E30 Zone

I`m doing my rear suspension bushes tommorow morning for MOT on my 318i,any tips would be appreciated!!!

Pay someone else to do it?!

Sorry mate...probably not what you wanted but if you're not with the in crowd then you rarely get a response!

uumm. remove, exhuast, diff etc.(im a bit pissed at the mo so this is a poor description)

this is a wanker of a job. ive done it many a time without the proper tool. anyone who says its easy is a bullshitter.

Apparently they are quite hard to do, you need a special tool I think.

Or you can melt them out apparently? I'm not clued up on this though.

I think part of the reason for the lack of response was it's in the wrong section really....(I'm not one to moan though!)....it's often a job that people don't do themselves I don't think.....

Even demlot who does almost everything himself is paying BMW to do it.

About 150 quid I think?

we talking beam bushes here again then ?

If so DIYing them is doable but get the car up high as poss, makes life so much easier.

I have done them using a large hammer, and careful use of a blowlamp makes getting the old ones out easier for defo, be VVVV careful though !!!!

Trailing arm DIY usually involves a cutting disc, lots of swearing and backache but agin its possible.

good Luck dude

Oh and GSF bushes suck, powerflex or dealer

I just did one on my Touring never again......... took me seven hours of pure hell

from what i gather,the hardest part of the job is getting the bolt to come out?if this is the case,can`t i just grind the bolt heads off[accesable?] and buy new ones,someone also said soaking in brake fluid for a few minutes would make putting the new bushes back in easier?anyone else heard this?

davetouring wrote:Apparently they are quite hard to do, you need a special tool I think.

Or you can melt them out apparently? I'm not clued up on this though.

I think part of the reason for the lack of response was it's in the wrong section really....(I'm not one to moan though!)....it's often a job that people don't do themselves I don't think.....

Even demlot who does almost everything himself is paying BMW to do it.

About 150 quid I think?

dave you wont have to do yours for a while. i changed yours not long before you bought the car. anyways........

the axle beam bolts have to be knocked up into the body, pull the rear seat base out , sometimes the holes are covered in black tape and/or filled with putty, remove first or they'll not budge M8

use some window cleaner to help the new bushes slide into place, no oil/silicone dude !!

HTH

Ps, WD40 it all to death for a few days before doing anything, saves hours later on

gonna start them in the morning so ill put the stopwatch on.not looking forward to it one bit,but my attitude is ,if anyone else can so can i.already soaked them a couple of days ago,thought the brake fluid sounded strange,but unless you ask......

goo dluck with it mate, let us know how you got on.

mind your knuckles!!!

if my fingers are still intact tommorow night ill keep you all informed.gotta be done though,booked in for a retest on Monday and got no car so

Hi guys, i did mine not that long ago and expected a nitemare. Just take off the plates bolted to the body, drop the beam down (one side at a time!) Then punch the bolt up through the floor. Wedge a suitable sized socket or spacer in between the bush and floor then jack up the beam and heat the beam around the bush gently. It should just slide out, mine did no probs.

Ritchie wrote:Hi guys, i did mine not that long ago and expected a nitemare. Just take off the plates bolted to the body, drop the beam down (one side at a time!) Then punch the bolt up through the floor. Wedge a suitable sized socket or spacer in between the bush and floor then jack up the beam and heat the beam around the bush gently. It should just slide out, mine did no probs.

thats a really good idea!


But im still getting BMW to do mines! (well i might think about it after seeing this idea)

Andrew

When it comes to putting on the new bushes do not use oil etc, put on some fairy liquid and they will slide on much easier!

Here are a few pics of when I done the cab last year and done the tourer a couple of months back.I've got the special tool for doing it and it's not bloody cheap but when you have 4 cars to do it pays for it's self.The B6 I shall do within the next month.But the 2.7 I will do like the cab in the summer.I would not risk burning them out as your too close to the petrol tank.If you get stuck PM me and I'll ring you .

Some nice pics showing some thorough/good quality workmanship

Are those urethane(sp?) subframe bushs ? If they are i was wondering how you rate them ?

I think my trailing arm bushs could do with replacing,do they do the camber correction bushs in urethane(sp?) ?

Andy

Right guys update on my rear bushes escapade!
Right by the time I got the car on axle stands and all the tools out it was already 9.30.I opted on taking the diff out first and then remove the rear beam complete with trailing arms.The main bolts came out surprisingly very easy both sides and I had no problems at all in getting the bushes out,just carefully torched them with a blowlamp and then used a hacksaw blade to cut through the metal sleeve then split it using a small chisel,only took about 5 minutes a side to remove.The problems started when putting the new bushes back in.After I cleaned up the beam,I put Fairy liquid around it and set about with my makeshift puller.All was going well,but I cant get either bush right in.They are almost there,about 10mm on one and 5mm the other.Anyway after lots of sweat i have decided i`ll have to take it to a garage and get them to do it on their hydraulic press!I hate to have to admit defeat,but logic says i`m not getting them in so.....
It will be getting put back together on Monday though along with my Bilstein kit and stainless exhaust from my other one,and i`ll probably overhaul the rear brakes while i`m at it.

what bushes are they in the pics??

the ones ibought recently are quite diferent !

Sounds as it went quite well for you.I guess some may be just lucky when doing it themselves.But I know even with the proper tool it took me quite a while.The bushes are POWERFLEX price around Ԛ£50.The cabs so low anyhow and we don't race it about but you can tell a differance.Put the ordernary G & S in the tourer and you notice a differance in that.The 2.7 and the B6 will have the powerflex in .So I'm sure that you will notice with the standard ones in.But I advice anyone who is going to take this job on and intending to keep their car to put the Powerflex ones in for the extra Ԛ£30.

Looks like you rushed that job a bit RJB

It's nice to see a lowered car with the eccentric trailing arm bushes and none of that rediculous negative camber on the rear wheels. Who did you get to set them up, I want to get mine done but can't find anyone to set them up properly because I understand they're quite fiddly.

Eko... I've heard that you can lower the car back down and the weight of the car will bush the bushes into place properly, have you tried that, might save you a few quid.

sorry to hijack:

eko,

is there any news on the 15" bbs?

cheers

fairy liquid rots rubber so i wouldn't use that silicon grease would be a better bet

RJB6 - top job you did there m8

hi rjb....

what paint did u use on the rear subframe as ill be doing similar to you on my project car im working on

cheers
Karan

Karan! i used 2 coats of Hammerite smooth Black,opted for aerosol to make life easier,then touched up with brush

a good idea is to go over the inside of the arm (where the bush goes) with fine sandpaper to get rid of the rust/dirt/old bush

Gonna be doin this myself soon!!

Simon13 wrote:fairy liquid rots rubber so i wouldn't use that silicon grease would be a better bet

This is a BIG NO NO!!!!! Simon you should not use Silicone or the bush can come out the frame.

Andrew

... and Fairy liquid doesn't rot rubber, its an excellent lube for putting awkward bushes in place but as soon as it dries it loses its lubing properties so the bush stays solid in place.

[useless info] it is also good as leak detecor fluid for gas/pneumatic piping work [/useless info]

it does attack rubber i don't know how or why but i've repaired many 100mm drainage/flue pipes at work. I've seen what it does to that. Makes it go all hard and brittle

It also attacks/reacts with cement, so if it does that rubber's not going to last is it?! someone must know more?!

Finished my rear bushes at last!Ended up taking it to a garage up the road to press them in.Only took one press on each to get them in,only took 2 minutes so no charge!Anyway reassembly was straight forward,and i`ve fitted my bilsteins and new brake shoes,cylinders and pipes aswell.Now all I have to do is fit a new track rod end and steering rack boot and it can go for a retest,so should be on the road by Wednesday,hopefully!

Well finally got it on the road.Failed again on retest,o/s/f flexi pipe insecure,so had to weld a small patch in.Anyway insured and taxed it this morning,so its now on the road but still got loads to do!Fitted rear spoiler today,which has totally improved the look,was thinking of tinting the back lights(any opinions?)also any opinions on wheels,keep them Black or silver?

Black

black mate...very