Guibo or Differential Mount issue?

[Ralph III]

Hello Everyone,

So, our 2007 530xi started experiencing some sort of minor/moderate shudder a while back. It was mostly/only noticeable when letting off the gas or upon slowing down. It would kinda start jerking slightly as you were coming to a stop. It was not perceptible while accelerating.

Long story short:

After some research and conversing with others, I concluded it was a drivetrain issue and most likely the driveshaft support and/or guibo. The car has 263,000 miles on it and those items have never been replaced.

Anyhow, I just removed the exhaust and heat shield with the intention of installing a brand new driveshaft and guibo. I still plan on doing that, although I was dissapointed to find the original drive shaft and guibo appear to be in fantastic shape. Nor could I find any other obvious issues as everything seems very tight, as with the axles. It's dissapointing becuase I wanted my suspicions to be verified and the issue obvious.

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I did however notice that the lower rear differential mounts are cracked in some areas. There are other areas that appear to be cracked also, with question marks, but I cannot tell if those are actual cracks or as designed?

1) Do those appear to be in excessively bad shape to you and could those be responsible for the minor shudders I was feeling? I cannot tell if the upper mount (last pic) has any issues or not.

2) Can I lower the differential enough without disconnecting the axles, in order to replace those bushings?

3) Would you be tempted to replace the differential with a lower mileage differential? Could the differential itself be the issue? Otherwise, how can I tell if my differential is still in good shape? I plan on replacing the oil in it at a minimum.

God Bless,
Ralph