control arm bushings?

[nebilex]

Hey RB, does the ball joint really need to be pressed in? I know they can be a pain to remove but installing it i thought it only needs to be torque correctly.... here is the DYI i found: BMW X5 - How to Replace Upper Control Arm (Tension) and Ball Joint.

[ake53]

Originally Posted by Ricky Bobby

its both, you can get the whole arm like i did for about 110 apiece.

As I recommend to you and Alex, if you are going through the trouble to replace the bushings and/or whole arm itself, pay the extra 50 bucks for 2 fresh ball joints (they are pressed into the knuckle and attach on the other end of the control arm), because if the arms/bushings are worn its good practice to replace related wear items in order to avoid future R&Rs

I found a good garage that doesn't screw me over.
I'm going to bring it there, get it on a lift and see which bushing needs replaced or wishbone. And get only the worn part replaced.

Makes no sense replacing ball joints that are fine.
If my suspension is bad than yea I would replace what ever needs to be replaced.

My X has cost me almost the cost that I bought it for in repairs.

The funny part, I only fell more in love with it.
I am planning on making more purchases of goodies.
The X will stay forever, the best memories happened in it.

[ukrcan]

i think i was told its about a 3 hour labour to get those bushing replaced... i personally don't understand why it would take that long, but i got a quote from a very trusted mechanic, so i am pretty sure it would be very close to that...

Let us know how it goes

[Ricky Bobby]

Originally Posted by nebilex

Hey RB, does the ball joint really need to be pressed in? I know they can be a pain to remove but installing it i thought it only needs to be torque correctly.... here is the DYI i found: BMW X5 - How to Replace Upper Control Arm (Tension) and Ball Joint.

sorry to be misread, but you don't have to physically press them in, they bolt on and you torque to spec, however when you tighten them down on the knuckle they get "pressed in" when doing so.


Not like pressing in a bushing, just something you might need a tie rod tool for, something that removes ball joints.

[bigrobtemp]

I am not to worried about working on the mechanicals of X, the electronics on the other hand do worry me. I looked at the lower contol arms while it was on the rack the other day and it does not look like that bad of a job. I see where the arm goes into the ball joint and it has a locknut so it can be changed without the joint removal. I am going to start by replacing the arms themselves because i can see movement in the bushing and have a nice clunk when pulling out over a small bump or the great pot holes here in Michigan. I guess my question is if i go with the Melye, where is the best place to pick them up and why do you think they are superior to other brands. Thanks

[bcredliner]

Bavauto has OEM, AutohauzAG has Meyle , would also suggest looking what Partsgeek carries.

I recently rebuilt the entire front end of my 2002 X5. If you have the proper tools it is not that hard. You will need an alignment so if you think there are other suspension components that need to be replaced it is best to do it all at the same time so you don't have to do alignment more than once.

[bigrobtemp]

Thanks for the info bc. I will just check around and see what i can find. I will do both sides for sure and will check ball joints. Then will get the alignment. Going to wait till it warms up a little bit, apparently no one has told mother nature here in ohio that it is spring. Thanks

[Gregory891]

The front end shake is MOST likley to be tension strut bushings. My 2002 X5 was doing it and the tension strut bushings were only three years old (genuine BMW bushings). I had play in the control arm or ball joint bushings for sure. These were original to the car.

In the end, I did EVERYTHING. Lemforder (OE to BMW) control arms, ball joints and tension strut bushings. I had use of a shop press to change the tension strut bushings - so this was 15 minutes to press out the old ones and install the new ones. Shake is 100% gone. Now I can feel the (slight) fatigue of my front shocks, not leaking but showing a bit of their old age after 248.000 km.

Bilstein B6 front struts arriving, they'll be on the car in the next weeks.

MY ADVICE: If you have doubts and as most E53 have age and mileage, replace everything (tension strut bushings, control arms and ball joint). You do it ONCE and then you have a solid base for many years to come.

[upallnight]

For people who have never done this before, the most important thing to remember is that the final tightening of the nut at the bushing is with the weight of the car on the ground. Premature wear of the bushing will occur if the nut and bolt are tightened with the wheels off the ground.

[romeokc10]

Originally Posted by alex77ae

so everyone is going with Myle brand and no one is telling me to go with the OEM brand?!
what about powerflex???

I have PowerFlex thrust bushings, they are awesome, peace of mind knowing they will outlast the vehicle, and no they are not harsh.