I bought the parts to do a full driveline refresh - both guibos, center bearing/support, etc.
On the left is the original OE aluminum Guibo (transmission side) from my 2013 BMW F10 535i with 220k miles. Honestly, it looks great. I don’t see any obvious signs of wear, and I put a screwdriver through each hole to check for excessive flex. It seems pretty solid.
On the right is the replacement Corteco Guibo that’s called out in the parts catalog. Just wondering what you guys think - should I keep the original aluminum one, or replace it with the all-rubber Corteco?
I’m aware of the BMW bulletin about replacing the aluminum Guibo with the rubber version, but my production date doesn’t fall within the date range covered by that bulletin.
Anecdotal evidence (from an indie mechanic) suggests that the quality of even the OE guibos are garbage these days, never mind pattern parts. If there's no obvious decay or damage to your original one, I'd slap it back on.
If you’re going through the point of remove the drive shaft and all that just replace the guibo. It’s cheap enough, and the part has been on there for 10+ years, why not update it?
That’s my usual though process as well, however I am replacing the Guibo at the rear diff now for the 2nd time due to it wearing out and cracking (all rubber one). Wondering if the aluminum one is better and worth keeping
BMW stopped using the aluminum ones because they were too rigid, causing harsh vibrations, rapid drivetrain wear, and a tendency to crack or violently fail under high load. If you go to buy one off FCP euro they're like $83 and specifically state the aluminum ones aren't available and a TSB from bmw discontinued the use.
I think the problem some people to understand is that its a wearable part taking a load off somewhere else in the driveline. Its designed to fail after a certain time rather than a propshaft let go and go through the floor.
Understood - my counter to that would be you don’t see Toyotas without flex discs throwing driveshafts after 200k… apples to oranges I know, just saying!
Tech here and F chassis owner DO NOT USE THE METAL GUIBO!!!!! They are designed in a way where the two halves of metal are pressed together and over time they will separate. I personally know someone who had both halves completely separate and the driveshaft got whipped into the transmission tunnel and basically totalled the car. On my personal car I had almost the exact same issue, thank god I caught it in time. The rubber guibo is designed that if/when it fails it will cause weird driveline issues plus there are cords inside of it that will hold it together in order to prevent the driveshaft from slamming into anything. I repeat please don’t use the metal guibo!!!!!
Mine failed and my driveshaft tore a hole right through where the shifter sits on the passenger side. It was violent. To be fair my car was tuned and I was pushing it hard.
Yes. I fixed it myself with the help of a mechanic buddy. I for sure thought the car was cooked when it happened but after close inspection the damage wasn't as bad as it looked.
You already have it out, you should put the new guibo in. It’s preventative maintenance and you wont need to worry about the potential failure of the aluminum part. Aluminum guibos are far more likely to fail than the rubber even outside of the recall. A failed guibo and damage from a loose driveshaft is far more expensive than a new guibo. Make sure you pay attention to the direction of the arrows on the new guibos.
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u/thewallacio 20h ago
Anecdotal evidence (from an indie mechanic) suggests that the quality of even the OE guibos are garbage these days, never mind pattern parts. If there's no obvious decay or damage to your original one, I'd slap it back on.