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How to replace inner bushings of rear upper/lower control arms?

19K views 12 replies 10 participants last post by  kd7iwp 
#1 ·
So, one day I went out and found my driver's side rear tire was completely flat. I decided to replaced it with spare and think 'wth happened?' later.

Anddd..didn't take too much time to figure out why.


:facepalm: Obviously excessive camber wear must've overstressed the tire, eventually made it torn.

So, thanks to numbers of DIYs and edzgarage on youtube, I was able to figure out how to replace outer bushings of upper(#2)/lower(#3) control arms and RTAB(#4).
BUT the problem is the INNER bushings..#6 and #14


I wasn't able to find any DIY for replacing those bushes, not even an information of what tools would I need for that specific job. Of course I could just buy new upper/lower control arms with pre-installed bushings, but $600 vs $60? What would you choose???

Does anyone know how to replace those bushes? Or what kind of tools would I need? Well edzgarage's video showed this tool;
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-Rear-Ax...0681688119&pt=Motors_Automotive_Tools&vxp=mtr
Would this kit capable of removing/installing inner bushes as well?

I have very limited knowledge of this sort of tools and don't have much experience on rear suspension jobs, I may rely on your advice a lot.
Thanks a million! :hi:
 
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#5 · (Edited)
OP, having done this job before, you understand you have to remove the rear diff to replace these bushings, right?

You will need Baum tool #B333351 to do this job.

Scott
 
#9 ·
The top bushing is a simple press out / press in deal. Be sure that you get them going in the correct way! One end is longer and (from memory) it goes towards the front.

I don't know why you'd replace the lower bushing. Just buy new arms, those things bend like butter so chances are yours are a little tweaked anyway.
 
#11 · (Edited)
I'm going to be attempting these bushings this week and thought I'd update this thread with more info.

According to TIS there is a special tool 33 3 354(apparently no longer available) that is simply a spacer between the two arms to keep them from bending while pressing. Then I found this site (I think it's in french, here is a Google translation) where someone appears to have made their own spacer. They say it is a half washer that has a 55mm OD, 50mm ID, and 15mm thick.



Will see how it goes with my new hydraulic press!
 
#13 · (Edited)
Yep, just did it no problem. I threw some random sockets into the gap and showed no issues whatsoever. Some of the outer bushing material was scraped off between the two arms as you can see but I don't think it's a problem. One of the photos is upside down but it's a symmetrical unit so I don't care :)
 

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