Front End Suspension: Control Arms
 

So one ball joint is shot and i can only assume that the rest of the control would not mind if i replaced them...

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...21&hg=31&fg=05

can i buy Item's 10 with item 11 already pressed into it? (or is item 11 just behind?)

Can i buy item 6, with items 7(thrust bushing) and 15(ball joint) already pressed in?

i've been looking and searching the site. i currently plan on getting the parts and having a local shop press them in for me. (if i continue down this route i will reuse the upper arms)

it would be nice if i can get all the parts, and just swap em out, go get an alignment and be done.

10 usually comes with 11 pressed in. You can get 6 with 7 pressed in, but I haven't seen it come with 15.

can't remember where I got them from, but it was one of these:
ECS tuning
Bimmerspecialists
Bavarian Autosport
or carpartswholesale.com (careful with these guys, they like to tell you items are in stock and then refund you a week later cause they don't have it)

Sorry I can't remember which one it was

Yes, you can buy the control arm with bushing and ball joint already pressed in, ready to swap out. ( Item 10 and 11)

And Item 6 and 7 do come set and ready to simply swap out with your old ones. One suggestion is to use your old thrust arm and purchase a Powerflex Thrust Bushing replacement. Then get your old ones pressed out and press the new ones in. They last longer than OEM and dont feel worn out as quickly.

is the powerflex bushing a two part piece?

i went with the OEM ones and the driver's side bushing for the front control arm is moving away from the center. maybe my control arm is bent?

I just bought the Powerflex ones. I hope to have them installed this week.:D

was the arm bent?

The powerflex bushing for the thrust rod is a 2 piece bushing with a collar in the middle.

Regarding your bushing issue, is the new bushing pressed in place correctly? it has to be exactly where the old bushing was or else they'll sit off or prematurely wear out. I dont think the ball joint on the hub carrier would cause the arm to move the way you describe. Did you tighten the bolts down with the car on the ground with a load on the suspension or up in the air with the wheels off the ground?

I just did mine.. bought lower control arms on ebay for like $100 bucks for the set (bushings already pressed in). Also replaced the thrust rod bushings, had to have a shop press the bushings in. what a difference it made.

that really a good price compared to OEm, do you have a link for the lower control arms ? thanks

here you go - Buy Car Parts - Aftermarket Auto Parts - Volvo Parts, VW Parts, Audi Parts, BMW Parts, Mercedes Parts, Porsche Parts

You can buy direct from them and not have to go through Ebay. Free shipping too and fast.

Parts seem to be just as good as OEM and work just fine.

i did all that... i dunno why it moved. car rides straight and everything. the arm must be bent.

do you need a press to get that two piece part in?

nevermind. its 2 pieces, one bushing and one collar.
i will need a press. i thought it may be two piece bushing and just slide in from each side.

i think i should dump the stock ones that i just bought

I used a traditional C-Clamp style bushing press kit to seat the bushing into place. Real easy, barely any effort needed to complete the task. Removing the OEM one....thats another story.

the oem i know i can get out pretty easily. when i took it out to recenter it i can tell that its not so tight. does the powerflex PFF5-901 (thrust arm / upper control arm) have a lip on either side that will hold the arm in the center? (like pictured)

http://www.powerflex.co.uk/resize_im..._web.JPG&w=250
(http://www.powerflex.co.uk/resize_im..._web.JPG&w=250)

i bought these. from powerflexusa.com

i just hope that there is nothing wrong other than i maybe got a bad bushing or my buddy used too much lube when originally putting them in.

to help these slide in i can use a little copper based grease? maybe a little water instead?

just got a call and they are all out, dont expect them for 2-4 weeks. wtf? :dunno: now what.

PhoenixMotorsport.co.uk have them in stock.

X5Girl, xxx

indeed they do
[email protected]
Contact Phoenix Motorsport

i spoke with gerry and he was extremely helpful, the bushings are in route. i am looking forward to getting them in.

I got mine today and I will install them this afternoon. And yes there is a lip on both sides to hold it center.

I am going to replace both front and rear sway bar bushings with these Powerflex ones as well. Should stiffen things up a bit. My old ones are pretty worn.

cool, let me know how it goes. i can't imagine my arm is bent or anything. also let me know how you did the install for the front thrust arm bushings. i can probably use a tip or two. i plan to remove the OEM ones with brute force and a generic C style bushing clamp, and i hope these powerflex ones will be a bit easier to install with the same tool. i just hope the clamp is large enough and i have a cup big enough.

The C clamp wasn't a traditional one. It came a part of a bushing press kit. As far as the cup to push the bushing out, you can probably just use a hacksaw or reciprocating saw if all else fails. As far as removal of the arm, I just used a jack to help hold up the hub carrier's weight, unbolted the arm from the ball joint and then from the subframe. Then I took a picture of the placement of the bushing, took measurements of how much of the collar was exposed on both sides so I know how far to push the new bushing in, and cut the collar in half to push it out.

When unbolting from the ball joint....is there anything else I need to do to get it to separate from the ball joint. I got the nut off but it will not come off. I was able to get the bolt from the subframe to come off as well.

Use a pitman arm puller to pop the arm loose from the ball joint.
OR
Use a mini sledge hammer and a floor jack...Jack the suspension up a little, bang around the area of the arm where the ball joint goes in, should loosen up after a few taps.

A large pitman or a 2/3 jaw arm puller should work in most cases though.

getting the OEM bushings out is a bit of a pain if you dont have the proper tools. (press with the proper size cup and such.)
what i did was first remove the control arm. then i popped open the bushing to let the oil out. after which i used a hammer and a large socket and pushed out the rubber bushing. what i was left with was the control arm and the metal ring / housing from the OEM bushing. using a reciprocating saw i cut the metal housing on one side almost entirely through it, making sure not to cause any harm to the control arm. (the saw blade through the hole of the control arm cutting it length wise - not making canned cranberry slices) with the housing cut i squeezed it in a vise enough to get a punch down the size where i cut with the saw. i then tapped the punch in slowly causing where i cut to fold in. doing that and using my persuader (hammer) a bit, i got them out. :thumbup: not the slickest, but i was stuck between a rock and a hard spot cause i did the work last night and the bushing tools i borrowed from a friend were not the right size. (i knew they were going to be:dunno:)

i highly recommend bringing them somewhere to get pressed out / in. that's what i did when i put them in a couple weeks ago.

i put the powerflex ones in with ease. threaded rod through the middle, big cup on one side and another flipped around with the flat part on the side where i was pushing the busing in from. nuts on both ends, some copper grease schlopped on there and a few turns of the nuts and they popped right in. very easy. i was very please with the powerflex. after driving with them i am also very pleased. i highly recommend to go with the powerflex bushings. i ripped out my 2 week old OEM ones and threw them right in the trash where they belong. good riddance. (those bushings are over engineered pieces of...:wow:)

Is the ride quality with the powerflex bushings stiffer than the stock bushings?

first let me say that based on their design i would say that they will last longer. as far as a stiffer ride i would also say yes. the oem were fine and i would have left them in if the drivers side hadn't moved around. my original reason for going with the OEM ones was that i could get them in a timely fashion.http://www.Xoutpost.com/members/tony...shing-slip.jpg:yikes:

it wasn't touching at this point but still did not look healthy and i'm sure it would have failed or been rubbing the first time, or shortly after i did some aggressive driving or came across a bad patch of road. i've very happy to have gotten ride of them. so far the powerflex are holding in place. i'll report again on them in a week or so.