[chinko]

So I have this wonderful squeaks which reminds me of love birds in a cheap motel on a humid and hot night at a beautiful coastal beach. Couic couuic!

Read about the issue and common problem is with the bushing near the carrier or the ball joint. How do I determine which one is making this noise, should I change both side, buy a press tool or buy the whole piece including the bushing , and do I need an alignment afterwards. Trying to do the repair the most efficiently as possible. Not a mechanic, but I'm able to follow instructions.

Wheel carrier
http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tech...eplacement.htm

Ball joint
http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tech...eplacement.htm

[mweisdorfer]

Originally Posted by chinko

So I have this wonderful squeaks which reminds me of love birds in a cheap motel on a humid and hot night at a beautiful coastal beach. Couic couuic!

Read about the issue and common problem is with the bushing near the carrier or the ball joint. How do I determine which one is making this noise, should I change both side, buy a press tool or buy the whole piece including the bushing , and do I need an alignment afterwards. Trying to do the repair the most efficiently as possible. Not a mechanic, but I'm able to follow instructions.

Wheel carrier
http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tech...eplacement.htm" rel="" target="_blank">http://<a href="http://www.pelicanpa...cement.htm</a>

Ball joint
http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tech...eplacement.htm" rel="" target="_blank">http://<a href="http://www.pelicanpa...cement.htm</a>

You will need an alignment regardless of what bushing or ballpoint to have to replace. You should also replace bushings or ball joints in pairs. E90's are notorious for the ball joints and the rear toe arm going out once you get over the 100k mark. If the car has seen salted roads, good luck getting the ball joints or bushings out on your own. If not, you might be able to get them out with the right press. BMW does make a special ball joint press. It runs about $150-200.00. You should think about replacing the bolts and nuts while your in there. Especially, if your car has seen winters with snow, ice and salt. They are expensive though. Make sure you lube up the old bolts or new ones (which ever direction you decide to go) with a good synthetic grease when you put the bushings and or ball joints back together. BMW fans website has a lot off great schematic diagrams with part numbers so you can get the right parts etc. Don't pay extra for the little BMW stamp on the ball joint or bushing unless the price is close. By the way, Lemforder is the OEM supplier for such parts and can be much cheaper, in some cases. You should take the car to a front end/ suspension specialist to properly diagnose which parts have gone bad. Otherwise, you could be spending a lot of money on parts that you did not need trying to eliminate the issue by essentially trial and error. Squeaks and the like regarding suspension parts is a tricky business.

[chinko]

It's weird BMW dealer and a popular BMW indy near here sounded so sure it was the ball joint or the bushing near the carrier, common problem they both were saying. I dont have the press tool and it sounds tricky for an amateur home wannabe mechanic.The car saw snow and salt, so they probably seized up as well.

Too bad, I really like to DIY everything on the car. Might have to take to the dealer or indy, they both quoted about 2.5 to 3hours depending on how seized up it is. Anything you would recommend me changing beside all related nuts and bolts?

[chinko]

few questions pops into my mind:
It would cost me about :
indy 255$ labor + 140 bushings = 390$
BMW 360$ labor + 140$ bushings = 500$
Alignement in all scénarios.
Would this work to remove the bushings? Not too expensive.
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E92-335...ols/ES2795140/

Is it simpler to replace the entire rear toe arm:
http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E92-335...wer/ES2718128/

Is there a similar item that comes with the ball joint

[feuer]

for toe arms you could look into getting manzo's for about $120 shipped per set.

[chinko]

I've lookup many DYI and I have a good idea of what to do most bushing replacements. Now I would need to determine what part is actually making the creak/squeak. Any suggestions to determine what part is faulty?

My car squeaks whenever there a slight bump on the road. I can reproduce it by pressing down with my body weight on the rear driver side.

[chinko]

Is it a safe bet to install the Manzo's assuming the bushings are already installed on it?

[feuer]

Originally Posted by chinko

Any suggestions to determine what part is faulty?

spray individual bushings with wd-40, one at the time, and try to replicate the squeak.

[chinko]

That a VERY good advice to a novice trying to diagnostic his bushing problem. Isolated the creaking, after spraying wd40 on the upper control arm / wishbone bushing near the wheel carrier, the creak stopped for 500m on not perfect roads. Then the creak came back graduallly. Safe to replace the control arm on both side?

My local parts dealer cant get Lemfoerder, but was suggesting Foebi, is it a good brand? What are m'y other options?

[feuer]

Originally Posted by chinko

That a VERY good advice to a novice trying to diagnostic his bushing problem. Isolated the creaking, after spraying wd40 on the upper control arm / wishbone bushing near the wheel carrier, the creak stopped for 500m on not perfect roads. Then the creak came back graduallly. Safe to replace the control arm on both side?

My local parts dealer cant get Lemfoerder, but was suggesting Foebi, is it a good brand? What are m'y other options?

I'm glad that I was able to help you locate the faulty bushing. Lemfoeder, Febi...they are all the same, not much difference. It would be years before you have problems again after replacing it. You can look into Moog, they are of decent quality.
http://www.moog-suspension-parts.com...name&Sec=22352

[chinko]

I was thinking about buying the whole Wishbone/Upper control arm link with the bushing already installed. runs about 80$ each for Febi

Should I worry about other suspensions parts before doing an alignment? Is dealer alignment better than other alignment places? Here dealer wants 100$ and generic shop 50$

[feuer]

Originally Posted by chinko

I was thinking about buying the whole Wishbone/Upper control arm link with the bushing already installed. runs about 80$ each for Febi

Should I worry about other suspensions parts before doing an alignment? Is dealer alignment better than other alignment places? Here dealer wants 100$ and generic shop 50$

I would replace both sides. Dealer isn't necessarily the best especially because they do less alignments than other shops. I would look into new eccentric bolts if existing ones are rusted.

[chinko]

Are you suggesting I replace #9 and #10 on this diagram even if not directly related to the upper link?

The upper link/wishbone I was referring to is #18

[feuer]

Yes, 9/16 and 10/17 they are the same, total of 4.
Since you are doing an alignment and live in Montreal they might be rusty.
Replace them ONLY if they are rusty.

I'm surprised that you need #18. Usually bushings #2 and #3 go bad first.
If you are doing the job yourself be very careful as is SUPER easy to cross tread by bushing #15
I've seen it happen quite few times.
What I do is drive the bolt from the opposite side to clean the treads as the piece is cast iron affected by rust and the treads are shallow.
Share that with your mechanic if you aren't doing it yourself.

[chinko]

I'll try to notice if rusted, but pretty sure it is. We have lots of snow and salt in winter.
I only sprayed bushing

[chinko]

I'll try to notice if those bolts and washers are rusted, but pretty sure they are. We have lots of snow and salt in winter.
I only sprayed WD40 on bushing #15 and creaking stopped. No signs of issues yet with #2 and #3.
I'll be DIT, so for #15 screw bolt on the nut side to clean then remove and screw normally from opposite side ? Pelicanparts were recommending finger tight, then jack suspension to normal height before torquing?

[feuer]

Originally Posted by chinko

for #15 screw bolt on the nut side to clean then remove and screw normally from opposite side ? Pelicanparts were recommending finger tight, then jack suspension to normal height before torquing?

#15 is only a bolt (screw) no nut, and yes jack up and then torque. You can try fastening the bolt from the the correct side but if is going hard I highly recommending driving in from the opposite side to clean the treads, perhaps you can use oil or grease.

[chinko]

Just changed the rear upper control arm links, lo and behold....

... squeaking still there.. 200$ gone!
Here's what the old vs the new look like, not sure if they were still good or was due for replacing anyway?




Back to square one, I'll try to spray wd40 on 14, 19, 2, 3 unless you have another idea?

[feuer]

Sorry about that. I wonder why the squeak stop after you sprayed wd-40. I would concentrate on #2 and #3 and the swaybay link

[chinko]

Originally Posted by feuer

Sorry about that. I wonder why the squeak stop after you sprayed wd-40. I would concentrate on #2 and #3 and the swaybay link

My fault really, I did the test at my sister's house and the roads around her house are perfect, hence no creaking after I sprayed the bushings of the upper link...

I called the dealer today, they said probably lower ball joint, very common to our cars: 1.5hrs + alignment + ball joint = 500$. He said they would just need to replace one side.

Now question is what lower ball joint Is he referring to? #2?
also read some people fixed it by amaking a small hole and spray some lubricant like white lithium grease. Do you think it works? Where do they make the whole on the ball joint ?

[feuer]

Originally Posted by chinko

I called the dealer today, they said probably lower ball joint, very common to our cars: 1.5hrs + alignment + ball joint = 500$. He said they would just need to replace one side.

yes, you can do only one side since you can't really tell if and when the other side will go bad. Alignment is only recommended but nor a must since the eccentric bold in on the opposite side of the LCA, #4 in the diagram.

Originally Posted by chinko

Now question is what lower ball joint Is he referring to? #2?
also read some people fixed it by amaking a small hole and spray some lubricant like white lithium grease. Do you think it works? Where do they make the whole on the ball joint ?

It is just a bushing, is not a ball joint. is #3 that I would replace since it carries most of the load. People drill ball joints to install grease nipple. I guess you can do that but is only temporary fix. Just google it to get an idea what is involved.

[chinko]

I'll give a try for #3. What is the press tool needed?
my parts dealer has 2 ball joint removal tools he describes as forks, not sure which one is it. Never done it before but looking at http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/tech...eplacement.htm
seems like a bmw specific tool. What should I be looking for, when buying a ball joint tool?