POWERFLEX POLYURETHANE BUSHES
 

Hi all,

Just wanted to report back my findings with my newly installed polyurethane bushes on my front thrust arms, or otherwise known as 'front tension strut'.

Just a li'l spill on the situation: I recently changed my front axles and while I was there I thought I'd see how the above OEM bushes were doing. Not doing too well. :confused: I replaced them 12k miles ago and they were beginning to split again, so I decided to go with the polyurethane alternatives.

Well, all I can say is WOW! What a difference!!!! It feels like a new car, the steering is so tight I don't think I've ever been in a car where the steering has felt so solid. :yikes: Just feels exactly how you think it should feel!

Light shimmy at speeds: GONE!
Steering wheel wobble when braking or going over small bumps: ERADICATED!
The thought and feeling you have in your mind that 'there's something wrong here-it just doesn't feel right': DISAPPEARED!

To say I'm pleased with the results would be an understatement. :cool:

As for the increased harshness of ride/handling people (myself included) might ponder about, let me dispell those thoughts for you right now! I also changed the front AND rear anti-roll bar bushes for polyurethane too, and yes its firmer, but not harsh in any way shape or form.

My verdict: FWIW, I wish I would have replaced the bushes with polyurethane ones MUCH sooner than the 4+ years it has taken :thumbup:

Oh, I almost forgot to mention, these results are without the necessary wheel alignment-I'll be getting around to it next week. To improve/perfect this further will be some icing on an already extremely impressive cake!

I replaced mine a couple of months ago with Myle heaving duty bushings and I'm still not satisfied with the feel. It still feels mushy like you say.
I wish I knew about these then... where did you get your bushings?

Thanks Isambard for the feedback.

I'm also a beleiver in those Poweflex bushings. I was running them on my E30 and E46 control arms, and they made a huge difference on tightening the front under braking on non perfect roads especially.

On my X5, the front OE bushings are kaput, I feel the shimmy when braking at high speed and lost of precision in turns.
I'm going to install those Powerflex bushings at the front next month and replace the ball joints while in there.

I'm just curious, do you guys have presses when taking the bushings in and out. I have a 20 ton, but heard that it is just a nightmare to press in and out and I just opted for the whole new tension strut and such.

Could you guys enlighten me?

Sockethead, I got them from this guy: POWERFLEX BMW E53 X5 Front Thrust Arm Bushes. Urethane. | eBay

Like he says in his description, IGNORE the postage price and EMAIL him.

You're welcome Turbo, look forward to hearing your feedback too! :thumbup:

I used a press... It seems to me that it would be quite impossible to do without one.
The hardest part was trying to find something to use to press the new ones in with because the bushing sticks out past the metal sleeve. I ended up pressing out the center of the old bushing and using the metal sleeve to press the new one in.

Thanks :thumbup:

Personnally, when I remove a OE bushing, I don't use a press. Instead, I destroy the bushing. I start with a sawzall (reciprocating saw) to remove the middle par (cut into rubber), then for the outer steel sleeve, I use a pneumatick chisel (zip gun) to bend the sleeve inward all around then just use a hammer to get it out. Others have used a metal saw blade to cut through the sleeve, but you must be carefull to stop before cutting into the control arm.

If you insert back an OE bushing, you have no choice to use a press. If you use a Powerflex bushing (I don't know the the X5 front control arm though), but up to now, I always had success using a bench vise, with sockets, piece of pipe etc to push the bushing into the part using a mixture of soapy water.



OK, will do.

I used a 12 ton hydraulic 'Enerpac' at my workplace. See attached image

The trick is to make a bit of a lead-in using a sharp knife (as the bush is VERY hard to keep square when pressing in) all the way around the leading edge of the bush. I made mine about 30-45 degrees and about 3mm wide.

Leave the steel spacer out of the centre until the bush is pressed into the strut, then simply slide it in. Voila!

I was just on that website... so it looks like you press the old bushing out of the sleeve and leave the sleeve in place? My OEM replacements were the bushing with sleeve. Pushing just the bushing out/in should be much easier than doing the metal sleeve too...

Hey TTGTR!

I'm in the same boat and plan to order from their website Powerflex.com.
Have heard all good things for performance and durability!!

If anyone is interested I am selling these: http://www.xoutpost.com/classifieds/...hings-e53.html

I had them installed for about a month, less than 1k miles on them. Didn't like how they felt.

consider them sold. i will buy them. PM sent.

dang... beat me to it lol

Yeah I was eye balling those for a bit and knew I'd better jump on 'em. :nanana:

Damn, I should have been lurking here instead of working this morning. :rofl:

Not oour car....but probobly an idea......ill do this once i change the suspension kit arms and everythign.......heres a little video.........

PFR80-1101 Powerflex Official Fitting Instructions for Corsa D, Mito & Punto Front Arm Front Bush - YouTube

Had mine installed last September, the difference is unbelievable, they will outlast the car...lol!!! As you said, those complaining/worrying harshness need not worry, I'll be buying their other products in the near future, here's a link to a great thread on installing their products.

http://www.xoutpost.com/bmw-sav-foru...mbup::thumbup:

Paging: Green Dragon... Awaiting for the payment for the bushings. As you can see there are others that want them and are ready to send payment. Let me know if you are still interested.

what didn't you like?

I bookmarked your original thread before. I wanted to ask you if your new bushings would help mine problem too (I might not even have one, since this is the only x5 I have driven). My x5 reacts alot to little uneveness in the road and sway alot left and right or my head bobbles at rougher roads. My dad said that he thinks that this is the nature of a SUV, but I'm not sure about that. Do you think the bushing would help? I know that nothing of my suspension components and shocks have been replaced. The reaction of the car is not terrible, but I would have assumed a more smoother ride in an x5.

Thanks for any feedback.

IMO they're too stiff for NYC potholes. Even going over speed bumps I had to brake all the way down to 5mph to nog feel the thump on my spine. Also while driving above 60mph I felt a slight vibration through the steering wheel. But again these were my dislikes.

When you say 'reacts', do you mean the steering wheel vibrates at slow and medium speeds, feels a bit vague SOMETIMES for no apparent reason? If yes then replacing the bushes will most likely cure your problem as doing so has mine.

HOWEVER, you need to check the other components too before you replace just the bushes as my (and others') situation will no doubt be different to yours.

Over time I have replaced the usual suspects that affect the ride and contribute to this poor handling alot of x5er's are experiencing.

The lower control arms and the sway bar links also contribute to this common problem, as well as the front tension bush (we are talking about here) and associated balljoint.

In my humble opinion (and going by my own experience) I would suggest you replace the above parts as I have and if there is no other factor(s) involved you too will be as happy as I am!

Good luck, and let us know how you get on whatever you decide to do.. :thumbup:

no not the steering wheel. It's more the car itself rocks from side to side, even with slow speed at really uneven streets.

the car rocks side to side?

check the rear subrame bushings. Powerflex makes them too... they have tendency to disintegrate over time and over mileage...

Put your basic car info in to the sig line, so at least the initial response can be somewhat taylored to your vehicle...

Thanks, will do.

I don't think it will survive potholes here in the Bay Area CA.

Thanks.

Just seen the part about the vibration above 60mph, you obviously had other problems with your setup as I feel no vibrations whatsoever. :dunno:

At 113k miles it feels transformed, steady as a rock-like a new car.

Yeah it's probably the subframe bushings, mine rocks side to side too.

Nope. No other problems because as soon as I took them off and replaced with the Myeles HD's the vibration went away.

Nah, no one really understands the roads we deal with in NYC until they actually get to experience it. Even when the street looks good, it most likely got thrown down in a rush, and is most likely still wavy and ribbed all over.

hehehe... the cops in costa rica catch the drunk drivers by looking for people driving in a straight line, as anyone in a normal state of mind would have to weave around the huge potholes that can swallow a car as a whole!!! those roads did kill my suspension, i had replace virtually every component before shipping the car out of country... lol...

Well I'm more than pleased to report I had the boy just over 100 on my way to work this morning and I'm amazed still. Not a thing, not a dickie bird!! No vibration, not even a murmur. And even on my way home this afternoon I thought I'd try braking from about 40 to 0 without touching the steering wheel to see what happens. Again, absolutely nothing.

Sorry to keep banging on about this, but as I said in another post I have been so pissed off with these steering issues for so long, and then to finally do something so simple as to change to these urethane ones and then get results like this, well (to me) its like winning the lottery!

To get the whole car done in Powerflex, we have the following item numbers for the E53:

PFF5-901 - Front lower radius arm to chassis
PFF5-905-29 - Front anti-roll bar to chassis 29mm
PFR5-908 - Rear subframe to chassis bush
PFR5-4609-22 - Rear anti roll bar mounting bush 22mm
PFR5-4609-23.5 - Rear anti roll bar mouting bush 23.5mm - this one will fit 4.8iS

Is there anything else is missing from this parts list?

Good info TX5! Even though I have only the front tension strut bushes and (front and rear ) anti-roll bar bushes in, it may be wise to do the rear subframe bushes too. However I replaced mine for oem about 18 months ago with no issues to date so no need to do that job again for a while.

Do you know if they do the lower control arm in powerflex? :dunno:

Cool :cool: