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Thread: Thrust Arm Replacement 1997-2003 5-SERIES V-8 CARS

  1. #1
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    Thrust Arm Replacement 1997-2003 5-SERIES V-8 CARS

    OK guys, here it is - the final version with high-res pictures. Enjoy.

    HOW TO REPLACE THE THRUST ARMS ON YOUR E39 540I BMW

    (1997-2003 5-SERIES V-8 CARS)


    Most drivers of higher-mileage E39 BMW's have probably experienced the infamous shimmy that occurs in the front suspension at speeds between 50 and 60 MPH. The shimmy is often very pronounced when braking through the same speed range as well, giving the false impression of an out-of-round brake rotor. Assuming that your tires are properly balanced and aligned, and your lug nuts are properly tightened, the likeliest cause of this problem is worn out thrust arm bushings. Removing the thrust arms and installing new ones, or simply replacing the bushings once the thrust arms have been removed from the vehicle is a job that is well within the capabilities of a reasonably experienced shade-tree mechanic.

    Whether you want to replace the entire arms or just the bushings is up to you, and the decision pretty much comes down to cost. The amount of work is about the same. The entire thrust arm assembly costs about $100 per side for OEM quality Lemforder units, whereas the bushings alone can be replaced for about $40. If you replace the whole arm, you're also getting a new ball joint on the front end, which probably isn't a bad idea on a higher mileage car. My feeling is, if you can't afford to drop $200 for a pair of new thrust arms, you really can't afford to be driving this car, especially in an era of $3.50 per gallon gasoline.

    This is an illustrated do-it-yourself (DIY) write-up showing how to change the thrust arms on an E39 540i (model years 1997-2003). The subject car is a 1998 540iA. The job is conceptually the same on the 6-cylinder cars, but the front suspension and steering are somewhat different, so the pictures may not be an exact match. The procedure I followed is the one outlined in the Bentley manual. The driver's side of the car is shown in my pictures, but the passenger's side is identical.

    This write-up is provided as a courtesy to other E39 enthusiasts, but your use of the information herein is entirely at your own risk. I assume no responsibility in the event of injury or adverse outcome resulting from the use of this information. Above all, BE SAFE and don't get in over your head. The labor for this task is only a few hundred dollars at a good, independent BMW mechanic's shop. It isn't worth life, limb or damage to your vehicle if you don't have the experience necessary to competently perform this procedure.

    Suggested Tools and Supplies

     Floor jack
     2 jack stands
     4 blocks or car ramps
     Breaker bar with 4-inch extension, or tire wrench
     17mm socket for removing lug bolts
     13mm deep socket for removing sway bar bracket nuts
     16mm and 18mm socket and combination wrenches for loosening pinch nut and bolt on strut collar
     22mm combination wrench for removing ball joint nut
     21mm socket and combination wrenches for removing thrust arm bolt and nut
     Torque wrench
     Large screwdriver, chisel, or other strong, flat-bladed tool for prying open pinch collar on strut
     Various lengths of extensions, universal joints, etc. for your socket wrench are helpful
     Ball joint removal tool (highly recommended)
     Permanent marker pen or paint to scribe reference line on strut tube
     Rags
     Denatured alcohol or lacquer thinner

    Procedure

    1) Make sure the car has a full tank of gas before you start (this is important later – you will need the weight of the fuel in the vehicle). Have the key in the ignition and unlock the steering wheel so you can turn the steering array as needed when you are working.

    After loosening your lug bolts with the 17mm socket and breaker bar, get the car up on jacks. The front jack point for the E39 540i is shown in image #1 – you want the jack on those four big dented-out triangle sections which all point to that hole in the middle. I strongly suggest padding your floor jack and jack stands with a folded rag to avoid tearing up your car. You do not need to remove the splash shield from the bottom of the vehicle.



    Images 2 and 3 show the car up on jacks from the front and side. I keep the floor jack under the front jack point as an added measure of safety. Chock the rear wheels for safety.





    2) Lower the front sway bar – you need to do this to get room to reach the bolt that holds the bushing side of the thrust arm to the frame. The sway bar is held to the frame by two, large gold-colored brackets – one on each side of the car. You can see it in image #4 on the left side of the picture.



    Remove the two nuts from the studs using a 13mm socket wrench, and pull off the brackets. The sway bar will only drop an inch or two, but that's all you need. You don't even need to remove the rubber bushings that are under the brackets – you can see one of these bushings in image #5.



    The large bolt you will eventually remove to drop the bushing side of the thrust arm from the frame can be seen above and to the left of the rubber bushing on the sway bar in image #5.

    3) Image #6 shows the bottom of the strut tube and the steering knuckle. At the bottom of the strut tube you can see two large nuts. The rear nut is the one that fastens the ball joint side of the thrust arm to the steering knuckle. The bottom of the strut tube is so close to those nuts that you can't get a wrench or ball joint puller on them. This necessitates lowering the steering knuckle.



    In order to lower the steering knuckle (slide it down the strut tube), it will be necessary to loosen the pinch bolt in image #7 (also seen from the bolt end near the top of image #6). I used a 16mm wrench on the bolt and an 18mm wrench on the nut to do this. PRIOR TO LOOSENING IT, clean the area where the strut tube comes out the bottom of the pinch collar, and using paint or permanent marker, draw a line exactly where the strut comes out of the collar so you can properly reposition it later.



    After you have loosened the pinch bolt (there is no need to remove it entirely), stick a large, heavyweight screwdriver, a large chisel or some other prying tool right in that slot where you see the middle of the pinch bolt in image #7, and pry the collar open a small amount. You can also stick a small chisel in the slot and then use a wrench to turn the chisel and pry the collar apart – this very closely simulates the special tool BMW dealer mechanics uses for this task. Either way, it will take a bit of force.

    When the collar is open sufficiently far, grab the brake caliper or rotor and slide the steering knuckle down on the strut tube by pulling downward – it only needs to come down an inch to an inch and a half. Look at image #8 – you can see the clean, shiny part of the strut tube that was exposed after I slid the steering knuckle down. You may need to jiggle the steering knuckle assembly a bit, but it is heavy and should slide down without too much trouble.



    4) As you can see in image #8, there is now enough room to get a wrench on the ball joint nut. Remove the nut using a 22mm combination wrench.

    Now, the hard part – pressing the ball joint stud out of the steering knuckle. It is in there TIGHT. I would not do this job without a ball joint press of the type you see in image #9 and #10. I bought mine at ZDMAK Tools (www.zdmak.com) part #mk-1916 for $40, and it's a pretty decent unit. There are many sources, and you can pay less, or a whole lot more - up to $263 for the gods-honest BMW tool. There are a number of different styles of tools, and depending on the one you get, you'll be doing a little bit of trial and error to figure out how best to position it for maximum effect. With some of them, the fit is better if you pry the ball joint boot up and out of the way. I simply used a hammer to lightly tap the bottom of the tool into position over the boot.

    It takes a lot of force from the tool to break the ball joint loose. Towards the end, I had a rag wrapped around the wrench to pad it, I was torquing so hard on the tool. Just about the time you're thinking "this is not going to work", it breaks loose. Now here's a "heads-up" - when it finally does, it's with an explosive report like a pistol shot, so be ready for it. I thought I'd broken something when I heard it the first time.





    HOWEVER YOU DO IT, DON'T DON'T DON'T DAMAGE THE BALL JOINT AND BALL JOINT STUD IF YOU'RE JUST GOING TO CHANGE OUT THE BUSHINGS AND WILL BE RE-USING THE OLD THRUST ARM AND BALL JOINT. If you're replacing the whole thrust arm, then this isn't an issue. The steering knuckle will look like image #11 when you finally get the ball joint stud out.



    5) Now we're ready to remove the bushing side of the thrust arm from the frame. This is easy by comparison to the last step. Image #12 shows you what it looks like in place.



    Image #13 shows the 21mm socket wrench on the bolt that goes through the center of the bushing and holds the thrust arm to the frame. You can also see the end of the bolt in Image #5. You may need to jiggle the steering back and forth a little bit to get the socket wrench on the bolt – I did this just by grabbing the brake rotor and turning the steering a tad. There's not a lot of extra room to maneuver. You'll also need to have a 21mm combination wrench on the nut to keep it from slipping.



    Once you have the nut off, pull the bolt out and you can drop the thrust arm. Again, you may need to jiggle the steering a bit this way or that to give yourself room to pull the bolt. The ones on my car slid out very easily, but I've had other guys tell me that theirs took a little more work to remove, and that they had to use pliers. This may be due to water or some other fluid having seeped in and seizing the bolt. Image #14 shows how the frame side looks with the thrust arm removed. Image #15 shows the old thrust arm with bushing, ball joint and retaining bolt and nut. At this point, you're halfway there on the driver's side, and the hardest part of the job is behind you.





    If you're only replacing the thrust arm bushing and are re-using the old thrust arm and ball joint, this is where you will press the bad bushing out of the thrust arm and re-install the new one. I went with all new thrust arms, so I regret that I can't provide you with any counsel on this step. I understand it is possible to do this yourself, though it's a lot less trouble to simply take your old thrust arms to a mechanic's shop that has a hydraulic press and remove/replace your bushings that way.

    6) Image #16 is a picture of the new Lemforder thrust arm. Leave the protective cap in place over the ball joint stud until the last minute when you are ready to push it into its hole on the steering knuckle. Wiggle the bushing side of the thrust arm into its place in the bracket on the frame of the car. Push the 21mm bolt back in and thread the nut back on. DO NOT TORQUE THE BOLT DOWN AT THIS TIME! Just put the nut on the bolt and hand-tighten it. Image #17 shows the new thrust arm in place on the bushing/frame side.





    7) Remove the protective safety cap and insert the ball joint stud in its hole on the steering knuckle. Thread the 22mm nut onto the stud and tighten it. As you tighten the nut, it pulls the ball joint into its proper position – there's nothing special you have to do here. See Image #18. Using your torque wrench, tighten the 22mm nut to 80Nm (59 ft-lb).



    8) Reposition (raise) the steering knuckle on the strut and tighten the pinch bolt. Using your torque wrench, tighten the pinch bolt to 81Nm (60 ft-lb). Again, this took a 16mm wrench on the bolt and an 18mm wrench on the nut on my car.

    9) REPEAT STEPS 3 THROUGH 8 ON THE PASSENGER'S SIDE OF YOUR CAR.

    10) Use denatured alcohol or lacquer thinner to clean your brake rotors if you grabbed them with your hands at some point during the procedure. Put the wheels back on the car and torque down the lug bolts. The lug bolts are 17mm, and should be torqued to 120NM (89 ft-lb) plus or minus 10Nm (7 ft-lb).

    10) NOW we're going to tighten the bushing bolts on the thrust arms. The car needs to be LEVEL and SITTING ON ITS TIRES up on blocks or ramps, about 8 inches off the ground in front AND back. The car needs to be at spec ride height before you torque down the bolts. In addition to a full tank of gas (remember this?), you need about 150 pounds in each front seat, 150 pounds in the middle of the back seat, and 45 pounds in the trunk. If you're really anal you can measure and adjust the ride height further following the procedure in the Bentley manual, but this gets you plenty close enough. NOW you can get under the car and torque down the bolts that hold the bushing side of the thrust arm to the frame. Torque these 21mm bolts to 110Nm (81 ft-lb).

    11) Re-install the sway bar brackets, making sure that the little nub on the rubber bushing fits in the corresponding hole in each bracket (See Image #5). Torque the 13mm nuts to 24Nm (18 ft-lb).

    12) Lower the car to the ground and enjoy your shimmy-free ride! Incidentally, it is not necessary to have an alignment done following this procedure.
    Last edited by Hotswimmer; 08-26-2006 at 03:07 PM. Reason: Major Revision

  2. #2
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    Added pics, torque specs, tool requirements, etc.

  3. #3
    Dan is offline My real name is Charles
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    very sexy... can you copy and paste it in the FAQ in the E39 section? let's get some good collective DIY's together.

    this is actually just in time for me to mine! thanks!

  4. #4
    Dan is offline My real name is Charles
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    how long does it take to do this?

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    Dan,

    I'd budget an hour per side max with your level of experience. If you don't use a ball joint removal tool, all bets are off on completion time.


    Also, I've posted it to the E39 FAQ per your request.

  6. #6
    Dan is offline My real name is Charles
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hotswimmer
    Dan,

    I'd budget an hour per side max with your level of experience. If you don't use a ball joint removal tool, all bets are off on completion time.


    Also, I've posted it to the E39 FAQ per your request.
    stupid question since i'm a bit on the lazy side right now (reading 400 pages about South East Asia isn't exactly riviting), where did you get the ball joint removal tool? is it a special tool from BMW or is it one of the generic ones found at autozone or pepboys?

    thanks!!

  7. #7
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    Dan,

    I used an aftermarket tool. BMW wants like $263 for theirs, which is absurd.

    Here are a couple of sources:

    http://www.napaautoparts.com/MasterP...oint+Separator

    The one I bought was from ZDMAK Tools at: www.zdmak.com

    They typically run $20 to $40 bucks. I'd invest in a good one. They have to take a massive amount of force. You'll more than get your use out of it with all the balljoints and tierods on the E39.

  8. #8
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    great write up. I wanted to add that the procedure you outlined was pretty much identical to the job on a 528i sport, the difference being the shape of the thrust arms. I was able to remove mine without the tool- one good whack with big hammer was all it needed. I guess thats not the best approach but I was changing the bars anyway.

  9. #9
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    Thank you for the comments and clarification. I'm starting to see a pattern from owners of 6-cylinder models who tell me that the ball joint dropped out of the steering knuckle with very little effort, and the V-8 guys who, like me, have theirs stuck in tight and have a hell of a time getting it out. When mine finally let go after using the ball joint removal tool, it was with an explosive report like a gunshot. I thought I'd broken something.
    Last edited by Hotswimmer; 07-27-2006 at 01:31 PM.

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    Dan is offline My real name is Charles
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hotswimmer
    Thank you for the comments and clarification. I'm starting to see a pattern from owners of 6-cylinder models who tell me that the ball joint dropped out of the steering knuckle with very little effort, and the V-8 guys who, like me, have theirs stuck in tight and have a hell of a time getting out. When mine finally let go after using the ball joint removal tool, it was with an explosive report like a gunshot. I thought I'd broken something.
    if you don't need the ball joint removal tool, i'll buy it from you. kinda lazy about going to pepboys since they don't stack any shit right here and autozone carry second grade garbage by me.

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan
    if you don't need the ball joint removal tool, i'll buy it from you. kinda lazy about going to pepboys since they don't stack any shit right here and autozone carry second grade garbage by me.
    PM sent.

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    Dan is offline My real name is Charles
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    Ever get that shake when you are going about 50ish? right at the speed limit, the car transforms and becomes a rolling vibrator? well, you're not alone. it could most likey be your thrust arm bushings.

    now conventional wisdom would suggest to replace it with OEM E39 540/M5 bushings however, there are some that went with an E38's bushing since it's said to be stronger (car's heavier after all). But I personally like the idea of using X5's bushings. It's not as clear cut as it seems though. There are controversy behind which bushings to use and even how it should be installed. The X5's suspension geometry is reversed and thus the bushing is installed reversed but what if you reversed a reversed bushing in ours? it's complicated so i'll get these guys do the explaining with pictures:

    Bushing controversy..... and you thought "who killed JFK" was complicated... HA!!! they never owned an E39

  13. #13
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    Where to find the removal tool?

    Great posting! I really appreciate the time you spent detailing the replacement... saved me a few mistakes.

    Bad news though... I bought the removal tool from NAPA and it broke before any luck of getting even one joint removed (it also didn't fit very well). I think I'll buy the one you used from zdmak.com.

    Also, my '97 540i symptoms are identical to everyone else posted here... 45-55mph steering wheel shaking.

    Jeff

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    Dan is offline My real name is Charles
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    Quote Originally Posted by jeffjgross View Post
    Great posting! I really appreciate the time you spent detailing the replacement... saved me a few mistakes.

    Bad news though... I bought the removal tool from NAPA and it broke before any luck of getting even one joint removed (it also didn't fit very well). I think I'll buy the one you used from zdmak.com.

    Also, my '97 540i symptoms are identical to everyone else posted here... 45-55mph steering wheel shaking.

    Jeff
    just to give you a heads up on the tool. i got a different one then hotswimmer (randy).

    This is the one i got:




    if you notice the one in the writeup, the bolt is in the middle of the two pieces. mine is on the bottom. for me to get mine to work, i had to turn the steering wheel a bit to get the right angle in there. it also helped i have a 4 lbs shorty studge hammer to "tap" (i use that word liberally) it in there AFTER i pealed the rubber boot on the bottom of the ball joint DOWN so the FORK would wedge itself in there.

    worked like a charm and scared the piss out of my friend... actually, we were doing this on this car. i'm just going to do the bushing part.

  15. #15
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    Nice write up.

    Anyone going to park this thread? I do plan on getting an E39 real soon.

    95 540i6 M Sport - 95 525it S52/OBD2 - 433k E36 328i5 - X5D that hit a pothole - IG: @justinmurray95

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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan View Post
    just to give you a heads up on the tool. i got a different one then hotswimmer (randy).

    This is the one i got:




    if you notice the one in the writeup, the bolt is in the middle of the two pieces. mine is on the bottom. for me to get mine to work, i had to turn the steering wheel a bit to get the right angle in there. it also helped i have a 4 lbs shorty studge hammer to "tap" (i use that word liberally) it in there AFTER i pealed the rubber boot on the bottom of the ball joint DOWN so the FORK would wedge itself in there.

    worked like a charm and scared the piss out of my friend... actually, we were doing this on this car. i'm just going to do the bushing part.
    Where did you find that puller? I just ordered new arms about five minutes ago and was going to stop by napa tomorrow and pick up their puller. Good thing that I read this blog tonight.

  17. #17
    Dan is offline My real name is Charles
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    Quote Originally Posted by CABMX78 View Post
    Where did you find that puller? I just ordered new arms about five minutes ago and was going to stop by napa tomorrow and pick up their puller. Good thing that I read this blog tonight.
    Crick here... Crick here!!!!

    i'm also going to get their bushing puller.

  18. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan View Post
    Crick here... Crick here!!!!

    i'm also going to get their bushing puller.
    Thanks for the help. I checked their site when this thread first came up but all I could find was the $2000 BMW puller

    That puller worked OK once you got it positioned corectly?

  19. #19
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    I performed this procedure this weekend, and had grand results! i did not weight the car properly though, and i think it needed an alignment anyways. i was low on time, and decided to have only the front end raised on 9" of blocks when i tightened the chassis side bolts. nonetheless, i can tell a nice difference, besides the shimmy free ride, in the handling of the car. much more responsive! thanks for all the help and advice, the nice write up, and the tool sourcing. i got the same tool from ZDMAK and it was fine. i had a lot of trouble fitting the tool on in the right position, and ended up doing more than "lightly tapping" with my hammer. also, the bolt on the passenger side was difficult to work out, and i had to keep moving the steering assembly.

    by the way, a note to others: the steeing knuckle/ball joint side must be removed first, not the bushing/chassis side, because the ball joint tool uses the thrust arm for leverage. otherwise, the tool just slips off when you tighten it.

    also, i had to build some small ramps to lift the front end enough to get my floor jack under the front of the car (i have factory sport suspension). these ramps were only about 2" high.

    finally, the coolest thing about doing this job was that my girlfriend decided to help out! she basically did one side, while i did the other (except i had to break some of the bolts loose, and i had to torque them as well).

    again, THANKS!!!
    -chris


    ball joint removal tool note: it was necessary for me to reposition the steering, as well as "tap" repeatedly to get the ZDMAK tool in place. after it was in place, it worked fine (just make sure to get it right, otherwise it will slip off). i got mine in the same position as Hotswimmer. it really was like a gunshot. my girlfriend was doing the other side, and stopped for a second.. then as she was saying something to me, it let go and scared her pretty good! when i did my side previous to that, it scared both of us..
    also: make sure that the tool is fully threaded into the lower tool piece. if it is not, it may strip the threads. we are talking about a lot of force here, and i am giving this advice based on expierience, 2 hours of wasted time, and some practice with grinding threads off and rethreading steel..
    Last edited by cdb3113; 08-28-2006 at 09:07 AM.

  20. #20
    Dan is offline My real name is Charles
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    Quote Originally Posted by CABMX78 View Post
    Thanks for the help. I checked their site when this thread first came up but all I could find was the $2000 BMW puller

    That puller worked OK once you got it positioned corectly?
    Yep. it's all about the angle. it did take me a few tries as cdb said, it did slip off the first few attempts. don't be fustrated, just keep working at it and you'll get it but you really should get something to tap it in.



    Quote Originally Posted by cdb3113 View Post
    I performed this procedure this weekend, and had grand results! i did not weight the car properly though, and i think it needed an alignment anyways. i was low on time, and decided to have only the front end raised on 9" of blocks when i tightened the chassis side bolts. nonetheless, i can tell a nice difference, besides the shimmy free ride, in the handling of the car. much more responsive!
    Dude, if you DON'T weight it down properly, the bushing will tear in matter of a couple of thousand miles. I'm just going to do my bushings and not the arm and my friend who's a master mechanic (he got asked to be the master mechanic at a BMW dealer by me) said it's IMPERATIVE that you weight the car down because the angle of the bushing will be incorrect and the stress built up on the bushing will just destroy it in a short time. trust me, you really want to do this.

  21. #21
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    Thrust arm bushings can be replaced without removing the arms from the car. A field expedient bushing press can be made up out of stuff that you can find at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. and some bits of aluminum plate or similar. The tool that I made looks like:

    The gray cylinder is a piece of PVC conduit. I used some scraps of aluminum plate that I had and having a lathe handy I turned them round, but you could achieve the same result by cutting circles with a bandsaw or jigsaw. 3/8" plate is strong enough and it usualy can be had from the scap pile at a machine shop. The threaded rod is 7/16-NC. It would have been better to use 7/16-NF, but you have to get that from a fastener suppy house or an industrial supply house. Best to have some extra threaded rod & nuts on hand. The garden variety all-thread isn't very hard and you can strip the threads.

    In use the tool looks like:

    When pressing the busing out it helps to use a flat file to get to bright shiny metal of the side of the bushing that you'll pull through the arm. Even a small amount of corrosion or oxidation makes it much more difficult to press the bushing out. If really stuck, a bit of heat and PBlaster on the bushing helps. It doesn't take much heat, just enough to be uncomfortable to the touch will do it and that won't harm the tension strut.
    The car makes it possible, but the driver makes it happen.
    Jim Levie, Huntsville, AL

  22. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by Dan View Post
    Dude, if you DON'T weight it down properly, the bushing will tear in matter of a couple of thousand miles. I'm just going to do my bushings and not the arm and my friend who's a master mechanic (he got asked to be the master mechanic at a BMW dealer by me) said it's IMPERATIVE that you weight the car down because the angle of the bushing will be incorrect and the stress built up on the bushing will just destroy it in a short time. trust me, you really want to do this.
    i had to get it together so i could drive home and go to work in the morning... my plan is to get it to the dealer this week and have a pro alingment done, as well as have them retorque the bushing bolt. total with improper weight = ~200 miles. i heard it would be alright for a little bit, so i planned on this.

    while im here though, i should ask the questions i had about how you set up the car to torque the bushing bolts.

    where is the rear jack point? is it central like in the front?
    should the bolt be loose, or can it be somewhat tight before really torquing it?

    when i torqued it, i had the front resting on the wheels on 9" blocks, with a 150lb person in each front seat, a 100lb person in the middle back seat, the rear wheels on the ground, and maybe 15lbs in the trunk, with a full tank of gas. (forgot the trunk weight!) it was basically the best i could get, except for forgetting to put the bag of sand in the trunk

    when bmw dealer does an alingment, do they retorque the bolts with weight in the car and such anyways?

  23. #23
    Join Date
    Nov 2003
    Location
    Irvine, CA
    Posts
    537
    My Cars
    1998 BMW 540i
    Quote Originally Posted by thejlevie View Post
    Thrust arm bushings can be replaced without removing the arms from the car. A field expedient bushing press can be made up out of stuff that you can find at Home Depot, Lowes, etc. and some bits of aluminum plate or similar.
    This is awesome, JLevie - thank you! It does away with the biggest headache of the whole exercise - getting that ball joint out.

  24. #24
    Dan is offline My real name is Charles
    Join Date
    Sep 2002
    Location
    Under The Bridge
    Posts
    8,239
    My Cars
    E39 540i/6, Galant VR4
    Quote Originally Posted by Hotswimmer View Post
    This is awesome, JLevie - thank you! It does away with the biggest headache of the whole exercise - getting that ball joint out.
    that's what i'm actually going to do myself. i'm not going to drop the ball joint, i'm just going to do the bushing but the tool to do the bushing is $200!!!! but i guess i have to pay to play since i'm doing the hybrid X5 rubber/pu bushing. trust me, if i wasn't going this route, i would have just gotten the arms myself since it would only be a few bucks more for Lemforder (or however you spell it) arms.


    arms + ball joint removal tool: $280
    bushing + bushing removal tool: $250

    only $30 difference but i get to have 2 more tools now which would come in handy for future use.

  25. #25
    Join Date
    Dec 2004
    Location
    Huntsville, AL
    Posts
    25,923
    My Cars
    87 325is
    Powerflex solid Urethane bushings might be something to consider. They really stiffen up the tension strut and control arm at the expense of a bit more road feel and the necessity to periodically re-lubricate the bushings. Fortunately, once the old bushings are out you don't need a press to R/R the urethane bushings, so re-lubing is easy.
    The car makes it possible, but the driver makes it happen.
    Jim Levie, Huntsville, AL

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