04' 330Ci Needs Your Help

[DriftWA]

Greetings and Happy Memorial Day Weekend!
My name's Nick, I drive an Automatic 2004 330Ci Coupe,
and I desperately need your help (I can't emphasize this enough)
We got this car from my buddy and it wasn't in the best of shape;
After sitting for a couple months only had 2 of the 6+ quarts of oil in it,
but more importantly when applying brakes the car pulls to the right and there is a really disturbing loud noise if you do anything except brake lightly.
There is some play in the passenger front wheel, you can get the wheel to roll forward independently about a half inch or more if you grab the rim and rock it forward or back, it's not planted on the ground very well at all.


Now I can start with a little of my intro. This is my first BMW and 4th car I've owned and I know this is the place to go for advice.
First Car 86' Oldsmobile Achieva Auto
Second 02' VW Jetta 5 Speed [Exhaust Leak]
Third 96' Honda Prelude Auto [Intake/Exhaust]
Current 2004 BMW 330 Ci Auto


So! I'll start by apologizing for not being knowledgeable in cars and bmws BUT I'm so excited by owning this car and I want to restore it to a driving and safe car. I'm here because I don't want to be the guy that has to take his car to the shop. I can't afford that. I took the car to Les Schwab and asked them to look at the suspension on the passenger front. \
The verdict: Lower Control Arm Bushing extremely worn and barely there.
Basically I'm here on this forum because they told me since one is worn out I should both front bushings, pay them for the install and of course the alignment after installation. All coming out to in total from Les Schwab $550.
I couldn't afford it.


Now guys that was a few months ago. I live 20 miles from work, so I daily the car but I can't go on like this, the car deserves better.
MY QUESTION. WHAT SHOULD I DO??
Buy 1 lower control arm for an e46 off ebay?
Buy 1 Bushing and have a machine shop use their press to remove my old bushing?
Buy 2 bushings? Go to the junk yard and try to pull parts?
I guess I just didn't know exactly how to move forward with this, I'm completely open to advice guys so please let me know what you think.

The car set off an intermittent coolant dash light last week. It didn't running defrost after, I haven't used defrost since. Still need to check coolant level.

[MauiM3Mania]

Do you have any mechanical skills/tools? You might consider doing the replacement (two new parts) yourself.

See this post and parts here.

[bmwdirtracer]

Welcome to the forum.

Mistake number 1 was taking your car to Les Schwab. They have no business touching any BMW.

As our Moderator suggests, you can easily do this job yourself, and likely many others. When you can't, you need to take the car to someone who works primarily on BMWs and European cars, not a generic shop.

Oh, the car holds 7 quarts of oil, and you should use a top-quality full synthetic, and an OEM filter from a good BMW parts supplier. Change the filter before undoing the drain bolt on the oil pan.

Now for the control arm bushings:

You MUST buy both ! Hell, I'm pretty sure you can't buy just 1 anyway. Buy the Lemforders which our Moderator gave you a link to: Lemforder is an excellent OEM manufacturer.

Now, allow me to tell you how I do these....in 15 minutes per set. Admittedly, I work on a lift, and have all the tools. But for the price that Les Schwab quoted, you can buy the bushings, a decent rolling jack, some jack stands, a set of sockets, a ratchet, a big assed hammer, and a 32mm wrench......and have enough money left over to take your girlfriend to a nice dinner. And then you'll already have the tools to start doing much of your own work, and save MORE money!

Start with having a look at the link which our Moderator gave you above ^^^^ . That said, here's my way:

Take the bottom aluminum bracing plate off, which lives between the front tires, and slightly rearward, under the car. There are eight 16mm bolts holding it.
Then, unbolt the two 16mm bolts on each side holding the control arm bushing lollipops to the chassis. Pull down on the arm a little, so it's free in the back.
Put your 32mm wrench in front of the bushing,and over the control arm....perfect fit! (Later, this wrench will help you with other very important jobs).
Now, holding the end of the wrench with one hand, hit the wrench backwards, into the bushing, as hard as you can, with a 3 or 4 pound hammer. Repeat until the bushing goes flying off.
Making sure you've chosen the correct new bushing (left vs. right: note the sleeves on the chassis, and the larger holes in the bushing which slide over them), put DISHWASHING SOAP all over the inside of the rubber.
Now, hold the bushing up to the arm, in the orientation which makes it line up with the frame, and hit it onto the arm with your hammer. Hit it in the center, until it's all the way on, plus 1/4 inch more.
Then bolt it up, and do the other side. Put the aluminum brace plate back on, and you're done.

NO ALIGNMENT NECESSARY !!! I repeat, NO ALIGNMENT IS NECESSARY !


EDIT: Oh, I see why the difference in the post linked above: That's for E36's, not E46's....The E46 is a piece of cake. For the E36, yes indeed, you need pullers and pushers.......I have a customized 12" c-clamp for pushing on E36 bushings. And since the E36 bushing doesn't normally come in a lollipop, you need a press, or other specialized toolset for them. But : NOT for an E46!