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DIY: Do It Yourself
Post here to share or improve your wrench turning skills! All BMW E46 DIY tips, tales, and projects discussed inside. Learn to work on your car and know the right BMW parts you will need! |
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11-01-2005, 08:34 AM
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#1 |
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Registered User
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Ball Joint for $300.00 plus labor! help help help!
I have a 01 e46 M3. I have dropped the ride with H&R springs and it has been a month or two since the drop.
I took the car to get alignment and good year told me that the ball joint is broken and needs to be replaced. Then i took it to the dealership and they told me the same thing. Dealership is asking me for $300.00 plus the labor. How hard is to change the ball joint and where could i get good price for it? should i replace it with aftermarket parts? Is this save to drive?  HELP HELP HELP!  |
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11-01-2005, 08:46 AM
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#2 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Happyland, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,173
My Ride: 09 Altima Cpe
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If it is a ball joint in the front the entire control arm needs to be replaced - there are two BJs in each arm and new ones cannot be pressed into the arm. They are likely quoting you for two control arms (they tend to replace them in pairs) and a bushing set - 300 in parts alone is pretty close on that.
Unless something happened during the installation of the springs, I wouldn't blame them on the problem. There are people here who have done CAs two or three times already - the BJs and bushings are weak points. Mark |
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11-01-2005, 12:20 PM
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#3 |
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Registered User
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thanks! so does anyone knows how to replace the control arm? hard? medium? easy?
I have most of the tools and i am pretty handy with cars. |
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11-01-2005, 02:35 PM
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#4 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Happyland, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,173
My Ride: 09 Altima Cpe
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I'll copy the text I posted on another thread currently running here re CAs:
Removing the CA requires a ball joint separator as well as some extra Metric tools (and some brute force too). Depends on your skill level - not for the faint of heart though. I thought there was a DIY here - if not, refer to the one I wrote for my "local": http://www.tuningemotion.com/forum/...read.php?t=1990. The info is down around post #17.  BTW, check on EBay for control arms. I've seen pairs for sale of OEM units, and the prices were pretty good. Bottom line is the BJs obviously not lasting very long on dealership OEM ones, could these one be much worse?  Mark Last edited by Canuck328i; 11-01-2005 at 02:37 PM. |
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11-01-2005, 03:33 PM
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#5 |
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Registered User
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There is!
There is a DIY on this is the DIY forum. I was thinking about doing this, but am REALLY glad i didnt. I took my 330Ci to a friends shop and watched them replace the bushings, arms, tires, and do an alignment. This is a pretty tough job to me. I wouldnt have been able to do the bushings part at all. I paid about $300 for my install. (Alignment/tire setup was free, courtesy of my friend)
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Make GREAT decisions. All the time.
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11-01-2005, 05:13 PM
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#6 |
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Registered User
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Bavarian Auto sells replacement CA's that allow you to change just the BJ.
On top of that the bushings can be ordered with urethane which gives a better ride and lasts longer. When mine go that's what I'm ordering
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The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has limits
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11-29-2005, 12:36 PM
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#7 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 8
My Ride: 2003 BMW 325CiC
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My dealer is asking $1305!!!
He says that it must be done in pairs and that they replace the control arm. OUCH... Only my left side ball joint is loose. -Callahan- |
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11-30-2005, 11:37 AM
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#8 |
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Registered User
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Turner Motorsports changed mine, both sides arms and bushings $350 parts and 2 hours labor. Included balancing bote front wheels. Such a bargain and why I will keep going back for stuff I don't want to do.
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11-30-2005, 04:03 PM
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#9 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Happyland, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,173
My Ride: 09 Altima Cpe
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Quote:
I bought my parts from Maranello in Woodbridge - the RS control arm was around $230CAD and the bushing set was around $135CAD, so add a second arm and labour and yup, you are in the right ball park. The arms don't need to be done in pairs IF you already have the current type installed. The early E46 had a different style of arm (non-webbed) - in that case you need to do both so they match. The bushings however should be done in pairs (especially if they have a bit of time on them). The problem is the bushings only really survive one installation onto an arm, so if the dealer leaves an old arm in place then it fails a few months later, they'd need to sell you another set of bushings. Mark |
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12-03-2005, 05:19 PM
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#10 | |
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Registered User
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 8
My Ride: 2003 BMW 325CiC
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Quote:
it is a 99 328i... quite the drag to spend 1500 with taxes.... anyone know of a more resonable way to get this service in the GTA?? -Callahan- |
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12-03-2005, 06:36 PM
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#11 |
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Registered User
Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Happyland, Ontario, Canada
Posts: 1,173
My Ride: 09 Altima Cpe
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You can try Cross Avenue in Oakville - a bunch of members on TE (our local forum, see sig) recommend them highly. Not sure what the price will be but they do good work and apparently are reasonable.
Even from the dealer the price would be about $600CAD for the parts, then it depends on how much labour you get charged. Actually I thought your original quote was with taxes - $1500 total, that's pretty pricey. Mark |
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