Has anyone replaced the bushings on the rear swing arm?

[white_335i]

Hello,

I am in the process of "refreshing" my newly acquired 05X5. I am changing all the suspension bushings and ball joints and since I have most parts apart, I had decided to remove the rear swing arms. There are 2 bushings in the arm and I had bought the replacement Lemforder bushings. I had tried all the bushing adapters that I have, but none of them are a good fit.. Has anyone replaced them and if yes, what tool/adapters have you used?

If you are not sure what I am talking about, Part # 15 in the link below is the arm that I am referring to..

RealOEM.com - Online BMW Parts Catalog

The bushings are where bolts #16 and #18 go through..

Thanks in advance for your help..

[andrej1979]

Read this
https://xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-forums/...swing-arm.html

[oldskewel]

These are the bushings, right?
https://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw...ng-33321095287

BMW does not sell those separately, so when I repaired the rear suspension on my '01, I skipped on those just because I did not know they were available separately.

Others have posted on here about doing the job, and I don't remember anyone reporting difficulty. Now the ball joints, or the integral link bolt reinstallation - those things have caused people problems.

So nothing really to say to help other than that it is possible. I'd go and rent tools from Pep Boys to expand your options.

[semcoinc]

Originally Posted by white_335i

Hello,

I am in the process of "refreshing" my newly acquired 05X5. I am changing all the suspension bushings and ball joints and since I have most parts apart, I had decided to remove the rear swing arms. There are 2 bushings in the arm and I had bought the replacement Lemforder bushings. I had tried all the bushing adapters that I have, but none of them are a good fit.. Has anyone replaced them and if yes, what tool/adapters have you used?

If you are not sure what I am talking about, Part # 15 in the link below is the arm that I am referring to..

RealOEM.com - Online BMW Parts Catalog

The bushings are where bolts #16 and #18 go through..

Thanks in advance for your help..

Yes, I have done it in conjunction with my complete suspension overhaul.

I used poly bushings. The extraction of the OE bushings was a mega PITA

But here are the poly ones being easily installed





I will look to see if I can find a link to my poly bushing source and edit this post if/when I find it.

Here are the rear swing arm bushings that I used

https://www.ebay.com/itm/221492241822



Mike

[svvg]

Yep. I did mine with the Lemforder bushes. Used a workshop press and a 52mm or maybe. A 50mm drift (forget exactly which one!). A mate leant me a comprehensive kit.

When you press the old ones out make a note (score the arm) where the splits are in the old bushes so you can put the new ones back in the same orientation.

[X5only]

Yep, shop press is the easiest- did this recently while doing a complete suspension overhaul all around. The bushings will be out in minutes and with no effort. Bought a 12 ton shop press from HarborFreight for about $90 (they were on sale). Use 2 exhaust clamps to compress the new bushings so that they can be inserted into the swing arm and pressed down with the shop press. Got the clamps from Carquest for about $12 a piece. Make sure the bushing is aligned properly on the swing arm and on the press so that it goes in straight. I got that biffy gray circular plate (on the tip of the shop press stem on top of bushing adaptor) from homedeport to help in aligning things. Rented bushing removal adaptors from Oreilly.

If you're installing poly bushings, this project is child's play with a shop press. The original bushings were still in good condition visually at 130k miles.

[white_335i]

Thank you all very much for chiming in with information and pictures.. Ordered a master ball joint tool which comes with a lot of adapters from Amazon. Hopefully has the 50/52 mm adapter in it.. If not, will look into ordering the SIR tool.

Could have gone to the local autozone and rented it, but lately, I am not having much luck with rentals.. either the tools come broken or missing pieces.. I guess, I am looking for an excuse to keep buying more tools.. Just bought the CTA ball joint removal tool as well

[X5only]

Originally Posted by white_335i

Thank you all very much for chiming in with information and pictures.. Ordered a master ball joint tool which comes with a lot of adapters from Amazon. Hopefully has the 50/52 mm adapter in it.. If not, will look into ordering the SIR tool.

Could have gone to the local autozone and rented it, but lately, I am not having much luck with rentals.. either the tools come broken or missing pieces.. I guess, I am looking for an excuse to keep buying more tools.. Just bought the CTA ball joint removal tool as well

Get that cheapo shop press then as it will have multiple uses. The force it exerts with minimal effort is incredible. It also tucks away nicely since it's slender - hardly noticeable in my garage.

I got the lower rear ball joint (wheel carrier) removal tool from aliexpress for about $66.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Rear...311.0.0.PIskaO

[Fifty150hs]

Originally Posted by white_335i

Hello,

I am in the process of "refreshing" my newly acquired 05X5. I am changing all the suspension bushings and ball joints and since I have most parts apart, I had decided to remove the rear swing arms. There are 2 bushings in the arm and I had bought the replacement Lemforder bushings. I had tried all the bushing adapters that I have, but none of them are a good fit.. Has anyone replaced them and if yes, what tool/adapters have you used?

If you are not sure what I am talking about, Part # 15 in the link below is the arm that I am referring to..

RealOEM.com - Online BMW Parts Catalog

The bushings are where bolts #16 and #18 go through..

Thanks in advance for your help..

I replaced them. I paid a local machine shop with a press to replace them. Cheaper than buying a press. The bushings have to be compressed with hose clamps to reduce them to the diameter needed to fit the swing arms.

[svvg]

Ah yes. Vey good point made above re the exhaust clamps - in order to insert the new bushes you will need to compress them as much as possible (especially the one with the larger split/“V”) - it will not insert otherwise. I used three jubilee/hose clips. Release each one as you slowly press the bush in.