rear axle removel

[jordano]

Hi everyone can someone please help me i have tried all afternoon to remove the rear axle everything is loose but it just wont come down when i apply pressure with a bar it it just stretches on the rubber mounts does anyone know of a way to get this thing off before my wife has me commited.

[johnl320]

What do you mean? The rear axle carrier is the long bar going the whole width of the vehicle with large bushes at each end . i have taken a few of these off and have only had trouble with one ,on an M3 . i took the back seat out and you can see where the the bolt goes through . I soaked this area in WD40 and left it overnight the following day some hammer action freed it off . try reattaching the other end to take the strain on the offending bush. are you sure everything is undone? is the diff off ? rear ARB ETC ? hope this helps
john

[Karan]

i'll be doing this soon

is it not possible to just do this in one lot with the diff attached inc the driveahafts as taking the trailing arms off with the subframe attached is a bitch- i have done this before and had to cut the bolts

Karan

[johnl320]

yes mate you can take the lot off altogether, i just wasn't sure where he was at or what exactly he wanted to take off

[jordano]

Thanks for that John, it is just the rear axle itself i am having trouble with i cant get either side off am i going about it wrong? does it come down off the long bolts or do you have to knock the bolts out from inside the boot still confused

[Karan]

i think what u do is knock them from underneath upwards and out into the car, once u remove the nut obviously, u need to hit it hard i think

[Brianmoooore]

The bolts need to be driven upwards. They lock absolutely solid onto the alloy inner part of the bushes with corrosion. You may have to get a bit violent to get them out.

[jordano]

Thanks everyone for your help will get my big hammer out

[Templ8e30]

I had trouble with the very same thing last summer, the bolts wouldnt budge even with a big sledge hammer and the weight of the car on it.

I ended up using a 3 leg bearing puller to rip the rubber off the bush then twist the inner part of the bush to loosen the corrosion and pull it off with the pullers.

Took me at least 5 hours, total b d of a job but worth it.

Cheers,

Iain T

[Jos]

Blowtorch was my weapon of choice, I tried winding the nut onto the end of the bolt (very important otherwise you will destroy the threads) and mashing it with a hammer. And I do mean mash! The bloody things didn't move. Next method of attack was to put a chain round it and a 3 tonne jack against the bolt, this also had no effect other than to bend the 5mm plate I put onto the top of the jack. I also tried a 3 leg puller but couldn't get it on anywhere useful enough to apply pressure to the bolt.

The problem with the blowtorch method is the extreme proximity of the fueltank, I just filled mine with water then drained it again, I don't recommend doing this unless you are going to remove/replace the fueltank anyway.

I think my best suggestion is either:

Take the caps off the bolt housing inside the car (underneath the back seat) and put a bucketload of penatrating oil down each one then try the hammer idea. Best hammer is probably a 4lb or bigger lump hammer, sledges are a little unwieldy for this. As the guys say, you need to get REALLY violent with it, make sure the car is well supported.

OR

If you have a compressor, get an air saw (about Ԛ£40) and cut the rubber bush out using it. then you can extract the centre of the bush afterwards.

Regarding the diff removal, in theroy it can stay on, but the entire rear axle + arms + hubs is pretty heavy as it is, keeping the diff on there is more weight.

Don't forget there are 2 brakelines on the rear axle and also the handbrake cable is clipped on there too. I removed/cut those before I started.

Have fun, its a bloody hard thing to get out!

[jordano]

Hi finaly got mine off today the bolts came out pretty easy with a big lump hammer and i thought at last i can get this thing down, it just stayed there solid as before i tried a big bar but it just bounced on the rubber i used a 12mm drill and drilled all the rubber out on both sides this made a lot more play and i managed to move it back and forward till it came loose once one side was off the other was easy the bearing is still in the axle i think the best will be to take it outside and put the blow torch on it once again thanks for everyone help and advice hope this helps the next guy who has this job.

[Demlotcrew]

just found out today mines are also gone! THe car has been maiking loads of noises and i could not work out what it was, then today i seen it for myself

Ԛ£22 per bush, plus what ever the local BMW place want to fit them. This is a job im not doing myself.

[Davenotouring]

This is a job im not doing myself.

[Demlotcrew]

This is a job im not doing myself.