Hey everyone. Well...its time for me to replace my front control arm bushings and from what I have been reading I am going to go with the polyurethane type and not the rubber OEM type. I am going to attempt to do this myself since it seems like it would be an easy job and save some money. I was going to buy the powerflex ones on bimmerworld.com's website for $150 (already pre pressed into new housings) until I came across these ones for $70...
It looks like they too are already pre pressed into new housings. Has anyone had any experience with these or does anyone know if they are any good?
Lastly, when I replace these, does the car NEED an alignment at all or can I just replace and drive? And when I am tightening the two bolts on each of the housings back to the frame should I just tighten up real good or do they need to be torqued to a certian specification. As always, thank you all for your help!
The price is tempting but someone, not too long ago, recommended to stay away from Uro-Parts bushings. I would be curious to hear from others who might have had better results..
According to what I read, that says 75 EACH. Which would be 150 bucks. I think I paid like 90 for the pair of Meyle HD bushings. Although I don't know how they can sell them as singles, considering each side is different. I could be reading that wrong.
Yeah I suppose I'm just used to seeing things sold as singles when labeled as "each". Each kit makes sense too though. More sense than what I said =). Personally I think if you are going for that price range you should consider the Meyle HD bushings. Pre pressed for maybe 10-15 bucks more than those guys and most of the people on this forum will agree they are a top notch bushing compared to the OEM.
Yes it looks like they are pre pressed in becasue in the description it says, "pieces include brackets." Ok so now I am reading and people are talking about these Meyle HD bushings...will they provide longer life over the OEM ones and will they provide for a stiffer ride and more responsive steering like the polyurethane's?
polyurethanes here... installed three weeks ago and have driven over 1000 miles with no squeaks or problems! i did both front and rear and got an alingment done. the ride is a little rougher but the car handles so much better...
PowerFlex polyurethane in Meyle HD arms here. Installed correctly with the LubroMoly grease that comes with them they won't squeak. Mine have been in for two years and about 50k miles with no squeaks!
I had the rubber replacements (not the poly) on for a month and had a steering vibration at 50mph+. Replaced with OEM bushing and the vibration is gone. The uroparts bushing looked more heavy duty, but it seemed to have poor build quality. Lesson learned, buy OEM or better. You get what you pay for.
thanks... i hope alingement will solve the issue. also check on ball joints, they ar good.... i'll do allignment first thing in the morning. thanks a lot
Christopher,
You get what you pay for.
I know FCP is a sponsor and posts here but I have to say the parts they sell (Hamburg Technik sp?) are junk. Hamburg purchases offshore quality control failed parts, inspects them for obvious defects, boxes them, and sells them as their own. I have installed these parts on a number of clients cars and they failed within months. I ultimately refused to install them because some have failed in weeks and the best I've seen is 18 months. I have had the rubber boots tear as easily as paper, I have opened the boot on a brand new, just opened ball joint to see no grease inside.
If you plan to sell your car immediately and have no problem morally with selling a defective vehicle then run with them... otherwise avoid this stuff.
I don't know how to stress this more but *do not* purchase OCAP, Karlyn, or Hamburg Technik Parts (AFAIK only distributed by FCP Groton). THESE ARE JUNK.
Only, only, only purchase TRW, Meyle (which used to have quality control issues that have now been resolved), and Lemforder.
Period.
I just wanted to ask you, when was the last time you saw Hamburg Tech parts from us? We dropped them years ago for the very reasons you articulated -- lack of quality.
He linked to URO bushings are the beginning of this thread. How do you feel about those?
We really value your input, and understand that you guys are the ones installing, and driving with these parts in your cars. If a part is of too low quality to suffice, and you believe it is a failure by design as opposed to a case specific failure, please let us know so that we can correct our inventory.
I don't know about the bushing you are refering to. I just did mine this morning using the powerflex bushings that were pre-pressed in. (I saved the OEM ones and may either sell them as is or maybe I'll f' around and remove the rubber and sell them as carriers incase someone wants to press their own)
Anyway, did mine this morning. Took about 1.5 hours and that included getting all the tools out, to putting them alll back in. The three jaw puller worked like a charm in pulling the bushing off the end of the wishbone. If you don't have one of them then I recommend it. I also took the front wheels off, know you don't have to but it made life so much easier, I highly recommend it since you can do the entire job from the side instead of from under the car..
My old bushings came off pretty easy with the puller. Both of them were totally dry, no oil in them. I knew the one on the drivers side leaked, I saw it, but never knew the one on the passenger side leaked out. The Powerflex bushing just slipped right on - no Sh**....I thought I did something wrong, pulled it back off by hand and put it back on, no lube or anything. The only thing I noticed was it need to go on about an 1/8" more which I couldn't do by hand, so I lubed it with straight Dawn right there at the end and hit it a few time with the mallet. Moved the arm over to the mounts and it lined up perfect. Must have beem the easiest thing I have done.
Now the torque question, the bolts on the bushings get torqued to 59 N-m. If you have the aluminum stiffner plate on the bottom, they also get torqued to 59 N-m, but you have to turn the bolt another 90 degrees after torque. I got a torque angle tool from Autozone, $10. I tell you what that had to be the hardest part of the job twisting them an additional 90. First it is pretty damn hard and then you have this nagging feeling in the back of your mind that you are going to snap those mothers off. Yes the shop manual recommends replaceing all the bolts. I called my local shop and asked to buy the bolts ($1.49 ea. - need 12 of them), they did not have in stock and according to the parts guy they did not need to be replaced.....I don't know about that. The next time I take that plate off I'll change out with new bolts.
Alignment is not necessary, since you are not screwing with any alignment settings. However I have heard of people needing an alignment later only because after you do this is may reveal another problem, like vibration which was already there.
I have not tested mine yet, I wanted to get a shower before getting into my car.
My question is, you mentioned being able to do the whole job on the side of the car without getting underneath the car. How would you be able to get the plate off from the side?
On my 330ci I started out with the Powerflex bushings - they were great until about 14,000 miles later when the drivers side bushing disintegrated on the way to work. The outer bisquit was gone after about 3 stop lights, leaving only the inner sleeve behind. Up to that point, they were sublime, loved 'em every minute!
I decided to try the bavauto "heavy duty" Meyle ones instead and they have around 5k miles on them with no problems. The bavauto ones are solid rubber so they are plenty stiff - very nice!
Not trying to influence your choice, just relaying my experience. They are both great at what they do; just had that little snafu with PF ones. Car is a daily driver on Texas roads with plenty of 100mph cruising.
Cheers!
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