[montegokid94]

I got my KW installed this week and my mechanic (good guy) told me my front upper control arm bushings are shot. He suggested I replace the lower control arm bushings as well.

My car has 41k miles and just ended the 4/50k and CPO kicked in. I have always had a shimmy/weird vibration in wheel thought rotors might need to be resurfaced. I told my dealer to check it out and they said everything is fine should I go complain or not even bother.


Whats the best place to buy control arm bushings? Any upgraded ones we can buy I was reading looks like for xi this is a no go. Also some say lower control arm bushings never fail only the upper do and is $125 labor fair to swap bushings?

thx

[andrey_gta]

Originally Posted by montegokid94

I got my KW installed this week and my mechanic (good guy) told me my front upper control arm bushings are shot. He suggested I replace the lower control arm bushings as well.

My car has 41k miles and just ended the 4/50k and CPO kicked in. I have always had a shimmy/weird vibration in wheel thought rotors might need to be resurfaced. I told my dealer to check it out and they said everything is fine should I go complain or not even bother.


Whats the best place to buy control arm bushings? Any upgraded ones we can buy I was reading looks like for xi this is a no go. Also some say lower control arm bushings never fail only the upper do and is $125 labor fair to swap bushings?

thx

Look up my thread in this Subforum - I reference Strongflex.eu as the only source of XI control arm bushings

[lakefront]

Got my TC Kline coilovers installed 2 weeks ago, have been hearing a squeaking noise from left front ever since. Only noticeable at low speeds, and only when hitting bumps/dips etc. On smooth roads no noise. This thread makes me wonder if the control arm bushings are making the noise? OP, did you have any noises like this? Not trying to thread jack, honest.
Thanks!

[jezzy]

I just changed my rear lower outer control arm bushing. 200$ installed and still need an alignment. But the squeak is gone. It was so bad you can hear me coming from 2 streets away. Ugh!

[SaviorXi]

I just had my alignment done after my TCkline Koni install and when I brake my wheel pulls slightly to the right and from outside the car slow 2mph and hard braking you can see the wheel move forward. Everything was checked and I recently upgraded my front endlinks with Meyle HD's so I am pretty sure My control arm bushings are on the way out. I am going to order these strongflex ref: 031528B and I will update you all when I am finished. Here is a link.

http://www.strongflex.eu/en/bmw-e93-...-bush-4x4.html

[stashtrey]

Originally Posted by SaviorXi

I just had my alignment done after my TCkline Koni install and when I brake my wheel pulls slightly to the right and from outside the car slow 2mph and hard braking you can see the wheel move forward. Everything was checked and I recently upgraded my front endlinks with Meyle HD's so I am pretty sure My control arm bushings are on the way out. I am going to order these strongflex ref: 031528B and I will update you all when I am finished. Here is a link.

http://www.strongflex.eu/en/bmw-e93-...-bush-4x4.html

Did you ever order those? You described to a T what I've been experiencing since I installed my V3's. I think I ruined my bushings on install. I get the jerk of the wheel and vibration on braking.

[SaviorXi]

Originally Posted by stashtrey

Did you ever order those? You described to a T what I've been experiencing since I installed my V3's. I think I ruined my bushings on install. I get the jerk of the wheel and vibration on braking.

I finally had the bushings replaced almost 2 weeks ago and I am so impressed with the results. My stock bushings were in bad shape and braking was causing the front wheel and steering wheel to move. Now my steering feels tighter and I am experiencing a much better connection input from the road. I also notice the bumps are being absorbed much better from the suspension now. I am not sure how long this problem has been going on but I can say my car has never been more comfortable, nimble, responsive, and predictable than it is right now. These bushings are a huge upgrade over the soft stock ones. Please remember I have everything else already done so usually the weakest link is exposed when you begin upgrading. Overall they are wonderful and I will highly recomend them in the future. Install took about 1 hour with a skilled mechanic, the correct tools and lots of lube. lol. Best of luck and report back when you get them in. I am curious if others experiences are the same as mine with this upgrade.

[westchester335i]

Your symptoms of the wheel moving when braking is what my car does often. My car had 40k miles when I lowered it in July and noticed the bushings to be shot.

Still didn't get a alignment yet but I will order these soon. And report back after install.

[Bladerunner]

I'm having the same issues when braking, I was thinking of m3 Bushings but may get these instead!

[andrey_gta]

Originally Posted by SaviorXi

I finally had the bushings replaced almost 2 weeks ago and I am so impressed with the results.
....
These bushings are a huge upgrade over the soft stock ones.

Woo hoo, Im glad it worked out, especially since you went for the Street oriented 80A vs the aggresive 90a

Any Pics? & How much was shipping and any Customs fees with the company?

[andrey_gta]

Originally Posted by Bladerunner

I'm having the same issues when braking, I was thinking of m3 Bushings but may get these instead!

Im not sure if the e90 M3 front large style bushing from bmw, TRW or lemforder will fit the XI arm

[Route 16]

so should we bother with changing parts to oem m3 or trw and instead focus on strong flex or the powerflex urethane ones?

[andrey_gta]

Originally Posted by Route 16

so should we bother with changing parts to oem m3 or trw and instead focus on strong flex or the powerflex urethane ones?

if you have an XI, you dont have choice for the front.

If you have RWD you have more options - often the M3/TRW arms offer all the bushings you need. And may be cheaper to install than bushings

[Route 16]

Originally Posted by andrey_gta

if you have an XI, you dont have choice for the front.

If you have RWD you have more options - often the M3/TRW arms offer all the bushings you need. And may be cheaper to install than bushings

Rwd
That makes sense.

[almostfullcity]

Originally Posted by SaviorXi

I finally had the bushings replaced almost 2 weeks ago and I am so impressed with the results. My stock bushings were in bad shape and braking was causing the front wheel and steering wheel to move. Now my steering feels tighter and I am experiencing a much better connection input from the road. I also notice the bumps are being absorbed much better from the suspension now. I am not sure how long this problem has been going on but I can say my car has never been more comfortable, nimble, responsive, and predictable than it is right now. These bushings are a huge upgrade over the soft stock ones. Please remember I have everything else already done so usually the weakest link is exposed when you begin upgrading. Overall they are wonderful and I will highly recomend them in the future. Install took about 1 hour with a skilled mechanic, the correct tools and lots of lube. lol. Best of luck and report back when you get them in. I am curious if others experiences are the same as mine with this upgrade.

I'm thinking it's time to replace the front bushings on my 06 330xi. Looking pretty hard at the Strongflex option over OEM. Did ording go smoothly? Any trouble with shipping to the US from Poland?

[Adamb0530]

Ordered a set of the stongflex bushings last Monday and arrived yesterday. That's quicker than some U.S. vendors. Cant wait to install.

[Adamb0530]

Just a follow up. Installed the bushings yesterday and i am very happy with the outcome. The front end feels much more planted to the ground and has a lot less bump steer. Solid product for the price.

[stashtrey]

Originally Posted by SaviorXi

I finally had the bushings replaced almost 2 weeks ago and I am so impressed with the results. My stock bushings were in bad shape and braking was causing the front wheel and steering wheel to move. Now my steering feels tighter and I am experiencing a much better connection input from the road. I also notice the bumps are being absorbed much better from the suspension now. I am not sure how long this problem has been going on but I can say my car has never been more comfortable, nimble, responsive, and predictable than it is right now. These bushings are a huge upgrade over the soft stock ones. Please remember I have everything else already done so usually the weakest link is exposed when you begin upgrading. Overall they are wonderful and I will highly recomend them in the future. Install took about 1 hour with a skilled mechanic, the correct tools and lots of lube. lol. Best of luck and report back when you get them in. I am curious if others experiences are the same as mine with this upgrade.

Thanks for the reply!

I ended up buying new Lemforder upper and lower control arms as well as new ball joints and DIY'd it in my garage a couple weekends ago. First side was a bit of a job having never done it before....second side was a breeze except for the ball joint. It was fused to the steering arm! I pounded on that thing for a good hour. I used the harbour freight ball joint tool and that thing worked like a charm for popping the arms off the joints....highly recommend buying one if you plan on doing this job....it would have been a long, miserable job without it.

The old bushings were all trashed. The large lower/rear front control bushings were ripped and you could swivel all of them with your pinky finger and thumb....massive play and of course the culprit for all of my issue .


The end result was quite shocking. Brake shudder....gone. Sloppy crashing and pulling over bumps....gone. absolutely rock solid! Truly night and day. I love driving my car again and I can really enkoy my V3's now without all the slop and poor handling/braking. I haven't gotten it aligned yet but it tracks perfectly straight and the stance is looking really nice. I ended up raising up my front a half inch and I just can't say enough about replacing these components to get your ride back to what a BMW should drive/feel like. On ramps are my bitch now!

Cost including the ball joint tool and a 23mm long craftsmen wrench cake to just under $600 including shipping. I spent about 10 hours between a Friday night and Saturday afternoon.

Having good torque wrenches and good tools as well as two jacks is critical. Don't forget the 23 mm wrench and socket. They're oddball sizes, apparently.

Pm or email me with questions if you are going to tackle this yourself and want some advice.

Do not skip or fail to compress the front end to normal ride height before you torque and even slightly tighten the bushing bolts/nuts. They will be held in that position and then twisted wen you drop it down and fail quickly for sure. That was the trickiest and sketchiest part.... maneuvering around with the steering/wheel assembly pressed up into the fender and torquing in weird poaitions to get the bolts all tightened properly.

One tip I will share is if you have coilovers....just turn the spring all the way down to make raising the assembly easier and under less pressure.

Cheers, fellas.

[B4LL3N]

I've been experiencing a steering vibration problem for months now with no resolution. I've replaced all four wheels (OEM 230s) and tires and had them road force balanced 3 times now.

Do you think these bushings may offer a resolution to this issue? If so do I just order 4 from the site above and have them installed? The only other thing I can think of is that my rear roters and pads are trashed, however I don't have the wheel vibration on braking, just 40 to 70 mph in a strait line.

I'm absolutely lost here...

[stashtrey]

Originally Posted by B4LL3N

I've been experiencing a steering vibration problem for months now with no resolution. I've replaced all four wheels (OEM 230s) and tires and had them road force balanced 3 times now.

Do you think these bushings may offer a resolution to this issue? If so do I just order 4 from the site above and have them installed? The only other thing I can think of is that my rear roters and pads are trashed, however I don't have the wheel vibration on braking, just 40 to 70 mph in a strait line.

I'm absolutely lost here...

Hmmm. Not sure what to say on high speed vibration. Bushings may help....how many miles on your car and original bushings? I can say it was an incredible improvement for me but I had shudder/brake vibrations and steering pull under braking...not at speed.

Worth having your bushings inspected for sure after all you've done so far. Hope you figure it out, brother!

[B4LL3N]

Funny you mention the bushings (Thrust arms), I had it done this week hopefully picking it up tonight. Just waiting for them to replace a defective rim. Fingers crossed!

[wdeerfield]

Originally Posted by B4LL3N

I've been experiencing a steering vibration problem for months now with no resolution. I've replaced all four wheels (OEM 230s) and tires and had them road force balanced 3 times now.

Do you think these bushings may offer a resolution to this issue? If so do I just order 4 from the site above and have them installed? The only other thing I can think of is that my rear roters and pads are trashed, however I don't have the wheel vibration on braking, just 40 to 70 mph in a strait line.

I'm absolutely lost here...

i have the same issue. done all the balancing and even swapped wheels. its definitely your bushings. i would look to replace the upper and lower control arms. they are about $90 a piece via ecstuning or any other parts supplier. Its a much easier DIY than having to press in new bushings.