transmission and motor might move around under hard cornering with stock mounts. So maybe the U-joint should be in front of the CSB. Or I'm looking at the DIY photos backwards....
This guy's E46 DIY video shows the U-join in front of the CSB, like mine. Maybe I took mine apart the wrong way? .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l6wlJplxMdg
Edit2: Ah I see now this E46 Fanatics thread explains that the 5-speed driveshafts have the locking collar as shown in that guy's YouTube video, but the 6-speed driveshafts have the bolt inside the U-joint. Thread: http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=892866
Photo that looks like my driveshaft (and yes my CSB was completely separated like in that photo:
Also my CSB was not held in by a circlip. Wondering if some previous mechanic forgot to replace it or the ZHP driveshaft simply doesn't need one.
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Originally Posted by Sockethead
