How to change a bad BMW control arm bushing the back yard way using a torch, few 2×4’s, hammer and the obvious. Works for me.
How to change a bad BMW control arm bushing the back yard way using a torch, few 2×4’s, hammer and the obvious. Works for me.
You must be logged in to post a comment.
){kind=link}
ive got an e36 325is im about to have to do this too any tips? the bushing
is wore so bad that threres just a small portion of rubber and the rest is
the metal arm smacking the housing lol
@benton386 how hard is it to just removed the lollipop from the lca while
its on a car …?
Well demonstrated video. I normal warm the centre of the the old bush up
which then alloys the removal process to be easier.
@zimmie The holes are up to give a stiffer ride for better handling.
@wendileona I don’t know how much a shop would charge for this. The part
cost 80 for both sides for a Moog brand one. It take about an hour a side
to do if you don’t have the right tools, which I don’t.I guess the bill
would be around 300 or 400.
@wendileona ………….i had mine replaced cost me $850.00 …so this
would be a good savings..
When putting the new control arm bushings on sand any rust off the control
arm stalk then cover it and the inside of the bushings with dish soap.
It’ll slide on easily then sometimes by hand or just a couple taps with a
hammer. Do not use any kind of grease. Dish soap is
@farztorres They all pretty much go in the same way for most of the BMW
models.Bmw made alot of their parts interchangeable between models.
Difference tolerances but same fit. That’s why you can drop a 750 v12 motor
in a 3 series with limited problems. Amazing isn’t it.
It is funny how I have so many haters. when i posted this video there were
no other like it. I had to figure this out on my own. The shops near me
wanted about $450 to this simple repair. I thought by uploading a “how to”
on this would help other poor people like myself who happen to own an old
an old BMW. I have more to upload, but with all the hate mail, and down
votes, I am reluctant to do so, considering I can’t do AAA quality.
I sandwiched it between 2 2x4s and tapped it in the bracket. Real pain.
Then I finished tapping it in with just the hammer on the outer ring till
it was all the way in, since I did not have a press. I used the torch to
make the inner ring rubber soft like lube. I only heated the shaft. I did
this job twice. The first time I used solid bushings, but they broke apart.
I had a feeling the solid ones were to easy to install to be good. It’s
been a year of hard driving now and no problems.
It’s cause the video is poor quality and you can’t see anything.
Unfortunately for me since there is nothing else on the web for this model
and I’m trying to replace mine.
How much would a replacement of control arm/bushings cost for this E46 and
an E36 at an autoshop? I just would like to know, as I’m sure others will,
what kind of savings we’re talking about if you DIY? Thanks!
Lol. Thé vidéo is very poor quality man. Try to fix you hand in the next
video. Thanks anyways for the effort
@benton386 thanks man i just got new shocks though so im sure i will be
good.
PS – what replacement bushings did you buy? I’d like to buy high
performance ones while I’m replacing mine. Not interested in dropping $ for
the full control arm replacement though. My worry is being able to get the
bushing out once I pull off the wishbone arm, I need to find the right tool
I know will work.
@joeldude76 That pretty much describes it. A ball joint can do that too,
but a bad control arm bushing is much more noticeable. This condition is
usually caused by bad shocks, or speed bumps, or hitting curb like
obstacles at high speeds. or all of the above LOL.
@joeldude76 100% difference, very solid and smooth. Replace the shocks or
you will destroy them again in no time. You will need an alignment after
completing the job. You can save money by getting parts from rockauto dot
com. They are about a third to half off what it cost at local auto parts
stores.
I jacked my 318CI SE 2002, up with the jack that comes with the car. Took
front left wheel off. Removed the cover underneath the car. The Bush looked
worn and had plenty of play in it but, it was a tough bastard to remove.
Didn’t heat it, just a 2b4 and heavy hammer. Took 3hrs tho but, with the
new rear coil springs we fitted yesterday the car is running extra proper
smooth.
Why the dislikes? If someone wants to DIY this job or any other featured on
utube, praise the people that are trying to get the message across. Its a
‘like’ from me.
pikeys
@wendileona I just replaced mine on my E46 330ci and it was easy. $88 for a
bushing kit (set of 2). Took longer to jack up and support car than to
replace bushings, but count on 30 to 45 minutes. Mine were pretty badly
worn and I twisted them off by hand. Installing the new, heavy duty
bushings were a bit tricky, but if you have a little creativity, you wont
need any special tool for this. I used my foot. Just be sure to get bushing
assembly not bare bushing
Hey man helped me. Im in a bind on cash…I also didint think about poly
bushings (which look super simple to instal…damnit.) Who cares what those
kids think. They all have mommy and daddys money anyway, and think BMW
expensive to own HAHA
@s2000julius Assemblies are for those who don’t have a clue what they are
doing or have money to throw away. You get what you pay for. For $88 I am
pretty sure you did not get race or m spec bushings. You will be replacing
those in no time, unless you drive slow and easy, LOL.
@benton386 Keep me updated on that one because I have 318 and was wondering
how to gain some more power. I don’t think the car was ever looked after
properly because of what I have so far every time I was replacing stuff.
Paid a grand and spent nearly the same but you can’t put a price on the fun
i have in it.
different, never thought of that (with torch) i like. anyway they are a
pain in the ass to take off and put on. how did you get it on the control
arm. with a hammer and 7/8 socket???????
@benton386 YES thank you i think mine are bad because there 11 years old
and stock the shocks were stock until 152k miles so they were horrible and
im getting my bushings replace soon dont know when
did the bad bushing like cause your steering wheel to move and shake up and
down when you hit lttle bumps because my 2000 gmc sierra does that the
steering wheel will move up and down and its annoying
@benton386 Why do some people always have to find fault in something. I
simply answered the question asked by wendileona and your are gonna talk
crap about my new heavy duty bushings. The fact is: they are new as oppesed
to the 11 year old worn out standard bushings. They are not polyurethane
racing or M spec bushings but they are an upgrade to what was removed and I
have been racing with the old ones, so these are just fine for any e46
setup.
@Edgrr85 Wow, those shops sure can hustle people out of hard earned money.
I would hate to see what a real job like an engine rebuild would cost, LOL.
Seriously this job takes about an hour tops. That’s 800 an hour if you take
your time.
You don’t need to heat it, alternatively, you can freeze the lolipop for a
day in the freezer and it will pop right on there.
i have a bad strut and also have this bad bushings. and car shakes over 40
miles a hour and sometimes pulls itself to the right its scary. i changed
the control arm thining that was the problem also took me 3 hours to take
the bushings out. i finaly started lubcritateing in oil then twisting them
and it worked. whats the proper way of removeing them ?
noob question… why did you heat the shaft where the bushing goes?
I took my lollipops/eyeball arms to a friend’s tire shop and put them in a
3 ton hydraulic press with plates, then set the new bushing on top of the
old one and it pressed the new bushing into the eyeball arm as it was
pushing the old bushing out. When installing the new bushing onto the
control arm you can sand the rod with sandpaper a little and use dishsoap
to make it slide into place easier.
@zimmie I wont pay $400 at a shop to have 2 $30 parts installed. The car
drives straight and stiff. The way it is supposed to. I did fine with out a
press, but it would have been nice to have one. I could not find a video on
this so I made one to help others. Don’t like it, make one. simple as that.
oh and so after the replacement bushings were in im guessing that it fixed
it as in made the steering wheel and car feel more solid?
@TheDjSweets I am getting a 318 next. The 318 has a lot more room to work
with under the hood and is better on gas. I know the 328 is faster, but gas
is going to going up. I am confident I can get a nice increase with a few
easy mods to a 318. I am guessing the bottom of the car is very similar to
the 328I.
Did the bushings go on easy after heating up the control arm stalk? I can
barely get the bushing thru the hole
Did the bushing go on easy after heating up the control arm stalk? I can
bare