Control Arm Bushes

[Seenanhalam]

Hi All,

Been a long time since I have had the chance to work properly on the E30 again - it has been on stands for far too long and was covered in moss. So some traffic film removed and a lot of elbow grease later she is looking clean and ready to be worked on again.

I have new lemforder control arms and the rubber lollipop bushes - I tried to hammer/ push them on whilst on the ground but that didnt seem to work so I put them on the subframe and struts and made a bent threaded bar contraption to get the bushes on:




I started on the passenger side and after bending the bar a bit, I managed to get it all the way on to the control arm only to find...



I put it on the wrong way! Yes I know what a muppet, so I decided to order Sealey Gear Puller set: https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/132529965233?var=0
which took some time to come and really struggling to get it back off - it pulls on the rubber but doesn't seem to budge much.

Now I am trying to put the drivers side on my threaded bar solution is struggling this time.

So I am getting a bit frustrated

Feel like I have a few options
1 - drill the rubber area and pull it off and then cut the remaining rubber with a hacksaw
2 - pull both the control arms back off the car and retry the threaded bar thingy
3 - sack off the rubber bushes and use poly which seem to be much easier to install?? (never done it befor)

Any ideas or tool suggestions (within a reasonable price range) would be much apprecaited!

[biffer]

I used one of those DIY (propane/butane?) torches to heat the bush til it slid off.
Rather than heat the bush directly,and ruin it, i heated the control-arm adjacent to the bush, keeping the heat in the arm to a minimum too-i guess to much heat into it could be dangerous down the road.

[Seenanhalam]

Was that a used Bush that was coming off? I feel like the used bushes are easier to get off maybe?

[boiliebasher]

Personally I think the next time I have to redo these control arm bushes, I'm going to try either poly bushes or M3 solid ones. I've never had much luck on the standard ones lasting that long. Few years tops and they are dead again.

Might just be me but I bought some cheap ones for my E36 and they were dead with months (crappy cheap Chinese junk. Never again) and lemforder ones for my E30 and they are starting to wear noticeable at around 3 years. Could be that I live out in the sticks and they don't take to kindly to all the potholes. Either way going for a solid style next time round I think

[boiliebasher]

Oh and I did the correct procedure with lubing them with soapy water then getting the car back on the ground with wheels on into its natural weighed position asap after doing them and letting it set over night before doing the other side.

[DanThe]

The M3 offset bushes are a lot better especially if you are using an E46 rack

[Brianmoooore]

Easy to get the bushes off if you have access to a hypodermic syringe and needle. Silicon oil in the syringe, push the needle between pin and bush at various points around the circumference, injecting a little oil each time, and the bush will pull off easily.

[Seenanhalam]

Easy to get the bushes off if you have access to a hypodermic syringe and needle. Silicon oil in the syringe, push the needle between pin and bush at various points around the circumference, injecting a little oil each time, and the bush will pull off easily.

wow does that really work? you managed to just pull them off by hand after injecting silicon oil between the bush and the control arm pin?

[Seenanhalam]

The M3 offset bushes are a lot better especially if you are using an E46 rack

would you suggest the poly or solid ones or rubber even? Apart from the silicon idea brian suggested it feels like I'm going to have to drill through the rubber and destroy the bush anyways.

What is the idea with putting the wheels on and dropping it to normal weighted position etc before doing the other side? If that is the case maybe I should finish all the brakes before attaching the wishbones to the lollipop and bolting them on?

[DanThe]

Genuine BMW M3 offset bushes, they are not expensive and loads better than poly

[boiliebasher]

Genuine BMW M3 offset bushes, they are not expensive and loads better than poly

Okay thanks for the heads up. Next time round I'll go for M3 eccentric bushes over poly then

[Brianmoooore]

What is the idea with putting the wheels on and dropping it to normal weighted position etc before doing the other side? I

Because the bush should be firmly fixed to the pin of the control arm, and should be unstressed when the car is sitting at normal ride height. If you carefully measure the angle between the plane of the control arm and the fixing tab of the lollipops before you jack up the car before starting work, the bushes can be fitted onto the pins with it all off of the car, but I've always found fitting the bushes is easier if the two ball joints are attached and there is a piece of wood jammed above the control arm, keeping everything nice and steady while you push the bushes on.

100% agree with DanThe regarding the M3 rubber bushes.

Hypodermic definitely works. Mineral oil or liquid soap will probably work as well, if you don't have silicon oil (used for plumbing fittings).
Hypodermic also has a use it injecting fresh grease past the seal into dry but otherwise healthy ball bearings. Grease an needle need to be hot.

[Seenanhalam]

What is the idea with putting the wheels on and dropping it to normal weighted position etc before doing the other side? I

Because the bush should be firmly fixed to the pin of the control arm, and should be unstressed when the car is sitting at normal ride height. If you carefully measure the angle between the plane of the control arm and the fixing tab of the lollipops before you jack up the car before starting work, the bushes can be fitted onto the pins with it all off of the car, but I've always found fitting the bushes is easier if the two ball joints are attached and there is a piece of wood jammed above the control arm, keeping everything nice and steady while you push the bushes on.

100% agree with DanThe regarding the M3 rubber bushes.

Hypodermic definitely works. Mineral oil or liquid soap will probably work as well, if you don't have silicon oil (used for plumbing fittings).
Hypodermic also has a use it injecting fresh grease past the seal into dry but otherwise healthy ball bearings. Grease an needle need to be hot.

Cheers Brian, month of fasting started recently so progress has slowed down a bit but a friend of mine has got hold of some needles for me so was going to have a go. I was going to order:
https://www.toolstation.com/action-can- ... ant/p34151

I know its a spray but thought i could spray into a cup and use the needle?

You guys mentioned that the weighting and position of the bush/control arm is important - the problem I have is that the car is on stands with the engine removed. My overall plan was to get the running gear on so that the car will roll and then send it off for the engine bay to be sprayed. Is there any way it can be done or what would you suggest?

[DanThe]

Just grease it up, I wouldn't be worried about it on a solid bush like the M3

[BenHar]

Just grease it up, I wouldn't be worried about it on a solid bush like the M3

Not sure I agree with this, Dan.

Isn't the bush meant to stay still on the arm and flex?

Ben

[Seenanhalam]

What is the idea with putting the wheels on and dropping it to normal weighted position etc before doing the other side? I

Because the bush should be firmly fixed to the pin of the control arm, and should be unstressed when the car is sitting at normal ride height. If you carefully measure the angle between the plane of the control arm and the fixing tab of the lollipops before you jack up the car before starting work, the bushes can be fitted onto the pins with it all off of the car, but I've always found fitting the bushes is easier if the two ball joints are attached and there is a piece of wood jammed above the control arm, keeping everything nice and steady while you push the bushes on.

100% agree with DanThe regarding the M3 rubber bushes.

Hypodermic definitely works. Mineral oil or liquid soap will probably work as well, if you don't have silicon oil (used for plumbing fittings).
Hypodermic also has a use it injecting fresh grease past the seal into dry but otherwise healthy ball bearings. Grease an needle need to be hot.

Cheers Brian, month of fasting started recently so progress has slowed down a bit but a friend of mine has got hold of some needles for me so was going to have a go. I was going to order:
https://www.toolstation.com/action-can- ... ant/p34151

I know its a spray but thought i could spray into a cup and use the needle?

You guys mentioned that the weighting and position of the bush/control arm is important - the problem I have is that the car is on stands with the engine removed. My overall plan was to get the running gear on so that the car will roll and then send it off for the engine bay to be sprayed. Is there any way it can be done or what would you suggest?

I meant more so about getting the bush off and whether that silicone spray fluid would work using a needle as Brian described.

I am a little confused about what the variable is here, like do I need to be careful of how far I push the bush on to the pin? Hence the angle should be measured on a weighted car?

[BenHar]

I am a little confused about what the variable is here, like do I need to be careful of how far I push the bush on to the pin? Hence the angle should be measured on a weighted car?

It's not the distance it's pushed on. It's the angle of rotation on the rod.

If you can measure it carefully before you remove the old one you can just put the new one on at the same angle. It doesn't have to be super accurate just near enough.

Ben

[DanThe]

Just grease it up, I wouldn't be worried about it on a solid bush like the M3

Not sure I agree with this, Dan.

Isn't the bush meant to stay still on the arm and flex?

Ben

If its a bush with big gaps in it like the original then yes, it will do lots of flexing, a solid bush is hardly going to change shape at all in comparison and just twist a bit as the arm rotates, this is governed by how much the damper moves anyway, at the end of the day its basic function is a pivot more than a shock absorber

[Brianmoooore]

Just grease it up, I wouldn't be worried about it on a solid bush like the M3

Not sure I agree with this, Dan.

Isn't the bush meant to stay still on the arm and flex?

Ben

This! If the bush moves on the arm, then it will wear the rubber fast, and soon the pin will be rattling around on the inner steel ring of the bush, with the suspension settings all over the place, and that's without getting into the discussion of the effect of introducing friction into what should be a frictionless bearing.

[Seenanhalam]

Hi All - been a while since I have attempted to put the control arm bushes back on after doing it backwards. I got the old ones out but have scored the inside of the lollipop in the process - i actually gave them to fitters at work and they must have used something to cut through them. Do you guys think a scored mark (about 1mm deep and 2mm wide) would make too much to an issue?

The other question I had was about pressing in the new eccentric rubber meyle bushes i got into the lollipop - is there a "front" and "back" or does it just matter which side the eccentric bit is closest to? I just want to double check as i don't want to have to take them off again :s

[HJ1981]

Hi All - been a while since I have attempted to put the control arm bushes back on after doing it backwards. I got the old ones out but have scored the inside of the lollipop in the process - i actually gave them to fitters at work and they must have used something to cut through them. Do you guys think a scored mark (about 1mm deep and 2mm wide) would make too much to an issue?

The other question I had was about pressing in the new eccentric rubber meyle bushes i got into the lollipop - is there a "front" and "back" or does it just matter which side the eccentric bit is closest to? I just want to double check as i don't want to have to take them off again :s

There is a marking on both the bushing and the bracket that require to be lined up:

http://zoso.no-ip.org/images/318i-contr ... shing4.jpg