Thrust Arm or Control Arm?

[bigm77]

Ok well i replaced all the sway bar links and a lot of the rattle is gone, except ONE. Its on the right side of the car..and the mechanic said it was the control arm.

Now question should i replace the whole control arm itself OR replace the bushings on it?
and are many bushings are there on one control arm?

also .. exactly how does a control arm look on a BMW 528i ?

is it an easy DIY.. i searched and saw write ups for Thrust arms , is the Control arms bushing just as hard to take off?

[ArmySweitzer]

basically same process, you should replace the whole arm because you never know what shape the ball joint is in and really thats the important part.

[jnyost]

I agree with Army. Many guys have purchased just the bushing from me only to come back and say they wish they had just done the whole arm. Sometimes the amount of time you spend changing the bushings is worth the extra cost of the arm.

http://eactuning.com/parts/product_details/31121141717
http://eactuning.com/parts/product_details/31121141718

Jared

[bigm77]

is the arm install fairly easy? just unbolt and bolt new right?

and THATS the control arm??
whats the Straight looking arm thing down there then?

[BlackBMWs]

is the arm install fairly easy? just unbolt and bolt new right?

and THATS the control arm??
whats the Straight looking arm thing down there then?

Unbolt and bolt back on, pre-loading the car to position the arm in the right place before final tightening.

I just did mine and had about 600lbs between the front, rear and cargo area with a full gas tank to preload before tighening the control arm to chassis nut.

I pressed in new HD bushings into the old arms. It would have been cool to have done those in advance to expidite the overall DIY. :cool

[bigm77]

what do you mean by preloading? you have to set the car down off the jack and put weight inside?

[Orxan4ik]

diy section and search button aren't just for shits and giggles... There's a diy thread...

[jnyost]

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1178364

[ME264]

The difference between doing the control arm / tension strut once every 40K -60K miles and doing it every 2K miles is following the preload instructions... I use bags of pelletized lime and top soil. Fairly cheap, complain less than children and you can spread them out in the yard when you are done. YMMV.