Rear Ball Joints Replaced. Wow! What a difference!

[rcM3]

I hijacked a well-stocked garage monday and under the wing of a ball-joint wizard, managed to swap out all four ball joints in the rear. To be clear these are the pieces that press into the hubs on the outside ends of the rear lower control arms and the spring perch control arm.

The need for the project arose when a loud popping noise began coming from the left rear when loading and unloading that corner.

Utilizing a mutilated tool for domestic cars from O'Riely's, a couple random pieces of pipe from Home Depot, and a BIG hammer (I highly recommend picking up an appropriate tool if you want to do this, it will save HOURS) we popped all the old ones out and put the new ones in.

When accessed and wiggled, the old ones could be moved without any effort. The new ones were rock solid. One of the old ones (I suspect this was the one causing the noise) was so worn that the eccentric bolt had fused to the interior of the joint and the metal sleeve had begun to mushroom from its housing.

This must have been the weak point in my suspension for quite a while as it didn't even feel this solid when I bought it. (I now have 135,000 miles.) Nothing has made this huge of a difference since I replaced my old worn shocks and OEM springs with Koni SAs and Eibach Prokit springs. Full disclosure: I've also replaced my FCABs, RTABs, RSMs. Next on the docket: Sways with poly-U bushings!

Moral of this story: If your unhappy with the stiffness of your high mileage e36 m3, there is hope in bushing replacement!

[raoke]

did you have to remove the diff?

[rcM3]

did you have to remove the diff?

No. I just did the outer ones. You need to drop the diff to do the inner ones I think. The outer ones can be seen directly behind the dust shield on the top and bottom. I removed the brake and e-brake assembly and disconnected the RSM and dust shield to do it.

[WytLytnyn]

I replaced mine just before the holidays as well as my RTAB and it was a massive difference. They are not to be overlooked when you think RTAB's are the culprit for lousy handling....

[RagnarDanskjold]

<stewievoice>

Indeed.

</stewievoice>



I'd planned on replacing the inner CA bushings and had dropped the rear subframe, but they were still solid compared to the outer ball joints and after the experience on the outers, I decided I'd get the right tool and do them all properly.

BTW, dropping the diff and rear subframe is almost *easy* and makes it much easier to work on all of the bushings/bearings at once.


Good work, Randy!

[dev0i]

how do the new ones go in, are they press in? did you just smash them in rather then press them in?

havent ever been able to find a diy on these outer bushings

[Dukes]

I JUST did mine too. And I agree. What a difference it is!

Did you use 'upgraded' part # 33326775551 for all four positions? I did.

[rcM3]

<stewievoice>

Indeed.

</stewievoice>

Good work, Randy!

Thanks Mr. Wizard.

how do the new ones go in, are they press in? did you just smash them in rather then press them in?

havent ever been able to find a diy on these outer bushings

They are press-in parts. I tried to use a poorly fitting C-clamp press, but after tapping with a hammer to get it started and in position and noticing how well that worked beyond just starting it, the hammer became a main tool for getting it in the rest of the way. When pressing in or beating it with hammer, the pressure needs to be applied to the outer collar. The best fit was a random big socket.

Did you use 'upgraded' part # 33326775551 for all four positions? I did.

Affirmative. Good pictures btw!

[saint166]

did u get a wheel alignment after u did this?

[rcM3]

did u get a wheel alignment after u did this?

I certainly plan to ASAP. We took care to put the eccentric bolt approximately in the position it started in, but I'm sure my alignment is all goofy.

[GG///M3]

I JUST did mine too. And I agree. What a difference it is!

Did you use 'upgraded' part # 33326775551 for all four positions? I did.

Where can i order these? Also what did you pay?

[Roguls]

I JUST did mine too. And I agree. What a difference it is!

Did you use 'upgraded' part # [FONT=Verdana][SIZE=2][COLOR=black]33326775551 for all four positions? I did.

Great post; thanks.

[RagnarDanskjold]

Great post; thanks.

No kidding! Those two pics explain it perfectly.

[Dukes]

Where can i order these? Also what did you pay?

The pic is a link to the store buddy.

[rcM3]

I got mine from BMA for ~40 ea. Turner obviously sells them too for a pretty good price.

[JETninja]

That is a BMW part though, Correct? (I can get BMW parts at cost from Neighbor)

Looks like a good project for my 132K '95.....

[rcM3]

That is a BMW part though, Correct? (I can get BMW parts at cost from Neighbor)

Looks like a good project for my 132K '95.....

Correct. Its a BMW part. Its made by Lemforder (sp?).

[Capital]

Good stuff, my car could really use the same treatment. I'll drive up there this weekend and you can put everything in now that you know how to do it

[GG///M3]

Does the 95m3 have this same part?

[rcM3]

Good stuff, my car could really use the same treatment. I'll drive up there this weekend and you can put everything in now that you know how to do it

I don't know about all that.... but I bet if you have the correctly sized press tool it wouldn't be that hard except for the reassembly of the e-brake.

Does the 95m3 have this same part?

Turner's website explains it here: http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html...ID=33326775551

The 95 M3 and other e36s have a different, less effective part in the lower location.

[acastillo]

Did you use 'upgraded' part #33326775551 for all four positions? I did.

I've got 4 of these sitting around and am finally making time to do this. I bought them from 2 different sources. However, even though they look identical, 2 are 33326775551 and 2 are 33321140345. My local dealer says there is absolutely no difference.

Are you sure the ...551 is an upgrade to ...345? If so, where did this info come from, and how have they been upgraded?

Realoem parts 2-3:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...04&hg=33&fg=30

Thanks much.

[Dukes]

I've got 4 of these sitting around and am finally making time to do this. I bought them from 2 different sources. However, even though they look identical, 2 are 33326775551 and 2 are 33321140345. My local dealer says there is absolutely no difference.

Are you sure the ...551 is an upgrade to ...345? If so, where did this info come from, and how have they been upgraded?

Realoem parts 2-3:
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts...04&hg=33&fg=30

Thanks much.

33326775551 is entirely optional. An is only rumored to be an upgrade.

But I posted the link to the website that explains it above.

Just click on the picture.

[acastillo]

33326775551 is entirely optional. An is only rumored to be an upgrade.

But I posted the link to the website that explains it above.

Just click on the picture.

Thanks. I did before, but it only mentioned it to be an upgrade for non M's and the 95 M3 which use a more rubber ball joint in the lower position. I have both the 33326775551 and 33321140345 in front of me, and I can't seem to discern any difference

[Balthazarr]

No. I just did the outer ones. You need to drop the diff to do the inner ones I think. The outer ones can be seen directly behind the dust shield on the top and bottom. I removed the brake and e-brake assembly and disconnected the RSM and dust shield to do it.

The pics don't show evidence of ebrake assembly removal.
The disc is still mounted.
What did you mean, exactly?

[cstang68]

How did you get the old bushings out?