I just got a 1982 240d with 230k miles on it. Its been running fine the last month but all of sudden it started making a really loud noise from the left, rear side of the vehicle.

The noise doesn't happen when I first get in the car and start, but only after its warmed up a bit. Also, the noise goes away as soon as I let off the gas or engage the clutch.

I crawled under the car and looked around and saw a couple of seals busted. I'm guessing its the rear differential seals but I'm not positive. I'd image when the seals bust the oil in the rear differential leaked out and that's what was causing the noise, but I'm not sure if that's the case or if there is any other damage that has occurred.

I snapped a couple of pictures and I'm hoping someone can help identify them for me and if replacing the seals and topping off the oil should be enough to fix this problem.


Image 1: https://i.imgur.com/lMu3a.jpg
Image 2: https://i.imgur.com/QiVTi.jpg

 

That appears to be a dust boot, since it is in such bad shape, my thought is that the cv joint under it is the source or your noise. You will probably need to replace the entire axel