<E30> C/A bushings replaced

["Jack@xxxx" <jack.money@xxxxxxxxx>]

everyone,

well, i finally tackled the job of replacing the control arm bushings on my
iX.  actually, neil deshpande and i did it.  he provided the facilities,
tools, and an extra pair of hands.  i provided parts. ; )

the job was quite simple.  we raised the car with a lift, then took the
wheels off.  removing the old bushings was pretty much like the bentley
manual says.  of course, we tried to cut the rubber first which worked
except that then you still have to remove the inner portion from the control
arm - the hard part.  if you are thinking of doing this but aren't sure
about the tools don't worry.  go to sears, spend $25 and get the 6" puller.
this will pull the old bushing off no problem.  once it was off we had to
press out the outer portion from the bracket.  we had to use a hydraulic
jack press to do this.  easy if you got one.  after we pushed the outer
portion part way through the bracket we put the new one on top of it and
pushed the old one the rest of the way out and the new one the rest of the
way in.  very easy.  next we had to put the bushing/bracket on to the
control arm.  use dish soap, you know, palmolive or something.  use a
liberal amount and it will slip right on.  if you don't use enough it won't.
don't worry soap won't hurt the parts.  did the same for the other side.
easy job, especially with 2 people.  took us about 2 hours - minus our jaunt
to sears cuz we didn't start with the puller on hand.  after we finished we
put the car on the ground and let it sit for 1/2 hour as the manual says.
not sure if this is really necessary or not but we were bsing anyway.

the car definately rides better.  the steering is tighter, bumps aren't as
harsh, and there is no shimmy when breaking - which was starting to develop
as of late.  btw, the old bushings were quite trashed so the new ones were
needed.  i used bushings for the E36 M3 which are supposed to be a decent
upgrade as they are stiffer.  i thought there would be some offset from
center to produce some negative camber but we couldn't detect any.  either
way they are great!

if you have any particular questions about this procedure email me and i
will answer what i can.  our next project is to replace the control arms on
neil's E30 convertible.  pictures and detailed write up will be posted on my
website someday soon - when it is finished.

all in all i would say this job is easy if you have a coupla key tools - the
press and the puller.  until next time......

regards,

jack money
motor city chapter
'89iX -----> new control arm bushings from E36 M3!

email replies:
jack.money@domain.elided (home)

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