Just finished doing the RTAB's and limiter's using a Schwaben RTAB puller/ installer tool I purchased from ECS Tuning. It went very well and I highly recommend purchasing the correct puller tool if you are doing this job, whether it is this Schwaben or the MIS tool. I watched a few videos on making your own tools with plumbing caps or drilling or burning the old ones out. I did all that when I was younger and much prefer the "easy" route nowadays! ECS has very good instuctions on how to use it on the website.
The tool is heavy but I would not call it a pro tool by any means, however if used gently and not abused should be usable for many RTAB jobs. If you go reefing on it with a 1/2" breaker bar or an impact gun, I can't see it lasting long. The threads will get all boogered up quickly! I used a standard length gear-wrench to do the whole job and greased the threads at each step. If I use the tool again, I will get a thrust bearing https://www.amazon.com/Grooved-Race-Thrust-Bearing-Inch/dp/B002IG3GYQ to help reduce friction. It uses what looks to be 3/8"x16 all-thread, fortunately easy to replace if damaged. A finer pitch thread would make it easier to pull with at the expense of more overall turns but 3/8-24 is not a standard allthread size and a fully threaded bolt that length to use may be impossible to acquire. Ideally, and what would make it more of a pro tool is if it used an acme thread, but that would also raise the price to pro tool level. Acme thread is designed for pulling as it's threads are square not triangular like a bolt.The threaded part (top piece in second pic) that engages the bushing for pulling is heavy and 1 1/4" thick and fully threaded, and has a recess for the bushing. The other end ( U shaped piece) fits perfectly against the arm and allows the bushing to pass within it. I kept looking at one corner right where it pulls against the arm at what looked like the metal deforming, I didn't notice it until after I had pulled the first bushing. I think it was plasma cut and it's just an ugly finish, not a failure of the tool.
I purchased the M3 OE bushings and ECS limiters. I used a hose clamp around the bushings to squeeze them together for installing and I believe that helps immensely! It's a 2 piece steel shell, half and half with about 3/16" gap between the halves. Instructions from ECS instructions http://bd8ba3c866c8cbc330ab-7b26c6f...6f3e01bf511d4da3315c66902d6.r6.cf1.rackcdn.com/20610_Schwaben_BMW_RTAB_Tool.pdf show the installation tool should be on the outboard end during both removal and installation. The first one went in with no issues, first try. Second one however was wanting to have no part of the installation experience and kept starting to go in at an angle. Flipped it around, adjusted the tool, etc I didn't force it at that point as it would have just destroyed the bushing and possibly the tool. After inspecting the arm realized that the ramp machined into the hole isn't on both sides of the hole, just the outboard side. Turned the tool around and pulled from outboard to inboard instead of the other way around. The bushing went right in. The tool had to be fully disassembled to remove after but that was a very minor issue. A socket and ratchet would not have fit then, so the gear-wrench worked perfectly. I am going to reach out to ECS about adding a note to the install manual about being able to use the tool backwards.
All in all an easy job with the right tools and didn't spend hours trying to fabricate something that wouldn't necessarily work as well.
The tool is heavy but I would not call it a pro tool by any means, however if used gently and not abused should be usable for many RTAB jobs. If you go reefing on it with a 1/2" breaker bar or an impact gun, I can't see it lasting long. The threads will get all boogered up quickly! I used a standard length gear-wrench to do the whole job and greased the threads at each step. If I use the tool again, I will get a thrust bearing https://www.amazon.com/Grooved-Race-Thrust-Bearing-Inch/dp/B002IG3GYQ to help reduce friction. It uses what looks to be 3/8"x16 all-thread, fortunately easy to replace if damaged. A finer pitch thread would make it easier to pull with at the expense of more overall turns but 3/8-24 is not a standard allthread size and a fully threaded bolt that length to use may be impossible to acquire. Ideally, and what would make it more of a pro tool is if it used an acme thread, but that would also raise the price to pro tool level. Acme thread is designed for pulling as it's threads are square not triangular like a bolt.The threaded part (top piece in second pic) that engages the bushing for pulling is heavy and 1 1/4" thick and fully threaded, and has a recess for the bushing. The other end ( U shaped piece) fits perfectly against the arm and allows the bushing to pass within it. I kept looking at one corner right where it pulls against the arm at what looked like the metal deforming, I didn't notice it until after I had pulled the first bushing. I think it was plasma cut and it's just an ugly finish, not a failure of the tool.
I purchased the M3 OE bushings and ECS limiters. I used a hose clamp around the bushings to squeeze them together for installing and I believe that helps immensely! It's a 2 piece steel shell, half and half with about 3/16" gap between the halves. Instructions from ECS instructions http://bd8ba3c866c8cbc330ab-7b26c6f...6f3e01bf511d4da3315c66902d6.r6.cf1.rackcdn.com/20610_Schwaben_BMW_RTAB_Tool.pdf show the installation tool should be on the outboard end during both removal and installation. The first one went in with no issues, first try. Second one however was wanting to have no part of the installation experience and kept starting to go in at an angle. Flipped it around, adjusted the tool, etc I didn't force it at that point as it would have just destroyed the bushing and possibly the tool. After inspecting the arm realized that the ramp machined into the hole isn't on both sides of the hole, just the outboard side. Turned the tool around and pulled from outboard to inboard instead of the other way around. The bushing went right in. The tool had to be fully disassembled to remove after but that was a very minor issue. A socket and ratchet would not have fit then, so the gear-wrench worked perfectly. I am going to reach out to ECS about adding a note to the install manual about being able to use the tool backwards.
All in all an easy job with the right tools and didn't spend hours trying to fabricate something that wouldn't necessarily work as well.
