curious...

[Dantesboyz]

sitting here wondering (before i have to go see the in-laws:() how much more work is involved to do the rear subframe bushings if i already have the rear end apart to do shocks/ springs and RTAB's. i'll search later but i was hoping for a few quick answers. oops wifes tellig me it's time to go...:eyecrazy

[catalyst.]

its easier to just drop the entire rear suspension if you are doing all that.

If im working by myself i like to drop the rear suspension as one unit, dissasemble it, then put it back together piece by piece. Otherwise its really hard to get back in. chances are you will need to burn out the old bushings its the easiest way ive found.

[328 Power 04]

Well at least you'll only have to do one alignment instead of two. Of course if you do it all at once, you won't have to visit that area anytime soon.

[Stealthyfish]

wait, am I missing something here or does this seem excessive? Shocks, springs, and rtabs can be done without dropping the rear subframe, lol. :shifty

[dhinez]

wait, am I missing something here or does this seem excessive? Shocks, springs, and rtabs can be done without dropping the rear subframe, lol. :shifty

That's what I thought. I replaced my rear shocks springs without dropping the rear subframe. When I changed RTAB I dropped the subframe because I changed my subframe mounts and differential mounts. It's possible to change the RTAB bushings without dropping the subframe.

[Dantesboyz]

yeah i'm just trying to figure out if i should worry about it now or deal with it later. if it's about the same amount of work replace them whether the rest of the stuff is off or not, then i'd just rather wait. i won't be tracking the car and from what i understand, the later e36's had reinforcement plates there from the factory. i just don't want the new suspension to stress the subframe to the point of catastrophic failure. the bushings in there are still ingood shape for now...

[328 Power 04]

hmmm i somehow misread and thought that the OP wanted to do all their bushings and update their subframe bushings (not in those words)... Helps to do one thing at a time.

[Dantesboyz]

all the new suspension peices are already on order, RTAB's already in hand. looked at subframe bushings, but not really wanting to spend another $150-$200 at the moment. i just want to make the car last as long as it makes happy.

[Dantesboyz]

ok along with these same lines, sorry if this sounds ingorant, i just haven't ever taken any of these parts off the car yet.
so i'm putting the subframe bushing replacements to bed for now, come back to them later in the summer or something. now i'm focusing on the work i will be doing.
wondering how hard it will be to get the rear trailing arms & lower spring perches out when i have everything else apart. i'd like to pull them out, bead blast them, and put some kind of decent finish (other than surface rust) on them. plus if i have the trailing arms out, then i can just use my press to remove the RTAB's istead of building some contraption, or drilling holes and using a steak knife. i would love it if all my work could be appreciated by anyone looking underneath the vehicle while it sat on a rack.

[catalyst.]

Like i said before drop the whole thing as one unit, burn out the subframe bushings with map gas, drill out the rtab bushings and put a slice in the metal sleeve with a sawzall then use a crappy flat head driver to bang the lip of the sleeve over and they will come right out. As for the upper and lower control arm bushings, i used a balljoint press on mine, its awkward but after a lot of swearing and determination they were in.

At this time you should also replace your ebrake shoes and your wheel bearings and also rebuilding your brake calipers is advisable. SS brake lines are also a good idea. subframe reinforcement plates are a must and must be welded in. Paint this area with POR15 as well.

No need to mediablast your suspension components, simply clean them thoroughly with soap/water and sand them. finish up with scotchbrite to get all the nooks and crannys then coat them with POR15. Go to www.POR15.com for info