Page 2 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast
Results 26 to 50 of 80

Thread: Suspension Bushing/Mount Refresh + Oil Pan & Steering

  1. #26
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    25,402
    My Cars
    F90 M5; E36 M3 Turbo
    I have run a few sets. The only ones I broke were my fault — I was jacking the trans with the mounts still attached to the trans support and the support still bolted to the car. Pulled them apart whereas rubber would have just flexed.

  2. #27
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,433
    My Cars
    1999 BMW M3 Coupe
    Yeah I made sure to get quality mounts from Vorshlag. They are built like tanks out of CNC billet aluminum securely sandwiching the poly. I don't see how they could fail unless you really screw up installing them.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  3. #28
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Austin, TX
    Posts
    99
    My Cars
    11 X5 35D and 98 M3/4/5
    I've literally just finished doing all these things. Although I did my oil pan gasket and those things about a year ago. I did the front end maybe 4-5 months ago, and my rear end is finishing up now. First, how are those CVs looking? If you're taking them out now (and holy crap were mine IN there) maybe just replace them now for peace of mind?

    Also, swaybar stuff. Why not endlinks and bar bushings? Front end, why not tie rod ends plus swaybar stuff?

    As for the rear end, I can confirm, taking the e-brake lines out through the cabin is like retardedly easy. Same with putting them back in. Also, just using a large floor jack, taking the entire subframe out and then disassembling was really pretty easy, too. I wouldn't have done it any other way. Same with reassembly. I put my Diff on the jack, then put the subframe over it and bolted it in. Keep in mind you cannot get the rear control arm bolts out with the differential installed, though.

    Enjoy the process! I hope yours goes more quickly than mine. My rear end job has been going on about two months, most of which was difficulty getting the axles out of the hubs. Then my rebuilt of the axles failed (lots of clunks and clicks) so now I'm waiting for new axles to show up, and THEN I'll be done (also I get to spend a total of like 3 hours in any given week to actually work on it due to job and kids, hence the two months)
    Last edited by JGard; 01-23-2018 at 03:42 PM.

  4. #29
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,433
    My Cars
    1999 BMW M3 Coupe
    Not planning on doing the CV's. They haven't been done recently, but are in fine shape with no leaks or tears. I'm not too worried about having to remove a half shaft to do that in the future. It doesn't require dropping the whole rear suspension. I've dropped the diff multiple times, so disconnecting that stuff isn't a big deal to me. I don't want to mess with them and risk causing an issue (like you encountered) when nothing is wrong right now.

    As for sway bars, I've got new bars with new bushings already. Don't need to touch them. I poured over the schematics and I'm pretty sure I've got every other piece of rubber covered, down to the inner control arm bushings and the steering and drive shaft flex discs.

    I'm gonna try to finish this thing over a week, or really two consecutive weekends. I think I should be able to get everything off and disassembled the first day, and get the subframes off to the welder. While that's being done I can address the rest of the bushings and ball joints, and swap out the oil pump/pickup. Then another 1-2 days at the end to put everything back together again, plus some buffer in there for whatever goes wrong. At least that's the idea.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  5. #30
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Herndon, VA
    Posts
    1,192
    My Cars
    99 M3
    I basically did all of this a few years back and remember taking off the mid pipe to get access to the drive shaft flex disk. I remember breaking the pressed in Inconel studs that go from the headers to the mid pipe and they were a complete nightmare to remove. If I had to do it all over again, I would use a blow torch liberally on those nuts and just hope to god they dont just snap free under an impact gun.

    If you have to drill out the studs for whatever reason, go to Fastenal and find yourself some Norseman drill bits. These studs will eat up pretty much any drill bit you find at Lowes.

    Other than that, it's a fun job when it's going well.

  6. #31
    NeilM is offline Member BMW E36 M3 Expert
    Join Date
    Mar 2007
    Location
    Fort Wayne, IN
    Posts
    5,016
    My Cars
    96 M3, 15 Golf R, 18 Q5
    Quote Originally Posted by langley View Post
    If you have to drill out the studs for whatever reason, go to Fastenal and find yourself some Norseman drill bits. These studs will eat up pretty much any drill bit you find at Lowes.
    Then pick up some stainless steel bolts at the hardware store to replace the studs. Use new stock copper flashed nuts on them. You'll never have that problem again.

    Neil

  7. #32
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,433
    My Cars
    1999 BMW M3 Coupe
    Update:

    Rear end is all off and apart. I'll have to improvise a tool to press/burn out the rear diff bushings as well as the outer ball joints (I think I have all the fixings for one). The rest (subframe, front diff, and inner upper control arms) I'll let my shop with a press handle.

    As of a few minutes ago all the outer ball joints (tie rods and control arms) on the front end have been obliterated (that $10 harbor freight tool is amazing). Power steering is already drained and hoses separated from the rack, so all that's left is to drop the front subframe and rack with the control arms hanging off, and then unbolt the oil pan. I need to press out the FCAB's as well. My shop is handling the control arm ball joints.

    I did have an issue with the x-brace which I posted another thread about. I have a 1999 M3 so I didn't have to deal with nutserts when installing it, but I presume that only means it has them already inside the subframe. In any case, one has broken loose and is spinning and I can't get the bolt out even after trying applying some additional leverage to try and generate more friction. I'm planning on leaving it dangling from the subframe and having my shop remove the bolt and then see if they can repair the nutsert, and otherwise drill it out so I can put a new one in.

    As for reassembly, the front end should be fairly straightforward piece by piece, but the rear end will be interesting. I think I'm going to try to jack up the entire rear assembly (subframe, diff, control arms, trailing arms), get the drive shaft on the flange (or slide foreward and out of the way), get the subframe on the studs and raised, and then bolt on the trailing arms and subframe. Basically just how I took it off. It will be a fun balancing act on a normal floor jack pad.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  8. #33
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Mills River, NC
    Posts
    1,118
    My Cars
    95 M3 coupe, 97 M3 sedan
    I haven't tried doing the rear assembly with only a regular floor jack. It'll be tricky to keep everything lined up and not falling off. The whole works is quite heavy! I'd recommend another set of hands if you're gonna go at it with only the floor jack. A few years back I bought a cheap scissor type Harbor Freight transmission jack for these types of jobs. I found it provides a more stable platform when working with transmission (of course), diff and rear subframe. I've done a full rear suspension lift with it, and even with the bigger base it's still fairly awkward as a one-man job.

    I'd also attach the drive shaft last.

  9. #34
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,433
    My Cars
    1999 BMW M3 Coupe
    Quote Originally Posted by NoLastName View Post
    I'd also attach the drive shaft last.
    Yeah that's probably what I'll do. I'm planning on taking off the midpipe at some point during this so I can get to the guibo, but couldn't break the midpipe to header nuts free when I tried at the start (only catback is off for now). I'll try again once the front end is done being stripped. I assume once I do that and disconnect the drive shaft from the transmission I'll be able to slide it forward a bit (or lower the center support bearing to add some slack).

    As for the jack, yeah I might recruit some help and a second jack. I got it all off in one piece solo with my floor jack without any disasters, though it was a bit tricky getting the diff tilted up at the right angle on the way down so it would fall off the drive shaft.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  10. #35
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    25,402
    My Cars
    F90 M5; E36 M3 Turbo
    The midpipe to header, you may have to give up, cut the bolt, drill out and replace.

    You want more than just one jack on the rear. The HF scissor trans jack is useful since it has a bigger platform. It is also great for trans. I use my impact to run it up. One idea is to buy a meter of m12x1.5 threaded rod and cut it in 3rds. You can use the longer sections to guide the subframe in and then swap to a bolt. Many replace the front studs with E90 bolts.

  11. #36
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,433
    My Cars
    1999 BMW M3 Coupe
    Front control arm ball joints and rear control arm inner bushings are now replaced thanks to some great local assistance today from JitteryJoe and his press/tools. The ball joints were a piece of cake with the press, and even the rear inner bushings we were able to do fairly easily with an improvised threaded rod tool. Oh, and Joe's technoviolet M3 is going to be amazing once he gets it all back together. Basically looks like a (better than) new car.

    Subframes are reinforced and painted, and the spinning nutsert in my front subframe has been replaced.

    Oil pan still needs the baffle welded on which I'm gonna try to get done tomorrow. Apparently tacking that into the aluminum of the pan is harder than it looks, and the guy I was using for the steel welding couldn't get it to bond. I found a specialty aluminum shop who think they can knock it out in a few minutes.

    After that, time to put the beast back together. Goal is to have it done by the end of next weekend and then go get it aligned on Monday 3/12.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  12. #37
    Join Date
    Nov 2010
    Location
    Whidbey Island, WA
    Posts
    576
    My Cars
    1998 Techno M3 Coupe
    Quote Originally Posted by TostitoBandito View Post
    Front control arm ball joints and rear control arm inner bushings are now replaced thanks to some great local assistance today from JitteryJoe and his press/tools. The ball joints were a piece of cake with the press, and even the rear inner bushings we were able to do fairly easily with an improvised threaded rod tool. Oh, and Joe's technoviolet M3 is going to be amazing once he gets it all back together. Basically looks like a (better than) new car.

    Subframes are reinforced and painted, and the spinning nutsert in my front subframe has been replaced.

    Oil pan still needs the baffle welded on which I'm gonna try to get done tomorrow. Apparently tacking that into the aluminum of the pan is harder than it looks, and the guy I was using for the steel welding couldn't get it to bond. I found a specialty aluminum shop who think they can knock it out in a few minutes.

    After that, time to put the beast back together. Goal is to have it done by the end of next weekend and then go get it aligned on Monday 3/12.
    Hey Eric, happy to help. Good luck with the car!

  13. #38
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,433
    My Cars
    1999 BMW M3 Coupe
    Subframe bushings:

    For the benefit of any other newbies like me, things I learned.

    The Revshift bushings I got are two side-specific halves of poly with an aluminum sleeve through the middle. The sleeve isn't actually attached to the bushings, though I thought it was at first. I initially tried to install them by pressing in the half with the sleeve, and then the other half onto that. However, I kept running into two issues. One, the sleeve would start pushing out the other side and I'd have to keep pushing it back in. Two, I'd often be unable to fully press the bushings in because of what I assume was trapped air between the two halves. There was nowhere for the air to go due to the central metal sleeve.

    My final solution was to extract the aluminum sleeves from the bushings and install them in three parts. First the two poly halves fully seated, then finally I'd press the metal sleeve through the center using a threaded rod and some washers/sockets (the fit is very tight and these are 95a poly, softer bushings may be easier). This was much easier, and probably applicable to any poly bushings like this which have two near-equal halves which create an air tight seal.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  14. #39
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,433
    My Cars
    1999 BMW M3 Coupe
    Dumb FCAB question.

    PCAB-E30-2.jpg

    I have these. They are one-piece with a flange. Which side of the lollipop does the flange go on? I assume the answer is that the flange faces the control arm so when you press the arm in it doesn't press the bushing out, but just want to verify.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  15. #40
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Long Island, NY
    Posts
    8,167
    My Cars
    97 M3 & 13 Rav4
    Yup. Flanges face the front of the car

    Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G920A using Tapatalk

  16. #41
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,433
    My Cars
    1999 BMW M3 Coupe
    After a bunch of time spent OCD-wiring the Achilles oil pump bolt on ever so perfectly and getting the gasket surfaces perfectly clean, I've now got the oil pan back on. Mostly. All bolts are in and torqued except one of the medium-long ones that goes deep into the bell housing through the access hole. I got one of them in after some fiddling, but the second one I managed to miss the little ring/hole it was supposed to go into, and now it's wedged sort of next to it off at a weird angle. I tried going after it with some screwdrivers and the bolt head seems to wiggle so it's not completely jammed, but I couldn't get it to fall out. Of course my snake/magnet tool is slightly too large to fit into the hole, so I'm going to see if I can find a smaller one. Or, failing that, some rare earth magnets to stick to the end of a long bolt to try and fish it out.

    Those two bolts are certainly a pain to get back in. You need a bunch of (narrow) extensions, and luck to get the bolt in the hole and not do what I did.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  17. #42
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    25,402
    My Cars
    F90 M5; E36 M3 Turbo
    Make a little hook on the end of a coat hanger. That has happened to me a few times but I have always gotten the bolt out.

  18. #43
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,433
    My Cars
    1999 BMW M3 Coupe
    Quote Originally Posted by pbonsalb View Post
    Make a little hook on the end of a coat hanger. That has happened to me a few times but I have always gotten the bolt out.
    You sir are a gentleman and a scholar. We happened to have exactly one wire coat hanger in the house, and after some bending I was able to fish the bolt out in 5 minutes.

    I still need to run to the store to grab a nice long 1/4 inch drive extension though. The passenger side hole is slightly smaller than the driver's side hole, enough that most 3/8 inch drive joints won't pass through it cleanly.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  19. #44
    Join Date
    Jun 2005
    Location
    New England
    Posts
    25,402
    My Cars
    F90 M5; E36 M3 Turbo
    And maybe stuff a piece of paper in the socket to hold the bolt tightly and also use a tight fitting extension so the socket does not fall off—that has happened to me also.

  20. #45
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    NNJ
    Posts
    1,994
    My Cars
    04 330xi, 98 M3/4/5
    I used grease in the socket to hold those two long bolts straight when I've done the oil pan. The grease works nicely for other bolt install/removal applications too.
    [2004 330xi/6] Orient/Natural :: 117-142k :: ZSP :: ZPP :: ZCW
    [1998 M3/4/5] Cosmos/Black :: 113-125k :: TCKline D/A (500/600) :: GC Plates :: RD Sways :: GC Rear Arms :: ZHP Rack :: 3.64 Diffsonline :: PF FCAB :: BW RTAB :: AKG Subframe :: TMS Pulleys :: AA & Borla :: XBrace :: TRM C2s :: BW lines :: DTC60 :: Safety Equipment

    Past:
    [1995 M3] Avus/Dove :: 141-242k :: S52 OBDI :: M50 manifold :: 3.5 HFM :: Turner Chip :: XBrace :: SS Lines :: Turner RTABS :: Vogtland CS :: Bilstein Sport :: Z3 rack
    [1999 M3] Cosmos/Black :: 65-87k :: TCKline S/A (400/500) :: Turner plates :: UUC Front Sway :: PF RTABs :: AA Intake :: Borla :: XBrace :: TRM C2s :: CL RC6E :: Safety Equipment
    [1993 325is] Brilliant/Black :: 135-139k :: Bilstein sports :: Eibach sways and springs :: Dinan camber plates and chip :: Borla :: LSD

    [1983 320i] Safari/Brownish :: 219-242k :: homebrew CAI :: some rust :: multicolor body panels

  21. #46
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,433
    My Cars
    1999 BMW M3 Coupe
    Front control arm questions.

    First, is there a consensus easiest order of attachment points to mount the arms? I initially mounted the subframe with the arms dangling loosely from the subframe ball joints. However, I couldn't get the lollipop to seat until I loosened the subframe and lowered it a bit for more clearance. Then I ran into issue #2:

    Lemforder supplied locking nuts to use with the new ball joints. Once they get to the nylon locking material they have a lot of resistance as you'd expect, but in this case it's enough to actually spin the stud in the ball joint. As a result it's impossible for me to tighten the nuts because the whole stud just spins and spins. Is it normal for the studs to spin like this? If so, how am I supposed to hold onto it, vise grips? Doesn't seem like there's any way I'd be able to hold on tight enough to torque it to spec without mangling the stud. Should I use another type of nut?

    First thing I did when I ran into the clearance issue was hammer on my lollipops some more to make sure they were as far onto the control arms as they could get (the bushings are new poly, which may sit a bit differently than rubber). I think they were on all the way, and lowering the subframe a bit was what got me there.
    Last edited by TostitoBandito; 03-16-2018 at 08:38 PM.
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  22. #47
    Join Date
    Jun 2004
    Location
    NNJ
    Posts
    1,994
    My Cars
    04 330xi, 98 M3/4/5
    Put your floor jack under the ball joint then tighten the nut.
    [2004 330xi/6] Orient/Natural :: 117-142k :: ZSP :: ZPP :: ZCW
    [1998 M3/4/5] Cosmos/Black :: 113-125k :: TCKline D/A (500/600) :: GC Plates :: RD Sways :: GC Rear Arms :: ZHP Rack :: 3.64 Diffsonline :: PF FCAB :: BW RTAB :: AKG Subframe :: TMS Pulleys :: AA & Borla :: XBrace :: TRM C2s :: BW lines :: DTC60 :: Safety Equipment

    Past:
    [1995 M3] Avus/Dove :: 141-242k :: S52 OBDI :: M50 manifold :: 3.5 HFM :: Turner Chip :: XBrace :: SS Lines :: Turner RTABS :: Vogtland CS :: Bilstein Sport :: Z3 rack
    [1999 M3] Cosmos/Black :: 65-87k :: TCKline S/A (400/500) :: Turner plates :: UUC Front Sway :: PF RTABs :: AA Intake :: Borla :: XBrace :: TRM C2s :: CL RC6E :: Safety Equipment
    [1993 325is] Brilliant/Black :: 135-139k :: Bilstein sports :: Eibach sways and springs :: Dinan camber plates and chip :: Borla :: LSD

    [1983 320i] Safari/Brownish :: 219-242k :: homebrew CAI :: some rust :: multicolor body panels

  23. #48
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
    Location
    Mills River, NC
    Posts
    1,118
    My Cars
    95 M3 coupe, 97 M3 sedan
    Quote Originally Posted by NotUrAvgM View Post
    Put your floor jack under the ball joint then tighten the nut.
    ^This. With a little upward pressure the taper of the ball joint stud should have enough friction to prevent the stud from rotating.

  24. #49
    Join Date
    Aug 2013
    Location
    Seattle, WA
    Posts
    1,433
    My Cars
    1999 BMW M3 Coupe
    Ah, that makes sense. I'll try that after dinner. Thanks!
    1999 M3/2/5 - Titanium Silver - Track/Weekend Toy


  25. #50
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    Herndon, VA
    Posts
    1,192
    My Cars
    99 M3
    Quote Originally Posted by TostitoBandito View Post
    Yeah that's probably what I'll do. I'm planning on taking off the midpipe at some point during this so I can get to the guibo, but couldn't break the midpipe to header nuts free when I tried at the start (only catback is off for now). I'll try again once the front end is done being stripped. I assume once I do that and disconnect the drive shaft from the transmission I'll be able to slide it forward a bit (or lower the center support bearing to add some slack).

    As for the jack, yeah I might recruit some help and a second jack. I got it all off in one piece solo with my floor jack without any disasters, though it was a bit tricky getting the diff tilted up at the right angle on the way down so it would fall off the drive shaft.
    I ended up snapping just about all of those header to midpipe studs when I went to remove the nut. If I had to do it over again, I'd use a ton of heat - like, a MAP or propane torch until the nuts were glowing hot, then a long breaker bar so as to not break the stud. It was a serious nut roll trying to remove the studs, whether by air hammer or by drilling. They're not some normal steel stud, they'll eat up most drill bits and fight you the whole way.
    Last edited by langley; 03-17-2018 at 11:55 AM.

Page 2 of 4 FirstFirst 1234 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. 325is oil pan, and steering rack..Very Nice
    By bmwway in forum E30 Parts Classifieds
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 01-30-2011, 01:19 PM
  2. E36 New M3 Suspension Bushings, Mounts, LCA's
    By Uofacarnutt in forum Suspensions, Springs & Shocks
    Replies: 10
    Last Post: 01-05-2011, 10:08 PM
  3. E36 engine mounts, S50 oil pan/windage tray/pickup
    By kdanielson in forum Engines, Performance Parts & Software
    Replies: 0
    Last Post: 09-13-2009, 07:28 PM
  4. Replies: 3
    Last Post: 01-21-2008, 11:29 PM
  5. 89 325i w/busted oil pan and steering rack
    By M34sale in forum 1983 - 1991 (E30)
    Replies: 8
    Last Post: 01-30-2006, 05:10 PM

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •