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Thread: E36 Rear Upper Inner Control Arm Bushing Replacement

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
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    Wilmington, DE, USA
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    My Cars
    1996 BMW 328i

    E36 Rear Upper Inner Control Arm Bushing Replacement

    I have searched all over to find someone who has replaced the rear upper inner control arm bushing and cannot find a thing.

    I have a 1996 328i revival i am working on, and have worked my way to the rear end. The Bentley manual isn’t really helpful in step by step instructions and most of the stuff i find on the internet involves the trailing arm bushings(piece of cake), the lower control (camber) arms (I have eibach camber arms I will use as a replacement), the outer upper and lower bushings (TBD)... but nothing about the upper inner bushings.

    I have the whole area prepped and ready to go, but will just loosening the differential to get the lower camber arm removed be enough to do the same for the upper control arm?

    Can i completely remove the upper control arm so that it will be easier for me to press the old bushing out?

    this is my first time using power flex bushings... will the instructions explain this and i am waisting everyone’s time?

    Do I need to remove the drive shaft?

    I have so many questions.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Feb 2009
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    Long Island, NY
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    97 M3 & 13 Rav4
    Yes, you can completely remove the upper control arm. It will be much easier to press the old bushing out and the new one in with the arm out of the car.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
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    Wilmington, DE, USA
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    1996 BMW 328i
    Will I need to remove the drive shaft? i went underneath and prepped all the bolts with PB Blaster. I can see that I will need to remove the exhaust. I noticed that for the lower camber arm, there is a bolt/tab frontward facing, is there something similar with the upper control arm?

    The powerflex bushings just came in and the directions arent very helpful.

  4. #4
    Join Date
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    You'll need to use a wrench. The nut on the front does not have a tab to hold it in place like the lower ones. I don't think you'll have to remove the driveshaft, but I can't say for sure. I took my rear end completely apart when I refreshed everything.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2017
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    1996 BMW 328i
    do you think it would be "easier" for me to take the whole subframe down and do all this? 4 subframe bolts, 3 trailing arm bolts on each side and disconnect the main drive shaft from the diff.... I think that is all I have to do.

    I guess if i did that i could replace the subframe bushings too. I was hoping i could do this without having to take everything down, just the arm bushings and move on... but if it is going to be a PIA to remove and reinstall the upper control arms while it is still connected to the vehicle, it might be worth the extra work.

  6. #6
    Join Date
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    Sure, it'll be easier to do with it out of the car, but then you're adding more work to make another task easier. You also have to disengage the parking break cables from the handle inside the car to prevent tearing them out when you drop the subframe. I would try to squeeze in there with a wrench first and give it a shot before you turn this into an entire rear end rebuild.

  7. #7
    Join Date
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    washington dc
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    don't need to remove DS just the diff. I wouldn't recommend putting poly junk in place of the stock bushings. Replace them with stock ones.

  8. #8
    Join Date
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    Quote Originally Posted by scooper View Post
    don't need to remove DS just the diff. I wouldn't recommend putting poly junk in place of the stock bushings. Replace them with stock ones.


    OP, that depends on your intended application of the car or goals. I wanted a tighter feel without inducing too much NVH to so I went with poly is specific locations (not all). And the car feels fantastic.

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