Dumb Question Thread - No Flaming Allowed

[liam821]

I'm in the process of dropping my rear subframe and I've run into difficulty breaking loose the driveshaft to diff torx bolts. Is there a trick to this or am I missing something? All the videos I've seen these come right off without issue with the tranny in neutral. Do I need to put it in gear?

I would leave it in neutral so you're not loading the transmission, but keep the parking brake on. Although I can't imagine you could put enough torque using hand tools to hurt anything by leaving it in gear. It should break loose with a bit of effort, or you could try an impact driver (manual or battery-powered).

[DJAM3]

I'm in the process of dropping my rear subframe and I've run into difficulty breaking loose the driveshaft to diff torx bolts. Is there a trick to this or am I missing something? All the videos I've seen these come right off without issue with the tranny in neutral. Do I need to put it in gear?

[Slideways]

Made a stupid mistake and torqued the head down after realizing I forgot to add the gasket maker on the front cover.

I'm going to have to repull the head to fix is. Is it possible to get away with reusing this HG or should I just suck it up and get another one ?

I imagine most OEMs and engine builders would not recommend reusing an MLS head gasket after it has been installed.

In this thread (https://www.reddit.com/r/EngineBuild...an_mls_gasket/), they are saying not to reuse it if it has heat cycled.

Did you use factory head bolts or ARP studs? I'd be inclined to leave it as-is without the gasket maker if I used stock head bolts. There is a chance it won't leak.

For ARP, I'd consider getting another gasket as you can reuse the ARP hardware.

If you really, really don't want to do the job again, get a new headgasket and hardware (if not ARP).

It is shame to toss the new gasket, but rockauto does have the factory elring gasket for ~$50.

[Darbshaw]

Made a stupid mistake and torqued the head down after realizing I forgot to add the gasket maker on the front cover.

I'm going to have to repull the head to fix is. Is it possible to get away with reusing this HG or should I just suck it up and get another one ?

[Nate047]

Are the rear seats and all the brackets, hardware, etc from non M E46 coupes the same as M3?

How about door cards front and rear, same between non M coupes and M3?