Powerflex Bushing Install DIY

[Roadkill]

weaksauce, i installed powerflex bushings on my e39. the large washers that sit on either side of the bushing were an absolute PITA to fit. as you have already figured out, there is supposed to be no room whatsoever in the bushing. some people have opted to leave out the washers upon installation, DO NOT DO THIS. the washers will fit, you just have work them in there. good luck.

P.S. Almost forgot - make sure you torque the bushings when the car is on the ground with the suspension loaded.

[dpgx5]

Originally Posted by weaksauce

well, i did both sets of control arm bushings and the shimmy problem i have has gotten a lot worse.
I noticed the bushings did not fit correctly AFTER I drilled and pushed the old bushings out.... so I put the new powerflex in the lower arm and it had spare room on the outside of the bushing to the arm housing. anything over 40 mph and the whole truck starts shaking violently.

I just checked and they shipped me a set of PFF5-602 bushings, which are for the e34 and e32, but not listed for the X5. i'm guessing they are too flexable for the x5 for some reason.

I have a shimmy too 100km, but I changed the thrust arm bush to the purple powerflex last year (only have 8000km on them) I have an appointment at the dealer tommorow to check if I still get a shimmy with my stock 19's (wheel swap) I hope they check my front brakes if my problem is still there. But if there is nothing wrong with my rotors or calipers, I think the poly bush is bad. Ill keep you posted.

**UPDATE*** Rotors Are Wraped. Bought a set and installing tommorow.

Originally Posted by CharlieHustleX5

I just swapped PowerFlex to Meyle HD earlier this month. Meyle feels no rougher than stock. I hope they outlast them, but even if they dont I cant be too disappointed since they weren't more expensive than OEM.

Charlie, any reason why you swapped them out? How long did you have them on for? Was it the purple ones?

[jattdipasand]

Originally Posted by weaksauce

well, i did both sets of control arm bushings and the shimmy problem i have has gotten a lot worse.
I noticed the bushings did not fit correctly AFTER I drilled and pushed the old bushings out.... so I put the new powerflex in the lower arm and it had spare room on the outside of the bushing to the arm housing. anything over 40 mph and the whole truck starts shaking violently.

I just checked and they shipped me a set of PFF5-602 bushings, which are for the e34 and e32, but not listed for the X5. i'm guessing they are too flexable for the x5 for some reason.

Can you point me to a DIY or steps you followed to remove the lower arm?

TIA

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________
03 X5 3.0 Sports Pkg
01 M3 Convert

[weaksauce]

Originally Posted by dinan e39

weaksauce, i installed powerflex bushings on my e39. the large washers that sit on either side of the bushing were an absolute PITA to fit. as you have already figured out, there is supposed to be no room whatsoever in the bushing. some people have opted to leave out the washers upon installation, DO NOT DO THIS. the washers will fit, you just have work them in there. good luck.

P.S. Almost forgot - make sure you torque the bushings when the car is on the ground with the suspension loaded.

there are no washers on the bushings. the fronts have a lip you press thru the factory bore hole in the end of the arm, then slide the rod thru.
the suspension loaded or unloaded does not matter since the powerflex are not glued together like the factory bushings. they pivot on teh center pin.
i replaced the lower arms last night with new lemforder arms with oem bushings in them, and the truck felt better, but the alignment was way off, i was toed out over an inch in the front. I adjusted my toe to almost nuetral (approx 1/8" toe out) but I am chasing a electrical gremlin on the AC compressor so I haven't driven it since i adjusted the arm. all the toe out would cause it to feel more stable even with bad bushings, so my results are not confirmed just yet, but i feel good about it.

Also the ball joints on the 4 month old arms were bad as well. I bought the whole front end rebuild kit off of ebay because it was cheap. guess what, I got to spend the money all over again anyway, so it cost me more in the end. lesson learned.

Originally Posted by jattdipasand

Can you point me to a DIY or steps you followed to remove the lower arm?

jack the truck up
losen but don't remove the bolt going thru the control arm bushing
losen the ball joint and seperate it from the hub (easier said than done)
put the new arm on ball joint first thru the hole and tighten
then swing it up into position and put the mounting bolt thru it.
at this point i usually tighten the bolt till i feel it start to get snug, then back it off a full turn.
lower the truck down and rive it forward and backward about 10 feet giving it gas and brakes to settle the truck onto the suspension.
then i pull it forward onto my ramps with the weight of the truck still on the suspension
tighten the nut and bolt holding the arm on as tight as I can get it with a 18" cheater bar so it won't back off

then i check my alignment to make sure it is close enough to drive to the alignment shop.
if it's not I adjust it to get it close.

sounds like a lot of steps, but it really isn't that hard
the ball joint will need a 22mm wrench and a seperating tool
the control arm bolt is a 16mm on one side and a 18mm on the other.

[m5james]

Weaksauce, which eBay supplier did you use for you suspension pieces? I've had great luck over the years with FCP Groton, but they have two brands/levels within their stores...the cheap no name parts and their higher-end Meyle, Lemforder, etc lifetime warranty parts.

Also, I don't know how good of an idea it is to lower the vehicle and do that whole back and forth slamming around of parts when they're loose on the car to "settle" them...the sheer weight of your 5000+lbs SAV will do that just fine. I just tighten the nuts till they've pulled up inside whatever arm and are snug, put the vehicle onto the ground and torque to final spec. Considering the weight of this vehicle, I really don't think doing that back and forth thing is doing you or your loosely installed parts any good...just my .02

[jattdipasand]

Originally Posted by weaksauce

there are no washers on the bushings. the fronts have a lip you press thru the factory bore hole in the end of the arm, then slide the rod thru.
the suspension loaded or unloaded does not matter since the powerflex are not glued together like the factory bushings. they pivot on teh center pin.
i replaced the lower arms last night with new lemforder arms with oem bushings in them, and the truck felt better, but the alignment was way off, i was toed out over an inch in the front. I adjusted my toe to almost nuetral (approx 1/8" toe out) but I am chasing a electrical gremlin on the AC compressor so I haven't driven it since i adjusted the arm. all the toe out would cause it to feel more stable even with bad bushings, so my results are not confirmed just yet, but i feel good about it.

Also the ball joints on the 4 month old arms were bad as well. I bought the whole front end rebuild kit off of ebay because it was cheap. guess what, I got to spend the money all over again anyway, so it cost me more in the end. lesson learned.



jack the truck up
losen but don't remove the bolt going thru the control arm bushing
losen the ball joint and seperate it from the hub (easier said than done)
put the new arm on ball joint first thru the hole and tighten
then swing it up into position and put the mounting bolt thru it.
at this point i usually tighten the bolt till i feel it start to get snug, then back it off a full turn.
lower the truck down and rive it forward and backward about 10 feet giving it gas and brakes to settle the truck onto the suspension.
then i pull it forward onto my ramps with the weight of the truck still on the suspension
tighten the nut and bolt holding the arm on as tight as I can get it with a 18" cheater bar so it won't back off

then i check my alignment to make sure it is close enough to drive to the alignment shop.
if it's not I adjust it to get it close.

sounds like a lot of steps, but it really isn't that hard
the ball joint will need a 22mm wrench and a seperating tool
the control arm bolt is a 16mm on one side and a 18mm on the other.

Thanks much for the steps. I know separating the ball joint can be a PITA. Last time on me e46 it took me quite a few hard blows on the ball joint separator to get it to move a little. I guess I will be getting those tools again on rent from Autozone. Thanks for your help. Cheers!

I already have bought the purple Powerflex bushings but after reading here its giving me doubts now.

Does the washer help it to a snug fit?

[weaksauce]

Originally Posted by jattdipasand

Thanks much for the steps. I know separating the ball joint can be a PITA. Last time on me e46 it took me quite a few hard blows on the ball joint separator to get it to move a little. I guess I will be getting those tools again on rent from Autozone. Thanks for your help. Cheers!

I already have bought the purple Powerflex bushings but after reading here its giving me doubts now.

Does the washer help it to a snug fit?

there is no washer to install. you put them back in the same way they came out. there are no washers.

Originally Posted by m5james

Weaksauce, which eBay supplier did you use for you suspension pieces? I've had great luck over the years with FCP Groton, but they have two brands/levels within their stores...the cheap no name parts and their higher-end Meyle, Lemforder, etc lifetime warranty parts.

Also, I don't know how good of an idea it is to lower the vehicle and do that whole back and forth slamming around of parts when they're loose on the car to "settle" them...the sheer weight of your 5000+lbs SAV will do that just fine. I just tighten the nuts till they've pulled up inside whatever arm and are snug, put the vehicle onto the ground and torque to final spec. Considering the weight of this vehicle, I really don't think doing that back and forth thing is doing you or your loosely installed parts any good...just my .02

whichever was the cheapest. I price shopped for a week to save as much as possible on them, and got just what i paid for, cheap.

as for the settling, you are probably right, but i wanted to ensure there was no preload on the new bushings at all. there is nowhere for the parts to go once the bolts are installed and they have nuts on them, so I don't see what it would hurt. It's not like I drove on them for a few weeks, then torqued them.

I do know that if you reuse your old nuts on the lower arm bushings, you better lock-tight them or they will back off even at torque spec. it happened last time I did them. So this time I used new nuts, lock tight and over torqued them too. I am so sick of the suspension on this truck. it drives like a dream when everything is perfect, but as soon as anything gets slightly off, the thing shakes like a dog shitting a peach seed.

[flatlander]

Originally Posted by weaksauce

I am so sick of the suspension on this truck. it drives like a dream when everything is perfect, but as soon as anything gets slightly off, the thing shakes like a dog shitting a peach seed.

hahaha. Mine is the same way.

[m5james]

Originally Posted by weaksauce

whichever was the cheapest. I price shopped for a week to save as much as possible on them, and got just what i paid for, cheap.

as for the settling, you are probably right, but i wanted to ensure there was no preload on the new bushings at all. there is nowhere for the parts to go once the bolts are installed and they have nuts on them, so I don't see what it would hurt. It's not like I drove on them for a few weeks, then torqued them.

I do know that if you reuse your old nuts on the lower arm bushings, you better lock-tight them or they will back off even at torque spec. it happened last time I did them. So this time I used new nuts, lock tight and over torqued them too. I am so sick of the suspension on this truck. it drives like a dream when everything is perfect, but as soon as anything gets slightly off, the thing shakes like a dog shitting a peach seed.

Quit buying the cheapest option. Even their most expensive option is still cheaper than stock BMW parts, so you kind of did this one to yourself. I have heard stories of practically new suspension pieces failing as quickly or quicker than stock parts, but there is also the human factor...purchased the cheapest of cheap parts, installation errors and not doing it exactly as you should.

I can assure you, 5000+ lbs doesn't need your assistance in settling, and while you have the bolts on there, they're not torqued, so yes, they are being thrashed around when you do that....slamming on the brakes while going forward causing downward and forward movement, and doing the same in reverse causes upward and rearward movement. Do you really think that things aren't moving around when you do that? I've yet to see ANYONE at a shop install suspension parts that way, so I'm sure there is a reason why you're experiencing premature failures above and beyond buying the cheapest of cheap parts. Get the higher ended FCP stuff, put them in, put the car on the ground, tighten and forget it...lose the hard back & forth step and see how things turn out then. It only takes one good slam to break a balljoint and/or deform the hole it moves around in, especially when untorqued and loose in the arm, so your two weeks reference doesn't really help justify your technique.

The new parts come with new bolts for a reason, so why would you reuse the old bolts in the first place? No offense, but per your own words...it sounds like your doing it wrong all by yourself. Slamming the truck around to settle them, reusing old bolts, and now you admit to overtorqueing? That's as bad as not torqueing them enough since pieces will break prematurely from too much stress, so you're really not doing yourself any justice by deviating what has already been proven and tested by engineers who know far more than you and I, hence why they give us those numbers to use.

196k on the 91 E34 M5 (stock), 138k on the 98 740iL(H&R Stage II, Bilstein HD), 103k on the 01 X5 4.4(stock)...all butter smooth. At this point, I think the only constant factor in all your suspension woes is you. Sorry man, but you need to change your technique and follow the installations by the book instead of adding in your own twist.

[kablammo]

Originally Posted by dinan e39

james,

thanks again for the info. i'll do a little more homework before i commit but it sounds like PF is a good alternative to stock.

Meyle HD BMW