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  #1  
Old 05-18-2019, 02:56 PM
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Rose bush(ing) aka ball joint, rear axle removal

Hello all, ok so my tires are in a bad state so before replacing them I want to eliminate cause of wear (outer wear on passenger rear and front is issue), last work I had done up front that called for an alignment showed the below needed replacing before it could be done correctly.Is it something that means the mechanic will need to fiddle with the air suspension and bleed it to be able to remove and replace them? Or is it less painful?



02 Ball joint
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33326767748 $63.35


only in conjunction with

-- Snap ring
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33321091687 $1.25
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Old 05-18-2019, 04:24 PM
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Your mechanic won't need to touch the air suspension to change the rear ball joints. Access is pretty easy once the wheel is off and the lower shock mount is undone.

What the mechanic WILL need is the special BMW ball joint removal/installation tool (or an aftermarket copy tool). Generic tools don't work on this particular joint due to clearance issues... Check they have one of these tools before they commence working on your car.
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Old 05-18-2019, 05:02 PM
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Rose bush(ing) aka ball joint, rear axle removal

I bought mine for about $80 from Amazon. It's the through the middle with a bolt design not the giant C type.


I think you might be wrong about the airbag though I am not sure there is no pressure on the lower link that holds the ball joint.

It's quite simple to bleed the air though.
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Old 05-18-2019, 08:21 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by andrewwynn View Post
I bought mine for about $80 from Amazon. It's the through the middle with a bolt design not the giant C type.


I think you might be wrong about the airbag though I am not sure there is no pressure on the lower link that holds the ball joint.

It's quite simple to bleed the air though.
I can't say I have any experience changing this joint (but one day...) but I see people change them with the steel spring in place, so why would an airbag be any different?
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Old 05-18-2019, 08:31 PM
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Originally Posted by wpoll View Post
I can't say I have any experience changing this joint (but one day...) but I see people change them with the steel spring in place, so why would an airbag be any different?
I'm faced with having to do this job, and control arms etc ,
and it seems to me that the spring is pushing down,

and so I wish I had air suspension so I could release the air and make it easy to move every thing around,
so I'm not looking forward to it...
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Old 05-18-2019, 08:55 PM
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I'm faced with having to do this job, and control arms etc ,
and it seems to me that the spring is pushing down,
...
Yeah, if you are going in deeper than just the rear ball joint, dropping out the spring will make it a lot easier (or possible even). In fact, if I ever do another rear wheel bearing, I'd drop the spring out - it was a pain fighting the damn spring pressure when working on the ark and knuckle etc.
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Old 05-18-2019, 10:15 PM
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Rose bush(ing) aka ball joint, rear axle removal

Changing with the spring in place is done by using a jack to push up against the spring. Or you can use a spring compression tool to make the spring shorter.

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Old 05-18-2019, 10:42 PM
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Originally Posted by andrewwynn View Post
Changing with the spring in place is done by using a jack to push up against the spring. Or you can use a spring compression tool to make the spring shorter.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
Yep - that's what I did (the jack) when changing the wheel bearing and was removing the rear axle. Wouldn't do it again - I'd pull the spring.
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Old 05-19-2019, 12:49 AM
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I’ve got to tackle this job soon. Not looking forward to it, but am planning on removing whole lower arm, to replace those inner bushes as well, so that might make access etc all a bit easier. Also have steel springs, so will just use spring compressors to take Load off everything, which might help..

Just need to make a removal tool after work this week.
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Old 05-19-2019, 05:50 AM
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The hardest part of replacing the control arms &/or ball joints on a coil spring suspension is getting the bolt holes to line backup while fighting the suspension tension. You’ll want really big pry bars or ideally someone to help you hold & leverage the suspension into the proper place. Obviously compressing the cool spring will also help but I personally do them without doing that. As for the OP’s question, bleeding the air bags down is stupid easy. Remove the rear cargo cover & sub covers & loosen the 2 air line fittings. Make sure you pull the air pump fuse first, or disconnect the battery.
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