What does visually ok mean? On my e53 they looked visually ok, but I had a lot of camber. Same on my E70 and the shop doing the alignment did their best but were not in spec, so I tackled those at the beginning of last year as well. Tire wear on the inner shoulders was minimal on both cars and so for years it didn't matter too much. However, after changing the bushings on both cars the ride quality improved enormously.

The newest E53 is now 14 years old, I doubt any of them are in great shape unless repairs were done. If there is no play on any other item and you cannot get camber in spec then the lower arm bushings are likely suspects. Of course, like you say, there is a lot tension when the spring is loaded and it is hard to judge. If you are ok with the camber then just adjust toe-in and see how it goes. Nevertheless, approaching the rear suspension piece-meal is not going to give you the best results. I am just trying to convey my experience gained in the last 12 months. YMMV

I ordered the e53 ball joint and will purchase the upper arms and ball joints as I already dod the guide links. I will then tale tor an alignment and see the results. Are the swing arm bushings really necessary?

I used these Hard Race arms for getting my camber and toe more adjustable. I also did my inner lower arm bushings so you may want to check those as well.

https://xoutpost.com/attachments/x5-...226_160027.jpg

https://xoutpost.com/attachments/x5-...117_125833.jpg

Any tricks to change those bushes? Something to compress the radius while pushing in?

Yes! From another thread https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...2b6c5a9e7a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...4c09582c5c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...c9980dd8bc.jpg

I used muffler clamps to compress the bushings on installation.

I used 1.75" torca clamps to reduce the bushings to 1.995" for pressing.

https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.hdf...7aa345bc69.jpg

OK, thanks! That should do the trick. Did you use 2 claps on the bush and press thru the clamp or change their positioning while pressing? Any lubricant needed? And the old ones came out easily even though the outer wall is quite thin so there is not much surface?

I used 2 of the clamps for removal and removed each one as I got to that point on installation. On removal , they pressed right out, not clamps needed

4 Wheel Alignment
 

Re: Visual verification if you take a string and stretch a tight across the centerline of the wheel from the front of the front wheel to the back of the back wheel you should be able to have one 16th to 3/32 of an inch extra space on the front of the fastest part of the tire.

On my 255/55/18 tires the fat part of the tire is almost exactly 24 inches apart and the MathWorks out that a 16th of an inch is 0.15° it’s exactly of the center of the spec.

For the camber it will look bent as hell because the spec is between one and 2° in your brain will see a half a degree is pretty darn crooked. If you’re parked on level ground you can use your phone app to measure how many degrees it’s tilting or you can use a construction square and measure and I believe it’s supposed to be about 5/8 of an inch off of plumb. (From the fattest parts of the tire over 24 inches)

Ball joint tool arrived. It was shipped locally from IL. It probably could have been dropped off in the mailbox quicker. Parts have been ordered as well...https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...146ba074d5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/202...039c69710f.jpg