Hey guys, I’m new here. Looked around a little and didn’t find my answer. Have a 2005 Mini Cooper S with the manual and I need to replace the passenger side CV axle. Rock Auto shows a 35mm IB seal and 40mm IB seal version. The 35mm IB seal version has 33 spline inner end and the 40mm IB seal version has a 34 spline inner end. Both are 26 spline outside end. Can anyone tell me which one I need without me tearing it out first? On Rock Auto it seems that the 34 spline version is sold more often. Thanks for any help! Much appreciated!

 

RealOEM should be able to help you. It's a site with exploded parts diagrams and part numbers for BMW/MINI products. You'll need to know the month and year your car was built.
www.realoem.com

 

The shaft spline count is different between the midland box and the getrag box, also I think on both boxes the left and right driveshaft seals are different sizes

 

The site itself is helpful, just not in answering the OP's question... Which I also have, having been sent home from the parts store without the ability to answer the counter guy's question - and having already put the car back together to try to go buy the part nonetheless...

Here's what RealOEM shows for the axle, to try to match to a replacement (coming from my actual VIN):
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=31_0622
It doesn't indicate spline count or inner seal diameter.

Is this really a question everyone has had to deal with but no one knows the answer - or even how to determine the answer without a disassembly and actually measuring?
I'm highly skeptical of that - CAN'T be true. But searching threads here seems to indicate that.

Especially with time being short with an upcoming wedding and honeymoon, I REALLY need a more efficient solution than taking it apart AGAIN just to take it apart further, just to reassemble it to get (or order) the part... so I can disable it a third time to do the repair...

A CV axle swap shouldn't be a prolonged, antagonizing, multi-day/multi-week affair. This is very odd not to find this info.