New Meyle HD bushings installed.

[dkl]

Looks like I may be next in line with replacing these thrust arm bushings. Just spotted fluids leaking from the driver's side bushing today . No noises or shakes from the front end were noticed as of yet...so I may hold off on the replacement until some symptoms develop. I will definitely keep these Meyle HD bushings in mind comes replacement time. Thanks for the review on them, Weasel!

[AZX54.4]

I just replaced all the front end bushings on my X last week. I used the meyle HD thrust arm bushings. The driving characteristics are great. The X feels tight and precise. But not to tightly sprung. I replaced control arms and all other bushings using lemfoerder and febi parts.

All my braking shimmy is now gone. However, I still have a clunk some times when I am backing up and turning the steering wheel to the right. It is like a pop feeling in the steering wheel and a clunk noise at the same time. I am wondering if my tie rod ends needed to be replaced as well. I visually inspected them and they look fine and there is no movement in them when I tried to jiggle them around. Any thoughts???

[Weasel]

Could be the metal double joint in the steering shaft under the hood, try soaking it down with some good penetrating lube to see if it helps.

[dpgx5]

Originally Posted by Weasel

Could be the metal double joint in the steering shaft under the hood, try soaking it down with some good penetrating lube to see if it helps.

Can you show us where we would spray this? on realoem. Would it be good to lube it in general?

[Weasel]

Part#2 on this diagram, and yes it would be a good thing to spray with lube maybe a couple times a year.

RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 4.4i STEER.COL.-LOWER JOINT ASSY

[AZX54.4]

Originally Posted by Weasel

Part#2 on this diagram, and yes it would be a good thing to spray with lube maybe a couple times a year.

RealOEM.com * BMW E53 X5 4.4i STEER.COL.-LOWER JOINT ASSY

Thanks. I had seen you talk about this on a previous post. What type of penetrating lube would you recommend using? So just spray it all over #2? Should I just let it sit or should I turn the steering wheel a few times after I have sprayed it.

[Weasel]

Any decent penetrating lube would work, PB blaster or aerokroil etc, just not WD40 as it isn't meant to be a penetrating lube. And turning back and forth after spraying is fine.

What happens is the pivot joints in the double joints start drying up and can cause binding while turning to be felt and sometimes heard. The penetrating lube gets in there and frees it up, even loosens up drying grease in there. I had to spray mine down last year, it was starting to bind after driving for a while when it got hot... haven't had a problem since.

[FSETH]

Tri-Flow penetrating lube worked wonders on the steering knuckle on my e36.

Tri-Flow® Superior Lubricant Drip Bottle

[Weasel]

Speaking of E36... I am getting my old one back! Since I'm soon moving to Tickfaw and will be driving about 100 miles a day round trip for work I figured it would be a good move to put the miles on the E36 with the M50 engine and 5 speed manual that gets 28-32 mpg on the highway vs the X5 4.6is that gets 18mpg on the highway... I think the E36 325is will handle the ~30k miles a year better than the 4.6is will.

And coincidentally I might end up selling the 4.6is in about a year depending on if I really need to get a pickup truck. I'm thinking F250 crew cab 4x4 diesel for the weekends and work at the property, and the E36 as a daily driver... But if I do sell it I will make sure there are no current problems and sell it in as great of condition possible...

[FSETH]

Originally Posted by Weasel

Speaking of E36... I am getting my old one back! Since I'm soon moving to Tickfaw and will be driving about 100 miles a day round trip for work I figured it would be a good move to put the miles on the E36 with the M50 engine and 5 speed manual that gets 28-32 mpg on the highway vs the X5 4.6is that gets 18mpg on the highway... I think the E36 325is will handle the ~30k miles a year better than the 4.6is will.

And coincidentally I might end up selling the 4.6is in about a year depending on if I really need to get a pickup truck. I'm thinking F250 crew cab 4x4 diesel for the weekends and work at the property, and the E36 as a daily driver... But if I do sell it I will make sure there are no current problems and sell it in as great of condition possible...

No doubt the e36 will handle that commute better than you X5. Mine has about 320,000 miles on it and I average over 20k per year. I love our X5, but it has been nothing but headaches. Just found out the evaporator is shot. It is also in the shop getting a front crankshaft seal as we speak. I think almost every engine seal/gasket possible has been changed at this point. Between warranty and out of pocket, the X has had over $10 grand of work done in 3.5 years of ownership. Pretty piss poor, imo. Now that you have a bunch of land, the F250 would probably be a better choice. Then again, seeing as you get parts discounts and can fix anything on your X, it may not be a bad option for you to keep it.