It was the bevel box that failed. The car is at the dealer and the box has not yet been opened. They disconnected the drive shaft and drive belt. The bevel box is completely seized up and unable to turn.When removing the oil plug the liquid is full of ground up pieces of metal.
I don't know the total extent of the damage beyond the BB and afloat spot on the back tire. I do have concerns though. When it locked up the clutch would not disengage the transmission. Did it do damage there also? What about the engine going from running at highway RPM to immediate stop? Did that do damage?
I'm still waiting to see the proposed resolution from the dealer. Although this is fun vehicle to drive, my confidence in the safety of operating M3W is shaken. Only the perfect set of circumstances prohibited this from being catastrophic.
Thanks for your interest.
