DIY : Replacing rear differential bushings (mounts) aka notorious rear end clunk

The bushing is the same one that you can get at the dealership. For loud bang when shifting dual mass flywheel problem and clutch maybe centern bearing drive shaft. light bang rear end bushing gone check subframe bushing 4 big one and 2 small one. also the subframe fracture's.

so, i finished my diff bushings... the good news is that i have no more clunk.

here is my story....

so friday i took my diff and prepped everything without pulling any bushings. saturday i did the two front bushings and sunday i did the rear bushing. we first tried pulling out hte bushings with some fabbed parts from OSH, which worked to a certain extent. we got the front bushings out about a quarter of an inch before we couldn't really get them out anymore(due to space). so what we did is we took a propane torch and melted out the centers of the bushiings(the metal part). we did this buy holding the flame to the metal. after a while it came out like butter. after that we just used chisels and colapsed the bushing onto itself and got it small enough to where it just came out of the carrier. we did that for both front sides, which worked out great. as for putting them iin we used some more fabbed up stuff from OSH to push it in. Then for the rear diff bushing we tried burning hte core out, but the core was so big and the bushing so long that it took a really long time of straight heat to get it out. It got so hot that the bushing actually caught on fire. luckily we keep a fire extinguisher in our garage and put the rubber fire out right away. so after we got that out we did the same thing wiht the front bushing but this time we trashed the bushing so much that the rubber piece of the bushing came out and the bushing housing was still in the carrier, but again that was just a lot of beatng on it with a set of chisels (one which was soft brass so we wouldn't damage anything). as far as pushing hte rear in we had more fabbing of a simple pusher, then when the impact wrench couldn't push it in anymore we took the brass chisel and started beating it in...yeah a bit of forcing it in, but hey we got the job done.

so pretty much my conclusion is that this DIY isn't impossible, it jjust takes time(a weekend works great), patience, some basic fab skills, and about 5 trips to OSH (seriously i went to osh about 5 times in 2 days because parts kept breaking and stuff). i think if you have the money to buy the bushing pullers/pushers do it, it'll save tons and tons of time.

Out of curiousity, has anyone ever through of using a compact floor jack like this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=36119

... and clamping it to the frame of the car? Could put a beefy impact socket on the end of it and use that to push out the bearings.

Saved for later, just need to find a good place to rent the busing tools. I have tons of drill bits though!

Originally Posted by Fmstrat

Out of curiousity, has anyone ever through of using a compact floor jack like this one: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=36119

... and clamping it to the frame of the car? Could put a beefy impact socket on the end of it and use that to push out the bearings.

crawl under the car and take a look at the rear diff bushing, its not possible, also that bushing is mounted sideways.

quick Q....do I have to drop the diff for the rear bushing only?(single bushing)

can I get a BUMP lol

and an answer

yes.

Originally Posted by TxZHP04

yes.

god damn..... i just may not fix it ever err... lol

Originally Posted by jinthekoreankid

god damn..... i just may not fix it ever err... lol

naw, its worth the fix.
when it gets bad, the whole car shudders.
and ut starts to rip the front diff mounts, and then the guibo/flex disc and one thing leads to another.

I am planning to purchase the Meyle HD and the other parts needed for this job....seems like a B!tch to get this job done...

Thanks Snikwad and GRIDLOCK for the suggested place to purchase them from

should i get the TMS solid differential mounts found at http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html..._ID=TDR4680455
or something else?

Dropping the differential isn't that bad. And it'll be worth it.

Originally Posted by jinthekoreankid

god damn..... i just may not fix it ever err... lol

Great write up. I've done bushes on old Ford's several times before and from experience remember many of the issues mentioned. Major PITA, even with the tool.

Once you get a feel for the tool and know how to use it properly things get better, but hopefully doing DIY it's not a job any of us will get too much practice at.

There's a few hints and tips on general suspension bush removal here:

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/t...ob%20Brookbank

http://www.thegriffithpages.com/modi...h-removal.html

what is the cause on the car if you wont replace them? clunking sound?

Originally Posted by kogsundiam

what is the cause on the car if you wont replace them? clunking sound?

a thumping sound everytime torque goes to the wheel.
when its really bad the whole car shudders as if the back end or the wheel is about to fall off
added stress on the half shafts, subframe carrier, and driveshaft.

Just wondering how viable it would be to use or modify a bush puller designed for another car.

BMW bush puller is £300 but pullers for other cars can be had for a tenth of the price! Now if someone could find one the same size or easily modifiable ?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VS4464-Trailin...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VAUXHALL-VECTR...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VECTRA-B-REAR-...QQcmdZViewItem

Originally Posted by tony325ci_51

Just wondering how viable it would be to use or modify a bush puller designed for another car.

BMW bush puller is £300 but pullers for other cars can be had for a tenth of the price! Now if someone could find one the same size or easily modifiable ?

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VS4464-Trailin...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VAUXHALL-VECTR...QQcmdZViewItem

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/VECTRA-B-REAR-...QQcmdZViewItem

it depends, that mount and the bushing is about mmm, 10cm in diameter, and about ah.... 6cm wide.

if you go on Turner motorsports website you will see, that sits in a bit of a tight spot, so whatever tool you use has to fit the spot. You have to pull/push the bushing out and pull/push the new one in as it sits on the carrier.

you can see the diff carrier on www.realoem.com

those all look like they might work, but the 1st one i dont see how it will attach to the carrier to pull the bushing thru/into the carrier.

the other 2 look more like it, but they have to be the right size, so get a bushing and get the diameter, then find out from those venders if they have a piston that size that can pull the bushing thru/in

for $300 you can buy a OE BMW bushing tool btw, i think i got quoted at $280 for one of them

http://www.who-sells-it.com/cy/baum-...8/page-46.html

i took the plunge and replaced my rear diffy rubber mounts!! took me 3.5 hours to take everything off (except for the old rubber mounts). Then taking out the old rubber mounts took me 5 days .

First I tried pushing them out with all my might. That did not work, so i took my metal cutter and i started cutting away. then i took a chisel and i bent that metal and then i took my hammer and i knocked it out! it was completed on day 2. then i assembled my makeshift device to put the new bushing in. The two front ones took 30 mins. Then the rear rubber mount took me 2 days! I had to get several different washers, bolts, nuts, and metal plates, b/c they all BROKE! In the end it was a slow 2 millimeters every 2 hours and I got it done on the 5th and final day.

Yeah, it def. was a 9.5/10 in hardness, but now i feel i can accomplish anything...and no more clunk sound!