Tension Strut Play
 

Hi

How much play should there be in the tension strut? I can grab hold of the middle of the strut and pull it back and forwards a good quater to half inch? It looks like the rubber may be perished inside as I can see some very small cracks in it.

BMW X5 2002 E53 4.4i M62

http://i589.photobucket.com/albums/s.../WP_000106.jpg

If you hear a sound coming from the brakes when you suddenly hit the brakes at turtle speed , then the bushing need replacement. I replaced mine 2 days ago and it was slightly damaged, but enough to make that sound.

What sort of sound am I listening for?

So I just crawl forwards at 5mph and hit the brakes quickly and listen for this sound?

true. press full brake suddenly to stop the car when crawling (try it in little sloppy road) you can try it again and again seconds apart just to hear the braking sound it makes. The braking sound should be smooth & damped not hard or loud. Sometimes you cannot recognize the sound difference between normal & faulty bushing. Try another car and you can sense the difference. Any mechanic will simply detect it in seconds. The black spots seen in the bushing picture, if it is a shred in the bushing material, then definitely it is faulty

You should be able to feel it in the steering wheel too but if you have that much play, it's a pretty safe bet that they are shot.

^ This. If you can move it that much by hand, a 5000lb car will move it a lot more.

X2 on what Slick said.


Mine had that much play if not more, trust me if the arm isnt tight due to looseness of the bushing, replace!

its a common wear item on our cars, go with OE quality replacement (I used Meyle HD, solid rubber and not filled with fluid like OE bushings) and no they are not harsh in any way!

the question is not so much "can you move it", but "how easily can you move it".

they're super easy to replace if you're doing the whole arm and definitely make a noticeable difference. Also, they don't require an alignment.

Even with that fair picture, it's easy to see that those bushings are shot.

Any visible cracks in ANY rubber bushing means it's time to replace.

Mine were MUCH better than yours, and I just replaced them this past weekend. I had cracks that were almost impossible to see while on the car, but I was going through the entire suspension one step at a time untill it was solid, so I did them. Even with really minute, almost hairline cracks in mine, replacement made a big difference in how the car felt.

To describe one big symptom of a problem in the X5's front suspension, the weight of the car can cause a pivoting effect of the hub assembly under braking if everthing is not tight and perfect. Jab the brakes at low speed and they will feel like they are grabbing sudenly with a "clunk". Apply the brakes smoothly...nothing.

I would get the Meyle HD bushings...or entire Meyle arms with the HD bushings already installed.

I just did the driving at 5mph and break test. The car made a rubber creaking sound followed by a clunk with the breaks grabbing and the car stopping rather quickly

Guess it is time to replace the bushes!