Differential Installation Notes

Before installing the new (salvage take off) differential I loosened both the fill and drain plug (beacuse I would be changing the fluid once the diff was installed). This requires the 14mm hex/socket. It is much easier to loosen these with the diff out of the car - trust me!

It was difficult with a regular floor jack to get the differential in place because you had to balance it and clear the centering pin (on the diff) with the drive shaft. I had an assistant help me get it into place and we eneded up lowering one side of the seat belt attachment bracket to lower the drive shaft even more and give ourselves more room for the differential. We also put a piece of plywood on the jack to have something more to balance/grab onto to maneuver the differential.

Once we got it into place (after much sweating a few 4-letter words) I got a few bolts through the flex disc/drive shaft, then the two bolts in the rear. Once we re-secured the seat belt attachment/bracket and got the front mounting bolt in place I re-seated the rear mounting bolts to prevent cross-threading or stripping.

Torque specs:
Rear mounts: ~120Nm
Front mounts: ~45Nm
Axle shafts (with blue locktight re-applied): ~70Nm

Any thoughts/suggestions/comments? It was quite a project!

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Daily Driver: 02 E430 4MATIC
In the family: '03 E500 // '04 ML500 // 64 220SE