[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by eljay

Thank you!
So, the squeak is actually from inside that outer rearward bushing? I now watched a few videos on this and yes, that's the noise. But I am not too keen on poking a hole in the rubber and injecting grease in there like all of them show. That will certainly finish them sooner by allowing dirt to migrate in there, won't it?
Is that how you lubricated yours? Or did you just spray around the bushing area?

My bushings are only 14k kms old. That's very early for them to fail, especially since the originals lasted 140k.

imo doing what the guy did is a bit overkill, probably not that effective even on short term and overall, at this point just replace it.

I simple spray a shit load of chain grease on the busing. Did nothing the 1st few ride, then I spray a ton more, and this time gone, about a year ago !

But note I dont use my car often, I maybe did 6000 km since then.

Probably PB baster Surface shield should work too, this stuff is thick

[eljay]

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

imo doing what the guy did is a bit overkill, probably not that effective even on short term and overall, at this point just replace it.

I simple spray a shit load of chain grease on the busing. Did nothing the 1st few ride, then I spray a ton more, and this time gone, about a year ago !

But note I dont use my car often, I maybe did 6000 km since then.

Probably PB baster Surface shield should work too, this stuff is thick

Well, I guess that makes sense. Since it's noisy, that rubber boot is not sealing the bushing and water/dirt must be causing the squeak. So, it's compromised anyway already and the reason you were able to quiet it down just by spraying it over a period is that wherever it's compromised is allowing your lubricant to get inside and quiet it down. Poking a hole there just ensures a quicker lubrication then, but also faster time to have to replace it.
It's still bugging me that it failed this early and I remember that getting it out without proper toolkit wasn't fun since the brake shield is in the way... never a quiet moment in E9x ownership.

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by eljay

Well, I guess that makes sense. Since it's noisy, that rubber boot is not sealing the bushing and water/dirt must be causing the squeak. So, it's compromised anyway already and the reason you were able to quiet it down just by spraying it over a period is that wherever it's compromised is allowing your lubricant to get inside and quiet it down. Poking a hole there just ensures a quicker lubrication then, but also faster time to have to replace it.
It's still bugging me that it failed this early and I remember that getting it out without proper toolkit wasn't fun since the brake shield is in the way... never a quiet moment in E9x ownership.

this is also my luck on some stuff like this on my german cars.

I always evaluate the effort before changing OEM stuff on jobs ''while I'm there'' knowing most of the time OEM part last longer than aftermarket.

[Tambohamilton]

If I remember rightly, the boots are held onto the joint with little spring clips. It's a pain of a job, but you should be able to get the clips and boots off entirely without damaging anything. Then clean, grease/lube, refit/reseal.

[eljay]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

If I remember rightly, the boots are held onto the joint with little spring clips. It's a pain of a job, but you should be able to get the clips and boots off entirely without damaging anything. Then clean, grease/lube, refit/reseal.

Yes, they have those clips. If I could do that, that may be the way to go. However, if I have to remove the big control arm to get to it, I might as well get a bushing toolkit and replace the bushing itself as I don't know whether regressing it really saves it, or just delays replacement. Rein is $10, Lemforder $20 and BMW $61.

[Tambohamilton]

Agreed. Go for lemforder, but send it back if it's not made in Germany.

[eljay]

OK, job done.
It wasn't too bad.
1. Lift the car
2. Remove the nut at the bottom of the shock to release it.
3. Remove the camber arm bolt at the knuckle (I didn't touch the alignment bolt)
4. Remove trailing arm bolt at the knuckle to make room to press out/in the ball joint.

I again rented bushing press kit.
It does destroy the old ball joint when pressing it out because of the thickness of the pipes/tubes, but obviously they were going to trash anyway.



And as you can see the inside of the ball joint is completely corroded!



I checked my past receipts to see what I bought. They were Rein, made in Turkey. Lesson learned.

Lemforder unit in



I also changed the other side because I discovered that it has moved in the knuckle and at this point it was half way in! Wow. The tolerances on these a very crappy.

And as always when working on a suspension from the Maritimes, there's always more...
Upon re-assembly, I discovered the threads at the bottom of the shock were totally stripped.
So, I had to remove the shock to rectify that, which means tearing apart the entire hatch area.

As you can see, it was bad:


Borrowed a tap/die kit from a friend and fixed the thread.
Let's hope it lasts the life of the shock.



And the best part: the noise is GONE!

[eljay]

And since I had about a two-week break of everything working on the car, I started getting clunking noise from the front left on uneven surfaces! Seriously, can't I just enjoy it for a while?!!

I need to investigate. I get no steering issues or vibration, no humming noise, it doesn't matter if I go left or right and no issues under braking. So, I hope it's something easy like stabilizer links. Those are Lemforder from FCP Euro, BTW and not too old.

[Tambohamilton]

Wow that ball joint is bad! How long was it on there?

Originally Posted by eljay

can't I just enjoy it for a while?!!

Nope - ask me how I know...

Originally Posted by eljay

Stabilizer links. Those are Lemforder from FCP Euro, BTW and not too old.

Garbage. Stock ones don't last 5 mins for me. Lemforder or not. Currently using meyle HD - at least the joints are chunky, we'll see how long they last.

[eljay]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

Wow that ball joint is bad! How long was it on there?


Nope - ask me how I know...


Garbage. Stock ones don't last 5 mins for me. Lemforder or not. Currently using meyle HD - at least the joints are chunky, we'll see how long they last.

2.5 years and 20k kms for both ball joints and also the sway bar links.
So, now I wonder which ones to get. How long have your Meyle's lasted so far?
I can claim FCP's free replacement, but for cheap components like this, it will cost me the same to pay for shipping and duty for new ones, plus sending these back as if buying new ones locally.

[Tambohamilton]

Mine have only been on about a year/8k miles. I think they're still good, but haven't had occasion to check them recently.

I'd be tempted to go with the "free" replacements...I don't really have a better suggestion. I went with meyle HD because they were the only reasonably priced ones which looked like they have a chance of being tougher than the originals.

[eljay]

I looked under the car and sway bar links feel solid.
There seems to be play when I do 3 and 9 o'clock wheel shake. It's more obvious on the passenger side. Somehow, it feels like the clunk is coming from the center of car. Would a steering rack make that kind of a clunk? Tie rods feel good. All ball joints look good and with the exception of thrust arm (which are ~50k kms old), everything has been replaced 20k kms ago.
I don't know how to pinpoint the issue to avoid throwing parts at it.

[Tambohamilton]

In my experience, it's very difficult to feel play on drop links until they're disconnected - even when they're well gone.

Are you saying there's play between the steering wheel and the wheels? Check the pinch bolts on the steering shaft.

[M-technik-3]

Nice this is on my list for my wagon as well as our X3. That one is a bit more involved,

[eljay]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

In my experience, it's very difficult to feel play on drop links until they're disconnected - even when they're well gone.

Are you saying there's play between the steering wheel and the wheels? Check the pinch bolts on the steering shaft.

There's no play from the steering wheel.
It's when I grab the passenger side wheel at 9 and 3 o'clock and try to wiggle it, I get a little movement/play in it and the associated noise/clunk seems to be coming from the middle of the car. But my ears may be playing tricks on me. I tried to get my wife to wiggle the whel while I'm under the car, but she couldn't move it.
I'll post a video later.

Yeah, I guess I can disconnect the top of the sway bar link and check to see if the ball joints are loose.

[Tambohamilton]

You may be hearing the steering hitting the steering lock, if you're moving the wheels without someone holding the wheel. Put the key in to release the lock when you're doing that - maybe that's why your wife couldn't move the wheel?

[eljay]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

You may be hearing the steering hitting the steering lock, if you're moving the wheels without someone holding the wheel. Put the key in to release the lock when you're doing that - maybe that's why your wife couldn't move the wheel?

I would actually want to lock the steering wheel, so I can eliminate the little play you get when you first move the wheel. But I just found out that E9x platform does not have steering wheel lock since about 11/2006 build! The more you know...

She just couldn't move it due to lack of muscle, or trying, or both.

Here's the video of the passenger side with the phone facing up and me wiggling the wheel back and forth holding it at 3 & 9.
I know it looks like a little play in the tie rod, but the wheel is turning that little bit while I'm wiggling it, so the rack is moving. And I have no play at all through the steering wheel no wandering etc. while driving, so I doubt it's the inner tie rod joint.

View post on imgur.com

I put the car back down and during the drive this morning, I'd swear it's the typical sway bar links clunk. I think I will order a pair and see what happens. It's $80, so starting to throw the cheapest parts at it.

[eljay]

With the hot weather, I finally got around to retrofitting the rear sun shades. I am almost done and will post a full guide, but I would like to address the roller shade on one side not retracting easily.
Does anyone have experience with repairing/disassembling these?
I have a pair of sedan versions that work great, so I am contemplating disassembling one for science and see how the mechanism works. I hope not to have some tensoin spring fly in my face while attempting that.
It may be just dirt on the rod that prevents smooth recoil.
Of course, BMW sells just the complete roller with a cassette for a million dollars.

Thanks for any tips.

[eljay]

I set out on a mission to provide some shade for the rear occupants!
I bought a pair of rear shades and asked the seller to just cut off the top part of the door panels and send hem to me. Since the door panels were black, I had no use for them and shipping was much easier that way.
This is the back side of one of them:

So, my plan was to modify my existing door panels and fit the roller shade cassette onto them.

First, the door panels were removed:
1. Remove the trim piece starting with the outer portion since the inner side has a retaining notch. It just pops up. Make sure you don't loose the plugs and put them back into the door panel in case they come off with the trim piece.






2. Pop off the door handle trim starting from the bottom. It just unclips.





3. Remove 3 torx screws (T25 or T20, I forget)




4. Using trim removal tool, pop off the door panel from the door. You can see the location of the clips. It's best to use a fork like removal tool and place it with the clip in the middle of the fork. Just don't put it in-between the clip location as that will damage the door panel.




5. Then lift the door panel up on a slight angle to pop it off the too ledge trim and pull straight away, but only a couple of inches as you will need to disconnect few things: speaker connector, window switch connector, door pull lever, and door lock rod.
6. Done



Next, I proceeded to remove the roller shade cassette from the donor panel pieces. I first removed the roller shade itself, then used a flat head screwdriver and metal trim removal tool to lift and pop off the shade holder from the panel piece.



Now, I could see the amount of door panel to cut to fit the shade holder onto my door panels.

Next, I used heat gun to peel off the glue on the shade holder.


Since I had a spare panel from a junkyard, I first practiced on that and did a test fit:



Now, I summoned some courage to permanently destroy/alter my unicorn door panels knowing that if I mess up, I won't easily find Saddle Brown rear door panels from Logic7 equipped E90/E91 on their own.

I started by removing the top retainer trim from my panels:


Then marking and cutting the top of my panel to mimic the door pieces:


Then test-fitting the shade holder:


I then glued the shade holder to my door panel using E6000 adhesive. It was perfect for the job. It is strong, bonds fibrous and plastic well and remains flexible when cured.
Don't forget to glue the rear piece too, which locates your door lock rod/pin.



I then proceeded prepare the car door.
First removed the inner plastic trim around the window. It just pops off, but pay attention where it slides behind the window weather seal, so you can place the new one back correctly. You don't want water in your car.
Speaking of water... I had an occasional wet carpet spot in the rear by that door and suspected a failed vapour barrier seal. Upon close inspection, it was confirmed. You can see the dried water residue where it leaked past the barrier and then onto the door sills and into the car. So, check this if you notice wet carpet.




I peeled off the old barrier (wear gloves!) and remove the butyl sealant. I then cleaned the residue and applied new butyl sealant tape to the vapour barrier and reinstalled it and sealed it well all around. The warm weather helped. If it's cold, I recommend heating the door with heat gun or hair dryer (don't burn anything!) and then put the vapour barrier in place and go around it very carefully to ensure good seal.


I had to remove clips on the door that held the regular door panel on as they were in the way preventing my modified panel to be reinstalled.



I also got the necessary top window trim piece that had the openings for the shade hooks. Now, it's possible to easily modify your existing trim, so it's not a must have, but you will also need to come up with some hook solution for the little triangle shade. The little triangle shade piece just clips onto the vertical window pillar easily without issues.
Here are the clips and hooks for the top of the window. Keep in mind the orientation: the hook faces out.







One of my shade's pulling thingy broke, so I salvage one from the sedan rollers I had from a messed up order.
To remove, use a small screwdriver and split the shade fabric trim. You will break it and then you will reglue it once you put the new puller piece in. Again pay attention to the orientation having the pull piece protrude to the inside.



Re-assemble everything and admire the dimmed daylight!





P.S. The shades make a big difference in rear passenger comfort and it's a worthwhile mod. Some might say to just tint the windows. But you cannot open the window to get some breeze AND have shade with tinted windows. So, I 100% recommend this option.

[Mike K]

Great work and result on your ambitious project! Thanks for posting!

[eljay]

Originally Posted by Mike K

Great work and result on your ambitious project! Thanks for posting!

Thank you!

[eljay]

Well, I ordered new sway bar end links, but guess what?! I noticed the clunking went away as I realized I'm not hearing it for the past 2 weeks. I went through bumpy slow roads where it would clunk badly and nothing...
So, either it was something else displaced that went away (literally) or the end links are so shot, they even stopped clunking. Is the latter possible? I think that they would just get super loud if the ball joints fail and loosen completely, correct?

The car goes in for safety inspection in 2 weeks, so I may just wait to see what they find before throwing new end links on it.