How long are your sway bar links lasting?

[Henn28]

My right front "clunk" over slow speed bumps has progressed now to sounding out when I jab the brakes at slow speed. Sway bar end links didn't fix it, so per discussions above, I'm on to new thrust arm bushings. I had hoped the monoball versions I've got now would have lasted longer, but I'm at 2 years and maybe 15k on them. New Orleans roads are terrible, and I do have the X on some rougher terrain in the winter.

I decided to give the Powerflex bushings a try this time. I've got a spare set of thrust arms and can turn my monoball arms in to Turner if the poly bushings fix the clunk.

The Powerflex poly bushings came as a kit of four metal insert halves which need to be pressed into the arm, single piece bushings, a metal insert for the bolt to go through, a small packet of grease, and a washer/spacer. Once I pulled my spare arms out of the storage space I quickly figured out that there was no way my bushing kit was going to squeeze the metal collar out of the arm. It made quick work pulling the actual OE bushing out (see pic where the fluid came pouring out as one of them cleared the arm), but even with a little heat on the arm, the metal collar was in way, way to tightly.



So it was off to the local suspension shop today where their 50 ton press made very quick work of the problem Old collars out and new pieces in, and I was on my way home where I set my press up again, this time to squeeze the poly bushing into the bores.


Really the only gotcha is that the instructions stress that the bushings have a front. This is stamped/molded into the bushing flange in small letters, and while the arms have a "R" and "L" stamped on them, I took a look at my X5 to make sure I had the fronts of the bushing bores identified. You can make out some writing on the side of the poly bushing flange in the pic above...that is where it says "front". Somewhat irritating too is that the only place to find the instructions is on line. I'm glad I looked for them though because the bushings look completely symmetrical to me and I'm glad I didn't just pop them in without identifying the front.



Next up is to sked some time on the lift so I can swap them in, along with new ball joints for them to attach to, at the bearing carrier/knuckle. I know one of those bolt heads is stripped, So I've got a reverse thread extractor kit standing by for the job.

It will be interesting to see how the poly bushings compare to the OE and monoball pieces. I liked the monoball a lot, but when the front right wore out the ride and noise level got noticeably worse.

[Henn28]

I bit the bullet and installed my spare tension struts with the powerflex bushings. Removing the tension struts is a pain, but I also had a set of the ball joints that they attach to at the steering knuckle. I was prepared for a fight, but at the end of the day the ball joints won.

I’ve done this job several times now and have found a three jaw puller is the best way to get the struts off the ball joints. My plan after unfastening the struts at the knuckle and the chassis was to unscrew the torx bolts holding the ball joints in, the reattach that end of the strut and hammer on it with a sledge to pop the ball joint out of the knuckle.



My dreams were rapidly crushed when the head on on of the torx bolts stripped. Moving to the other side, I noticed that the bolts there were hex…and the first one I tried stripped even more quickly. Good times. Insult to injury, my reverse bit and screw extractor set could not reach the screw heads because the dust shield is in the way. So the ball joints won.

Otherwise the job wasn’t too difficult with the three leg puller and my new Gear Wrench torque wrench. And the ride is 90% better. Slow speed clunk is almost completely gone, and things are much more quiet. The right ball joint is very loose and I think causing a slight clunk over very large bumps. These joints have been in for close to 4 years. I changed them when I had the wheel hubs completely off for the motor change.

Mono ball pieces will go back to Turner for a credit I hope. They only lasted 9627 miles and 2.5 years. Time will tell how the poly bushings do.


Eventually I’ll need to get those ball joints out. I am going to price out used steering knuckles/hubs so I can do the wheel bearings and ball joints and then just swap them in at some point.

[Themoog]

Just a thought about your low speed clunk or whatever it is - check that the subframe bolts are really tight. I had a clunk at low speed and that's what it turned out to be. I didn't torque them I just got a breaker bar and tightened all of them with some sensible force..
As for the shimmy I chased a similar thing in mine for years and it didn't go away until I had a new set of tyres fitted 6 months ago. I had wheels balancing done, poly bushed the thrust arm etc but nothing changed. Brake caliper rebuild (easy peasy) was also done to eliminate them binding.

[X5chemist]

Themoog! Nice info to share! I've been chasing a low speed clunk for months. I still can't find it! I'll check them bolts it my largest breaker bar.

[Henn28]

Thanks gents. After I threw sway bar links at it, my next thought was the subframe was loose. I had dropped it to get the front diff in a few years ago, but I checked and all the bolts were torqued correctly. I also checked the stiffener plate because that can cause a nasty and scary clunk as the subframe flexes under braking, if it isn't tight. Ask me how I know! All good there.

I feel it has to be the right ball joint that I can't get out (that the tension strut attaches too). It was really floppy and actually had at tiny bit of vertical play in it. I am imagining this play causing the tension strut to bang against the knuckle over bigger bumps.

the clunk is much better, so I suspect my bushings were failing too. Maybe it was all related. At any rate, its drivable and feels good with the new bushings, and I found what looks to be a decent right front carrier/knuckle on ebay for dirt cheap, and I ordered a new bearing kit from FCP. Unfortunately after consulting Bentley, it looks like I'll need a new hub too as it says they are trashed once you pull them out of the bearing. That will be the most expensive part at $140 on FCP. After I clean it up and shoot it with some rustoleum, I'll take the whole thing down to my local suspension shop and have them press everything out, and the new bearing and hub in. The left side is only a bit loose, so I can take my time on that one. Ebay has those knuckles for $60!

At this point, I think I can swap a new carrier/knuckle in faster than I could get the stripped ball joint out, and I get a new bearing for little effort. I broke down and bought the tool to pullthe axle into the hub, which makes this stuff so much faster and easier. I'll also be able to get some new grease into the right CV joint, and get a new clamp on it. Its been throwing grease for months in slow motion as I clearly didn't get the clamp tight enough when I did that axle.

Unfortunately I'll need yet another alignment though.

[80stech]

I don't see why you would need a new a new hub, I changed both front wheel bearings and did not need a new hub. One hub did have a minor cutting torch nick from the previous guy who changed the brg. though! I did order 1 new hub when I did the back bearing though but that was just so that I could have the new bearing on and ready to make the job go faster. I have a new bearing on the old hub and ready to go if I need to do the other side. As for the sway bar links, I think 2 sets of sway bar links for every set of ball joints or tie rod ends is not unexpected. Crazy how cheap those steering knuckles are!

[Henn28]

I’d definitely rather not swap out the hubs, but since the ball joint bolts are stripped, on both sides, they aren’t coming out easily. In fact my reverse thread screw extractor and bits aren’t long enough to reach the ball joint bolts as it stands right now. There isn’t enough clearance with the dust shield, so I’d need a bit that is at least 5” long I think.

So I figure if the knuckle has to come off anyway to get the new ball joint out, I might as well do the bearings and re-grease the CV joint. . It’s a my daily so an eBay knuckle will allow me to work at my own, slow, pace and then swap it in when I don’t need the car for a couple days.

My OE bearings have 170k miles on them and seem fine. But I think it would be silly at 170k not to do them as well if the knuckle needs to come off anyway.