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Thread: Rear Subframe cleaning

  1. #1
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    Rear Subframe cleaning

    I dropped the rear sub-frame to refresh the suspension pieces, should I done this from the start. With 180k a lot of the bolts and e-brake cables were fighting.

    What is the best way to clean the aluminum sub-frame? I tried gunk and a brush, that combination did not work very efficient. Maybe a pressure washer or oven cleaner? What works best, I do not want to install the new suspension with the dirty sub-frame.
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  2. #2
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    Kerosene cleans everything.
    Set the controls for the heart of the sun

  3. #3
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    Yes, it does, but that does not look so dirty. There is surface oxidation, but I'd leave it alone. are you looking to take it apart further? good time to do bushings.

  4. #4
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    Multiple commercial aluminum cleaners on the market any will work. Looking for shiny? Try aluminum polish... Best: A power washer after using a petroleum product like Snotty recommended that will remove all the shipping grease (Now long dried and hard).
    Last edited by StephenVA; 05-19-2020 at 03:52 PM.
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  5. #5
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    Going to slide the sub-frame out from the car and full rebuild. Replacing the rear ball joints, wheel bearings(bad), air shocks(slow leak), new Koni shocks, sway bar bushing/links, the three differential bushing and the 4 large sub-frame bushings. With the sub-frame out, I hope to do the sub-frame bushings without the special factory tool.

    Plus the brake hoses and rebuild the calipers. The wheel bearing took a lot of time to remove, the 4 torx bolts were really frozen on. Should have started by dropping the sub-frame but the emergency brakes would not come off.

    Need to clean the sub-frame and then paint with aluminum colored paint. Polishing would be more work that I want. Gunk is like 90% kerosene and did not touch the grim on this stuff. I used a brass wire brush for the aluminum part that holds the wheel bearing. Hoping to find a faster solution.

  6. #6
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    I can see you getting the old subframe bushings out without the tool, but you should use the correct tool to get the new ones in and seated correctly.

  7. #7
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    A wire brush on a drill will provide a nice shiny surface in a few mins. I hand polished part of mine on the M5 show car, looks great but to see it you have to face plant in the grass.
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  8. #8
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    78C9BC2F-4A86-4FD9-968D-FFA8EC16CB20.jpgMake sure to add the brake dust shield before bolting the bearings on.

  9. #9
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    ^ Me like pretty.....
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  10. #10
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    +1 using the tool to replace bushings. Any fool can melt out the old ones

    Sent from my SM-G970U using Tapatalk

  11. #11
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    I replaced the subframe bushing using a 2 jaw puller with a slide hammer screw and a harbor freight wheel bearing kit for the press pieces and install cups. Also three hose clamps with a ball joint press to install the diff bushing that needed to be compressed for installation.
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  12. #12
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    This took a lot more time that I expected. It is now bolted in and have to install the e brakes, rotors and hook up the air bags.
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  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by speedracer M View Post
    If there's such a thing as a sexy subframe, that's it.
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    and decades of owning and driving BMWs

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