It's all doable with the diff in the car. Albeit NOT easy.
Loosen/remove the bolts (3) that mount it. Leave all else attached. (Disconnecting the center/aft exhaust mounts a huge plus.)

You'll need two sets of good hands and jackstands that are 101% secure. Chock both sets of front tires fore/aft if only lifting the rear of the car.
You can use very large prybars to shift the diff left/right, fore/aft to get to the inner bolts. JUST..... on one side it's much more difficult than the other..

Work SMART and don't jeopardize your fingers. Diffs are heavy when prybars slip!

If you're uncomfortable with the above and/or lack skills, just pull the differential.
Proceed at your own risk.

 

ugh

how about the oem arms? Are they adjustable at all? And if so how do you adjust them. Tbh id rather skip all this hassle and live with the old ones as long as they have enough adjustability to make both wheels aligned with each other. As of now the wheels are little offset from each other. From what I can tell with the unprofessional alignment tools I have.

 

I installed a set of eBay rear camber adjusters. No need to drop the diff, but a tight fit on the left.

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I installed a set of eBay rear camber adjusters. No need to drop the diff, but a tight fit on the left.

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You got a coupe or sedan? I believe only the sedans require you to move the diff.

 

Mine is a sedan.
But, drop the diff if you need to.
It’s very tight in there.


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Mine is a sedan.
But, drop the diff if you need to.
It’s very tight in there.


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I don’t want to mess around with the diff unless it’s 100% needed. So that you managed to get the job done without moving it is good news.

What model do you have? I have a 320I ‘04

 

Coupe and sedan have the same set up, so slightly moving the diff to replace the left side camber arm is required. I highly recommend you install the adjustable camber arms since you’re lowered. It’s actually not bad at all. See my detailed write up on how to do it here.

https://www.e46fanatics.com/threads/adjustable-lower-control-arm-diy.675565/page-2#post-18421833

 

Thanks for the Writte up! I feel confident enough doing this now. Found camber arms from a local store here in Sweden for approx 132EURO\149USD. Will they do the trick?

Finally, are there any bushings I have a good opportunity to change while the diff is unbolted?

 

I just bought cheap ebay adjustable camber arms for less than US$100.

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