Front Control arm bushings install (Pictures/Instructions)
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OEM Style!!
Guys, I still have a few sets of the OEM style if anybody needs them. They are the newer style (66mm), they are brand new in the box, and I will sell them for $85, and that INCLUDES shipping. My friend had a BMW shop that he closed down and I took these off his hands knowing how many people are in need of new bushings. The include the carriers, so NO PRESSING is required, and will save a bunch of time.
Many posts here are leaning towards OEM and away from the BImmerworld ones because of premature failure. I installed the OEM ones and absolutely love them They take 1-2 hours to install.
Just PM me if interested...you will find a few posts out there from the several people who have already taken these.
Guys, I still have a few sets of the OEM style if anybody needs them. They are the newer style (66mm), they are brand new in the box, and I will sell them for $85, and that INCLUDES shipping. My friend had a BMW shop that he closed down and I took these off his hands knowing how many people are in need of new bushings. The include the carriers, so NO PRESSING is required, and will save a bunch of time.
Many posts here are leaning towards OEM and away from the BImmerworld ones because of premature failure. I installed the OEM ones and absolutely love them They take 1-2 hours to install.
Just PM me if interested...you will find a few posts out there from the several people who have already taken these.
Changing these bushing is tough!
Ok, so I purchased the front-end bushing pre-installed in their mounts and as I started to change them out I initially thought the job would take no more than 1 1/2 hours. However, installing the new bushings with the lower control arms on the car proved difficult. Sliding the new bushing took a lot of effort. You cannot hammer these bushing in place since there is so much rebound due to the amount of rubber present. I ended up using engine oil as a lubricant and got them half way on. Then, using the bolt that attaches the sub-frame, a long sturdy bar you need a pair of extra hands to lever them into place. They never quite get in place until you offer them up and bolt back in place which requires some twisting. Once bolted and driven they slide into place by themselves for the last quarter inch or so. Get ready to use some muscle.
Something to note on the alignment afterwards: There is no adjustment for the parts you have replaced. If you know the tow-in was good and the strut positions OK, then there is probably no need to spend money on the alignment. I had mine checked and everything was in spec except the rear tow-in (back axel). The car had hit a ladder in the road last year and I had to have the alignment adjusted after blowing out the front tire. What I didn’t realize back then that I had broken the front bushing on the passenger side. When I replaced the bushing no oil was present in the r/h one.
Now I need to track down a A/C fan chirping on some speeds. If anyone knows what this might be - please tell me. It's a soft chirp on one or two fan speeds that appears almost all the time. Sometimes going over a bump in the road will cause it to come on. The famous resister pack failer has been replace already.
Cheers
Jim
Ok, so I purchased the front-end bushing pre-installed in their mounts and as I started to change them out I initially thought the job would take no more than 1 1/2 hours. However, installing the new bushings with the lower control arms on the car proved difficult. Sliding the new bushing took a lot of effort. You cannot hammer these bushing in place since there is so much rebound due to the amount of rubber present. I ended up using engine oil as a lubricant and got them half way on. Then, using the bolt that attaches the sub-frame, a long sturdy bar you need a pair of extra hands to lever them into place. They never quite get in place until you offer them up and bolt back in place which requires some twisting. Once bolted and driven they slide into place by themselves for the last quarter inch or so. Get ready to use some muscle.
Something to note on the alignment afterwards: There is no adjustment for the parts you have replaced. If you know the tow-in was good and the strut positions OK, then there is probably no need to spend money on the alignment. I had mine checked and everything was in spec except the rear tow-in (back axel). The car had hit a ladder in the road last year and I had to have the alignment adjusted after blowing out the front tire. What I didn’t realize back then that I had broken the front bushing on the passenger side. When I replaced the bushing no oil was present in the r/h one.
Now I need to track down a A/C fan chirping on some speeds. If anyone knows what this might be - please tell me. It's a soft chirp on one or two fan speeds that appears almost all the time. Sometimes going over a bump in the road will cause it to come on. The famous resister pack failer has been replace already.
Cheers
Jim
What a complete PITA getting the OEM bushings back on the control arm. It took me a few reads of Jim's post but I finally understood the process. I took a picture, but I would *not* recommend using the bolt (as shown) for leverage as I bent the hell out of one of them. I would use a small metal rod or screwdriver, or you could use a bolt if you have an extra. The picture is kind of crappy (phonecam) but you get the idea.
-Joel
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-Joel
Attachments
I had a hard time getting one of the bushings on also, when I did the other one I put a BUNCH of wheel bearing grease on the bearing and control arm and it slide on with a moderate amount of force. The second one went on by hand in about 2 min, no prying needed. The first one (with a small amount of grease) had to be forced on and took over 30 min. For those who are going to try this just remember to use LOTS of grease and it should be no problem, I basically filled almost the entire inside of the bushing with grease, most of it gets pushed out.
Hope that helps.
Hope that helps.
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716 Posts
I was having the same problem everyone is describing with getting the bushing back one (OEM)
I took a scotchbrite pad and cleaned the surface good, a scotchbrite pad is just the right corseness to get the dirt, but not remove metal which would probably not be a problem if you did it lightly with sand paper.
I then used Sil Glyde that I bought from Napa Auto for my weatherstriiping, it rocked, I fought for 20 minutes and nada, then got the idea to clean and lub and they slid right on.
Hope this helps, and if anyone knows about the A/C chirping when I accelerate please tell me what to do.
I remember reading somone removed the blower motor and used powered graphite to lubricate the bearing in the blower and they said it works. I would rather not pull the dash apart without a second conformation of it being viable and long lasting.
I took a scotchbrite pad and cleaned the surface good, a scotchbrite pad is just the right corseness to get the dirt, but not remove metal which would probably not be a problem if you did it lightly with sand paper.
I then used Sil Glyde that I bought from Napa Auto for my weatherstriiping, it rocked, I fought for 20 minutes and nada, then got the idea to clean and lub and they slid right on.
Hope this helps, and if anyone knows about the A/C chirping when I accelerate please tell me what to do.
I remember reading somone removed the blower motor and used powered graphite to lubricate the bearing in the blower and they said it works. I would rather not pull the dash apart without a second conformation of it being viable and long lasting.
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151 Posts
Good tip for control arm bushing install. As far as AC chirping, my 2000 323i had the same noise just before the AC compressor seized and stalled the engine. Needed to replace the compressor.
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6,550 Posts
Great writeup Tim!! I changed mine tonight. I used OEM bushings again though.
One thing though and it worked on mine not sure if it will work on everyones. But i was able to use the 3 arm puller and pull the entire carrier with bushing off at one without having to cut anything away. Came out pretty easy. Here are pics if others wanna try that method.
Thanks! :thumbup:
One thing though and it worked on mine not sure if it will work on everyones. But i was able to use the 3 arm puller and pull the entire carrier with bushing off at one without having to cut anything away. Came out pretty easy. Here are pics if others wanna try that method.
Thanks! :thumbup:
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716 Posts
Staszek said:
What did you block the center with to get the puller to push on?
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6,550 Posts
nEVERCLEAR said:
Nothing. I had the point of the puller directly in the center of the control arm itself. It moves around a bit I had to hold the pullers arms tight around the carrier till I was able to crank it a few times and got it tight, then after that I put my socket wrench at the end of the puller and turned till it was almost off, then just pulled it off by hand.
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4 Posts
Thanks for the great write-up and advice. I replaced both control arms with a new set of oem bushings this past weekend. It took a while, but now my car feels great.
I wish I would have taken pics for the control arm portion of the project but I was more concerned about getting the job done. I had also read that you are supposed to get the car back on the ground to load the bushings for proper settling as quickly as possible. However, it took me a lot longer than expected. This is described in the next link:
http://www.dol.net/~stimpee/carmrepl.htm
It took me a lot longer than I thought, should I be worried.
The control arm is pretty much impossible to get off the outer ball joint (next to wheel) without a special tool. I tried banging on it with a pickle fork and a 3 pound hammer. I mean really banging just like the above website mentioned but I couldn't get it off.
Using a tool such as the following did the trick.
http://handsontools.com/store-produ...-Aid-Tie-Rod-End-Ball-Joint-Lifter_3279.html#
The BMW tool mentioned in the Bentley manual is too expensive and this tool works great. Fast shipping by these guys.
Anyway, I have a question for you guys.
My steering wheel was off center slightly before the project, and there was shaking during braking. I was gonna get an alignment done after the project. However, after the porject, the shaking upon braking ceased (something I hoped would happen, otherwise another project, new pads and rotors), and the steering wheel actually centered. Before it was off by about 20 deg and now it is pretty close to center.
Do I need an alignment? I probably do but can I get away with not doing one? Any help would be appreciated.
I wish I would have taken pics for the control arm portion of the project but I was more concerned about getting the job done. I had also read that you are supposed to get the car back on the ground to load the bushings for proper settling as quickly as possible. However, it took me a lot longer than expected. This is described in the next link:
http://www.dol.net/~stimpee/carmrepl.htm
It took me a lot longer than I thought, should I be worried.
The control arm is pretty much impossible to get off the outer ball joint (next to wheel) without a special tool. I tried banging on it with a pickle fork and a 3 pound hammer. I mean really banging just like the above website mentioned but I couldn't get it off.
Using a tool such as the following did the trick.
http://handsontools.com/store-produ...-Aid-Tie-Rod-End-Ball-Joint-Lifter_3279.html#
The BMW tool mentioned in the Bentley manual is too expensive and this tool works great. Fast shipping by these guys.
Anyway, I have a question for you guys.
My steering wheel was off center slightly before the project, and there was shaking during braking. I was gonna get an alignment done after the project. However, after the porject, the shaking upon braking ceased (something I hoped would happen, otherwise another project, new pads and rotors), and the steering wheel actually centered. Before it was off by about 20 deg and now it is pretty close to center.
Do I need an alignment? I probably do but can I get away with not doing one? Any help would be appreciated.
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716 Posts
I would watch for odd tire wear, if it feels good and the tires wear properly I would not get it aligned. Some places will check your alignment for free.
Urethan Bushing moving?
I installed the PowerFlex Urethane bushings on my car and it looks like the inner sleeve (purple part) has creeped out of the carrier. Has anyone else had this issue? Here is a photo. Notice the purple inside sleeve of the bushing is out about 1/2 centimeter.
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I installed the PowerFlex Urethane bushings on my car and it looks like the inner sleeve (purple part) has creeped out of the carrier. Has anyone else had this issue? Here is a photo. Notice the purple inside sleeve of the bushing is out about 1/2 centimeter.
Yeah, getting these things back on is a MUTHA!! :bawling: I just tore the wife's car apart this last weekend, pressed the damn sleeve out of the old mounts (what a SUPER HUGE pain in the @#$) just to find out I had 60 mm instead of the powerflex 66 mm I ordered. :bawling: So, I had to get this thing back on the road and went to a local store, BMW ONLY, in Bellevue, WA and bought 66mm OEMs. They did say that this production from BMW is a better bushing than stock, and should last 60k...we'll see. I think I saw someone in this thread a couple pages back that didn't even have a floorjack and was renting all his tools? I wonder what happened to him? Big problems...I hope not :slap:nEVERCLEAR said:
Now back to the garage...to try to slip on my virgin bushings...damn, it's a hard push...and my HUGE HAMMER is not working!!! :thumbdwn:
:woot: Well, with my wonder bar out prying against the exhaust pipe on the passenger side and using a screwdriver through the hole to line up, then push as hard as I could, the :censor: things are in! I used synthetic motor oil on the passenger side and it was HARD. I used Liquid Wrench on the driver's side and it seemed to go on better--but that might be because Mr. Control Arm met Mr. Dremel Tool and any of the slightest burs or anything were removed prior. I used the Scotch Brite pad like was suggested and that shined the arm up nice--that was a great tip. I did my wheel bearing last weekend...that was a breeze. This was a :censor: :censor: rotten dirty son of a :censor: :censor: suckin no good rat :censor: of a job.
Having said all that...I think the job would be easier if you use the Power Flex bushings instead of OEM. The idea of tapping the blue innard onto the arm, then sliding the bracket onto the blue piece looks a hell of alot easier than what I just went through. OEM will never go back on my BMW as long as I own it...what a :censor: of a job.
Oh yeah...I just took it out for a drive and it feels damn good. I slammed on the brakes after going a few miles and heard a clunk..those :censor: are definitely seated now :burnout:
Having said all that...I think the job would be easier if you use the Power Flex bushings instead of OEM. The idea of tapping the blue innard onto the arm, then sliding the bracket onto the blue piece looks a hell of alot easier than what I just went through. OEM will never go back on my BMW as long as I own it...what a :censor: of a job.
Oh yeah...I just took it out for a drive and it feels damn good. I slammed on the brakes after going a few miles and heard a clunk..those :censor: are definitely seated now :burnout:
Very thorough DIY install Tim. Thanks.
For those of you that are considering replacing your OEM bushings with Powerflex, you can make Tims DIY instructions even easier by also replacing the control arm, as the ball joints on them use "rubber sleeves" that are prone to wear. There are now control arms on the market with a "metal sleeve" ball joint, not prone to the oil leak failure of rubber ones.
Also keep in mind that any suspension work of this nature should be followed by a wheel alignment
Happy Motoring,
Wosby
For those of you that are considering replacing your OEM bushings with Powerflex, you can make Tims DIY instructions even easier by also replacing the control arm, as the ball joints on them use "rubber sleeves" that are prone to wear. There are now control arms on the market with a "metal sleeve" ball joint, not prone to the oil leak failure of rubber ones.
Also keep in mind that any suspension work of this nature should be followed by a wheel alignment
Happy Motoring,
Wosby
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6,385 Posts
a good way to get the bushings back onto the control arm is with dish soap. they slide right on without any problems.
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