Ethan,

There is no quick way to do a guibo. However to answer some of your questions below, yes there are some shortcuts. You will have to significantly lower your exhaust. If it's old, now is the time to consider replacement. Undo the bolt at the way end of the exhaust which the big rubber donut is looped around and support it. Remember lower it too much or too quickly can equate to a cracked exhaust manifold very quickly. Undo the two rubber donuts on each side of the muffler section and the center clamp at the transmission. Plan on replacing it if it's the orig one. (You didn't state mileage in your post). Gradually lower the exhaust enough to get clearance to the heat shield. Remove it (10mm nuts) and you will see the answer to your next question. Loosen the collar nut.

Now you can remove the guibo bolts noting which way they went in by length and how they were facing. They will be very tight (approx. 80 ft-lb.) You will see the vibration damper if your car is so equipped. Mine was and was bad due to the gearbox fluid contaminating the rubber. The part was about $170 (Bought 2 years ago from Steve D'G) .

Push the front half of the driveshaft back into the rear half and you should now have enough clearance to swing the driveshaft out of the way and rest it on top of the exhaust. Loosen the collar nut more if it is difficult.

The "while you are there bug" will hit you right about now. Check and/or replace shifter bushings, transmission seals (3 in the back) and transmission mounts. This WILL make a big improvement. If you replace the output flange seal follow the directions in Bentley TO THE LETTER.

Assembly is basically the reverse of removal (don't you hate that). Use new hardware where indicated in Bentley.

Good luck and happy torquing. Best!

Alex.Avedis_at_lmco.com
BMW CCA Member
81 320i 101k
87 535i 130k

I decided it was time to get rid of that lovely "plech" sound every time I shift. I crawled under the car last week, the guibo was torn & worn, so I ordered a new one and am ready to install this Saturday.

Two questions:

1. As I recall, the guibo under my car did not look exactly like the new guibo I got in the mail. In the Bentley manual, there is mentioned a part called the "vibration damper" and a lousy photograph of the general guibo area. Does anyone know anything about this part? Or is the flex disk that I have (which is clearly the right part) the only thing that I need to worry about?
2. Replacement protocol for the guibo in Bentley says 1) remove driveshaft, and the driveshaft replacement protocol says 1) remove exhaust. can I avoid all of this? There is a spline joint in teh middle of the driveshaft which I believe allows forward-to-back motion in a limited range. Does anyone have experience with doing this job? Can I get away with pushing the front half of the shaft back and sliding the new guibo in? Any advice appreciated.

   Ethan

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