Re: e36 heavy duty ball joints ?

Post Thu Feb 17, 2011 8:29 pm

has anyone fitted heavy duty outer ball joints to an e36 . something like these http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-E36-Outer-Bal ... 5ade990080 or would i be better off with standard ones with the rubber mount as part of them .

Post Thu Feb 17, 2011 8:36 pm

I haven't used those.

How much more from the dealers

Post Fri Feb 18, 2011 6:39 am

not sure how much they are from the dealer i will find out later .

Post Fri Feb 18, 2011 9:43 am

They look like a good idea. I always just swap the whole arm out for e30 ones...

Post Fri Feb 18, 2011 11:09 am

I will only use these on E36s, the standard type, even OE are garbage. ECP are cheaper .

Post Fri Feb 18, 2011 12:30 pm

OE are garbage? I have an e36 that had 71,000 when i bought it, it now has 92,000 on it and it still has no problems with bushes or joints.

Water pump collapsed, rear shocks died and so did the battery that's it. Pretty good i think

Post Fri Feb 18, 2011 2:20 pm

TheHeap wrote:OE are garbage? I have an e36 that had 71,000 when i bought it, it now has 92,000 on it and it still has no problems with bushes or joints.

Water pump collapsed, rear shocks died and so did the battery that's it. Pretty good i think

Since it had already done 71000 miles before you bought it. How do you know that the balljoints haven't already been replaced ?

Replace the sorry OE balljoints with factory "slack" with a pair of these and you WILL notice the difference !

Post Fri Feb 18, 2011 2:23 pm

Or just fit E30 arms.. Simples.

Post Fri Feb 18, 2011 3:27 pm

It did have ball joints at the main dealers in its late sixties according to its history along with some other service items.
I'm not saying you're wrong i am just saying for "garbage" parts they have lasted at least 20,000 miles. Now that can't be bad

Post Fri Feb 18, 2011 4:43 pm

TheHeap wrote:It did have ball joints at the main dealers in its late sixties according to its history along with some other service items.
I'm not saying you're wrong i am just saying for "garbage" parts they have lasted at least 20,000 miles. Now that can't be bad

Just because they are not knocking does not mean they are not garbage. The OE design allows movement in the balljoint from day 1 , this together with the soft OE wishbone bushes are why most E36s feel loose and baggy.

Post Fri Feb 18, 2011 5:27 pm

I had a 1996 316i about 3 years ago, 1 owner genuine 38'000 miles - and both balljoints hanging out of it.

Post Fri Feb 18, 2011 5:30 pm

e36s are pretty heavy on bushes etc generally imo too, just about every one I've ever had has needed z axle bushes etc, lose count of the number I've done.

Post Fri Feb 18, 2011 5:32 pm

Do m3 evos have replaceable joints or is it a whole arm jobbie? Mines done massive miles and I'm thinking of a complete suspension refresh at some point this year.

Post Fri Feb 18, 2011 5:33 pm

The official line is new arms, but you can fit balljoints.

Post Fri Feb 18, 2011 7:15 pm

pacerpete wrote:
TheHeap wrote:It did have ball joints at the main dealers in its late sixties according to its history along with some other service items.
I'm not saying you're wrong i am just saying for "garbage" parts they have lasted at least 20,000 miles. Now that can't be bad

Just because they are not knocking does not mean they are not garbage. The OE design allows movement in the balljoint from day 1 , this together with the soft OE wishbone bushes are why most E36s feel loose and baggy.

Yeah it has never felt tight but it never gets cained so it's not much of a problem.

Post Fri Feb 18, 2011 7:26 pm

thanks everyone . i have just ordered a pair

Post Fri Feb 18, 2011 7:52 pm

Jhonno wrote:Or just fit E30 arms.. Simples.

i fitted e30 arms to my last e36 and i really should have swapped them onto the next car but the old one sold much quicker than planned

.

Post Sat Feb 19, 2011 9:35 am

harry_p wrote:Do m3 evos have replaceable joints or is it a whole arm jobbie? Mines done massive miles and I'm thinking of a complete suspension refresh at some point this year.

No one sells evo ball joints separately from the arm "not even bmw". But they are removable, e30 ball joints are the same dimensions and fit perfectly.

Post Tue Feb 22, 2011 10:19 pm

do you need a special tool to remove the old ball joint from the wishbone?.

Post Tue Feb 22, 2011 11:58 pm

The parts mentioned in the OP are made by

http://www.meyle.com/EN/Spare-parts/MEYLE-HD.html

You can just see the watermark in the ebay image.

They certainly do do a HD range, I have ordered and recieved 2 sets of P bushes for the french scrap but have yet to fit them. They have good reviews on the 306 forum.

Interested to hear your findings

Andy

Post Thu Mar 10, 2011 9:43 pm

ball joints fitted along with new inner joints and m3 bushes . i don't know how much is down to the bushes but the car now drives much better , so much so that even her indoors noticed how when she drove it .

Post Thu Mar 10, 2011 10:09 pm

Nicely done Matt...anything to keep her happy eh

O/T Was halfway thorugh texting you earlier but bloody phone went dead.
You able to put an airbag light out for me on and E46 when you get chance?
Please

Post Thu Mar 10, 2011 10:23 pm

Do the inner balljoints on the E36 suffer the same as the outers?

Post Thu Mar 10, 2011 11:40 pm

i would say no they don't

Post Fri Mar 11, 2011 7:12 am

Simon wrote:Do the inner balljoints on the E36 suffer the same as the outers?

mine where not bad just thought it would be a good idea to do them too as the arms where off .

Post Fri Mar 11, 2011 7:15 am

eko wrote:Nicely done Matt...anything to keep her happy eh

O/T Was halfway thorugh texting you earlier but bloody phone went dead.
You able to put an airbag light out for me on and E46 when you get chance?
Please

no worries Tony i will give you a ring when i get home from work