[left123]

Originally Posted by ttrinh9

I actually have the n55 335XI e90.

I wrote the DIY using a RWD platform so all the info is specific for that (several things are similar/the same I am sure, but full disclosure).

I suggest you use RealOEM to search for part numbers specific to your car. Or you can call the dealership and they will tell you, or look on/call one of the many online sites that are glad to sell you the part (bavAuto, FCPEuro, etc).

Good luck and report what you find. I havent seen that control arm without the ball joint for an e90.

[kkasson]

Originally Posted by ttrinh9

Hi guy. First time posting here as I am planning a front end suspension refresh in the near future. As I am looking for parts for my car, I can across the front thrust arm and noticed that one side comes with a bushing pre-pressed already but the ball joint seems to be sold separately? Is a new ball joint necessary? And if I do purchase the balljoint seperately, is a ball joint press needed to install them onto the thrust arm?? Thanks in advance for the inputs!

I'd go ahead and do the ball joint. The ball joints typically last longer than the bushings, but they do wear out too. You'd have to remove the control arm again to do the ball joint, so I'd just do them together.

The ball joint is just bolted in. You're supposed to be able to remove it without having to press it out, but they can get stuck in there pretty good. It might take some work with a hammer to get it out. The new one just slips back in to place.

It's basically the same prodedure as for this X5: http://www.pelicanparts.com/techarti...eplacement.htm

[juld0zer]

Some tips:

Contrary to what most articles say, a strong impact gun is my preferred method of removing the ball joint nut. Spins it fast enough for the locking ring to be ineffective. However, i always spray the rubber side of the ball joint generously with a good penetrating lube to help it pop out of the knuckle once the nut is loosened. Combination of the thumping of the gun and the penetrating lube usually (60%) frees the balljoint easily. The other 40% require some lube spray in the bore once the nut is off, then refit nut til the top is roughly flush with the end of the stud where you counterhold, and tap it loose with a hammer. Ive only had to use a balljoint splitter on big cars like X5/X6.

When refitting, use brake cleaner and clean the ball joint socket of all lube from before and clean threads of reused balljoints thoroughly and use an impact grade T40 socket. Normal ones may last but they usually twist and break. I prefer to hold the BJ using the T40 and use a ratcheting spanner to do up the nut tight enough for the BJ to not spin, then torque wrench on it. Some prefer to zap it on with a gun then torque it.

For the bush end, wrestle the knuckle/disc and use a screwdriver to help line up the holes then push the new bolt thru and start it. RWD E8x/E9x use that clip nut which can be annoying to start. Tighten the bolt until almost all the threads are gone in.

Assuming your car is on stands, jack up one side by the rotor hat (NOT the outer circumference) until the car starts to lift off the stand and tighten to spec.

[Fork!TheSpoonWrecker]

An other tip if the ball joints are spinning is to use a big c clamp and to clamp them down to keep the pressure. worked wonders for me as my impact just has 150lbft of torque.

[e36power]

Rather than jack up the wheel hub to torque the bolt through the bushing, I was planning on lowering the car onto ramps. Going to build them from 2x12s or 10s. How much clearance you guys think I need to get in there and torque it properly?

[left123]

Originally Posted by e36power

Rather than jack up the wheel hub to torque the bolt through the bushing, I was planning on lowering the car onto ramps. Going to build them from 2x12s or 10s. How much clearance you guys think I need to get in there and torque it properly?

if you havent yet started the project why not just throw a tape measurer under there and measure floor to bolt distance, then add whatever you need for your body/arm/torque wrench?

If you already started, Im not really sure. but I would say at least 6 inches of wood (with the bolts would be up higher allowing you to get a torque wrench under there). I personally would go higher than that as it takes a s&*t ton of force to lock those bolts in place.

Good luck.

[e36power]

Originally Posted by left123

if you havent yet started the project why not just throw a tape measurer under there and measure floor to bolt distance, then add whatever you need for your body/arm/torque wrench?

If you already started, Im not really sure. but I would say at least 6 inches of wood (with the bolts would be up higher allowing you to get a torque wrench under there). I personally would go higher than that as it takes a s&*t ton of force to lock those bolts in place.

Good luck.

Haven't started yet. Just planning ahead. Torquing it back up is really my main concern here. The torque on the bolt through the bushing doesn't seem too bad, but the extra 90 degrees seems like it would take a lot of force.

[dancing__narwhal]

I did this job over the weekend and this DIY was very helpful. The hardest part for me was getting the hubs to stay in place on top of the jack / block of wood contraption without the steering rack moving right or left. The passenger side was OK since applying force on the bolt actually helped keep the steering rack in place. The driver side was horrible because the force of the jack made the steering rack naturally want to turn the opposite direction of the wrench which made it constantly turn back and forth with each turn of the wrench.

At least once I had the hub turn too much and the jack + wood block flung out. So be very careful!

I would agree with the OP that this is a fairly easy job so long as you have the right equipment and are comfortable wrenching under a car. it took me about 3 hours which includes two trips to the auto-parts store since I didn't have the right sockets for my torque wrench. Once you have the car properly jacked up, the actual removal and replacement job is pretty straightforward (besides the whole hub jacking issue mentioned above).

The other thing that was a pain was getting my jack underneath the central jack point and then getting it high enough to place the jack stands on the sides. Perhaps my cheap-o jack is to blame, but I couldn't get it high enough without adding a wood block. To get the wood block between the jack and the car, I had to drive the car part-way onto rhino ramps and then slide the jack + block under the central jack point. Not too bad on the way up but a pain when lowering and having to slide the ramps back in place and drive the car up them slightly before removing the jack. A better jack would probably be able to raise the car far enough on its own.

Hope these can be helpful to anyone else attempting this DIY. Cheers!

[Austin LeNomad]

Much like several of you, perhaps with the higher mileage cars, the bolts just spin and even a C-Clamp was insufficient to hold the piece in place. I finally used a sawall where I could get in there and a cutoff tool when I couldn't.

In regards to the person who had the spindle moving back and forth, what I had to do was put back the control arms to help hold it in place, so it wouldn't move around so much on me, along with a jack underneath to help pin it.

Another thing that caught me was that they are one time use bolts, and the replacements did not come with them (yet my tie rods did come with replacement bolts, which I did at the same time).

I would recommend doing the tie rods at the same time as the control arms, there is just so much more space while working on those things if everything is coming off anyway.

I put anti-seize on everything in the hopes the next time this will be easier. In my case, nothing was broken, but it was just really really worn at this point. I could hold the control arms and the ball joint just could roll on its own without touching it.

The car feels really good while driving now, I didn't realize how much had been lost. And what also had started me on this path was a shaking steering wheel, which I originally thought was warped rotors. but after replacing those first, the shaking was the same. This fixed that issue.

Rough job, but there was no way I was going to pay a dealership or shop for this job. Too expensive.

[kkasson]

I recently did this job a second time; this time it was on my E60. It's a little different there because the spindle needs to be lowered on the strut but the control arm is pretty much the same.

I ended up using an impact this time and it was a breeze. I used the plug-in electric impact from Harbor Freight; it's pretty weak for an impact but it was plenty to loosen the ball joint nuts. They're not on there that tight, it's just really easy to make the ball joint spin.

I paid something like $35 for the impact and $10 for an impact socket set. Highly recommend it for anyone doing this job.

[k1f1]

Does anyone have the images saved - looks like Photobucket has deleted them.
Does anyone know if the MSport control arms are the same as non MSport? I'm planning on buying them from eBay and it doesn't give much information.
Thanks!

[Austin LeNomad]

You start to forget how valuable and much you come to expect that you can search and usually find a DIY on fixing your car, house, dishwasher, refrigerator, and a million other things. I never hire people to fix things for me, and for at least a decade this was the way of things. A picture really is a thousand words, and photobucket (I didn't realize) was a backbone many people used. So much will be lost because people make these DIY's and move on, they might not have the original pics, the original item or car, and they also may not want to make the time to go back and rebuild these DIY's, find a new location for each pic and returning it back to order. Quite understandable. With what Photobucket did, they are such asses. They could have put a realistic time limit to get people to move off or added some reasonable pricing to get people to stay, and people would have gone for it. But with their nutso pricing, and the immeasurable damage they have done with this rush to expire out accounts, I will never use them for anything. I wouldn't be surprised if they went under from the backlash.

[Beberle]

I reused the 18mm bushing through-bolt and locking nut. Bad idea. A year later, it started shuddering during braking. I spent weeks trying to figure it out. The inside of the front tires were cupped, but was a result and not the cause of the problem. Finally figured out the through-bolts had loosened up! Not enough that showed when I had the front jacked and pulled on the tires, but loose enough for brake shimmy.
$400 for two new tires or $40 for new bolts and lock nuts. Your choice...

[Welcome to NBA Jam]

Bump for a thank you! I did my M3 bushings last weekend. From my experience with a car that lived in the Northeast & rust belt for 4 years:

1. Get a dremel
If your lower control arm ball joint nuts are stuck, you will need to cut the nut. It will immensely help. You can pick one up for about $70. You will also need it to help remove some metal from the lower control arm bushing carrier in order for the control arm to fit. Also, penetrating fluid/lubricant helps a lot.

2. Have a big ol' hammer
You'll need to hit some bolts or the hub to help pop out ball joints. You'll also need it to help smack in the lower control arm bushing into the carrier.

3. An impact will save you a lot of time
I used a $50 Chicago Electric Impact wrench from Harbor Freight. It was able to spin off all of the nuts & bolts. Make sure to get a full set of extensions & a wobble as well. You might need to run at the nut for a while, but it'll eventually come off. Wear headphones or ear plugs.

4. You can preload the bushings by jacking up the hub
If you don't quite have enough room to tighten the bolts down with the car on the ground or on ramps, jacking up the hub will work just fine. When the car starts to lift up, stop jacking.

5. You can accidentally install your thrust arm upside down
....yeah....

6. If you also replaced your tie rods, your car will drive like shit until you align it
Don't freak out if you hear some tire squealing, have horrible handling, or the steering wheel wanting to throw itself in either direction. It's just way out of alignment. Drive slow and in the right lane to the alignment shop. I had to go 30mph the whole way there.

When all's said and done, your car will drive like it's brand new! I'm so glad I did this!

If I had to do this job again, I could probably get it done in maybe 2 hours, including tie rods & end links. It wasn't all too bad. Just stay organized, and make sure you have the right tools: especially leverage, a dremel, & an impact wrench.

[left123]

Originally Posted by Austin LeNomad

You start to forget how valuable and much you come to expect that you can search and usually find a DIY on fixing your car, house, dishwasher, refrigerator, and a million other things. I never hire people to fix things for me, and for at least a decade this was the way of things. A picture really is a thousand words, and photobucket (I didn't realize) was a backbone many people used. So much will be lost because people make these DIY's and move on, they might not have the original pics, the original item or car, and they also may not want to make the time to go back and rebuild these DIY's, find a new location for each pic and returning it back to order. Quite understandable. With what Photobucket did, they are such asses. They could have put a realistic time limit to get people to move off or added some reasonable pricing to get people to stay, and people would have gone for it. But with their nutso pricing, and the immeasurable damage they have done with this rush to expire out accounts, I will never use them for anything. I wouldn't be surprised if they went under from the backlash.

I finally went back and created a new image hosting site, via Imgur (which is far easier to use anyway) instead of photobucket, which has ruined many of us DIY'er's efforts. All the pictures should be updated now, finally.

[lwarren0074]

Thanks to the OP for this DIY. I've got a 2007 328i Wagon (E91) with 151k miles. Original arms and the bushings gave out God knows when. The dealer noted I needed new bushings when I brought the car in to have the Takata airbag replaced as part of the recall. They did a full complimentary inspection as well. (I suppose to see if they could do some repairs and overcharge the living hell out of me)

The dealer wanted $950 to replace the bushings. I got the Meyle HD arms for $150 pair instead and replaced them this weekend. Took about 1.5 hours. Used a cordless impact wrench to loosen the nuts free. Then used a T40 to hold the stud on the control arm in combination with a 21mm open end box wrench to remove the nut completely. Same as Rotorocious described in post #4.

Had the same problem as others when torquing the nuts back down during installation in that the entire steering rack wanted to turn, same as post #52. Had my son come out and hold the steering wheel while I torqued the nuts. That worked like a charm and he's 11.

Car feels much tighter on the front end. Had no idea what I was missing.

[TBM]

Any tips on tightening the ball joint nut? What’s the best way to hold the torx ball joint? I’m afraid of stripping the torx hole in the ball joint during re-installation. The old one stripped during removal.

[animal63518]

I've swapped all suspension parts, the question about preload torque..

Drivers side control arm went in tight, even with preload i don't think it'll adjust to preload settings being it went in tight..

Will take it apart today again, and try to sand down the aluminum till it fits in freely..

Is this something I should do or worry about?

[tony55343]

Originally Posted by animal63518

I've swapped all suspension parts, the question about preload torque..

Drivers side control arm went in tight, even with preload i don't think it'll adjust to preload settings being it went in tight..

Will take it apart today again, and try to sand down the aluminum till it fits in freely..

Is this something I should do or worry about?

It is completely normal to have to file for the M3 arms to fit . There could be burrs etc , there was on my subframe mount points for sure! I just did mine this past week and had to do the same thing. It has been aligned and driven since and feels great!!