THSCC Forums

How hard is it to replace the front and rear control arm bushings? Do they have to be pressed in?

Do the tie rods normally have some play in them? I was thinking about replacing these. Car has 60k on it.

I took off the panel under the steering wheel to try and adjust the brake pedal height and there does not seem to be any way to adjust it. The damn brake pedal and gas pedal are too close together and I want the brake pedal higher to facilitate mo better heel and toe action. Any suggestions?

Does it have any way to check trans fluid level?(honestly have not looked in manual yet)

That is all I can think of right now.

Thanks
Marcus

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Silver Honda
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"Never let life be shaped by fear of its end"

No, you're a towel!

The rears have to be pressed out/in and require a special tool. The fronts I'm not as sure about, I've had mine replaced w/OEM once by a BMW technician, and I know he used some special tool to make the job a lot easier, but I didn't see the process myself, so I'm not so sure. I have delrin bushings in my front lower control arms now, and those don't require any special tools, press, etc.


They shouldn't have any detectible play in the ball joints, you might see some movement in the arms due to slop in the steering rack, but it should be very little or none. A quick/easy test for ball joint slop is to grab the ball joint on top & bottom w/large channel locks and squeeze - there should be negligible to no vertical movement.



Sorry, I have no idea. All three E36's I've owned have been very easy to heel & toe, especially w/the brake and gas pedals being close together. A suggestion - try changing your heel & toe method to using the side of your foot on the gas pedal, rather than your heel.


Yes, but it's kind of difficult to access. You have to remove the filler bolt from the passenger's side of the tranny, it's pretty high up on the vertical surface and requires a large allen key (sorry, don't recall the size offhand). Space is limited, so it may be difficult or impossible to use a normal L-key. I don't recall exactly what I did last time, but it may require shortening (cutting or grinding) the short end of a normal L-key. If you find a special tool is needed, let me know size and I'll check my stuff to see if I have something you can borrow.

Also, consider getting your hands on a Bentley and/or Haynes(?) manual, they're loaded with good info & tips like you're looking for. Most BMW enthusiasts strongly prefer the Bentley manual, but I've found it lacks info in some key areas and sometimes shows a 'more difficult than necessary' procedure. The cheaper (Haynes?) manual available at auto parts stores is actually pretty darn good but maybe not as loaded w/photos. I find checking both is best, as you can combine the info to get a more complete picture.

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Keith Q.
2008 Top Gun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmX8XuZ_DCo&NR=1

[quote="Keith Quistorff"]
Sorry, I have no idea. All three E36's I've owned have been very easy to heel & toe, especially w/the brake and gas pedals being close together. A suggestion - try changing your heel & toe method to using the side of your foot on the gas pedal, rather than your heel.

quote]

I do use the side of my foot, but when I get ont he brakes hard the pedal travels below the height of the gas pedal. With my suby I could pivot on the heel of my foot with out lifting it off the floor, brake with the ball of my foot, and tap the gas with the side of my foot to rev match. The brake pedal would be even with the gas pedal when I would brake hard. I am not used to having to raise my heel over to get on the brakes. It's just something I will have to adapt to.

What kind of delrin bushings did you get?

Thanks
Marcus

_________________
Silver Honda
Green Ford
Blue/White Suzuki
Red Triumph
Grey BMW

"Never let life be shaped by fear of its end"

No, you're a towel!

um... so, pics of the new machine?

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2001 Honda S2000 - SOLD
2012 Boss 302
2003 BMW 330i

If you haven't yet, be sure to check your brake pads to make sure they're not almost completely worn out, this might be causing more pedal travel than normal. For some reason, E36's seem to require a lot more pedal travel to brake w/worn pads than w/newer pads.

Not sure of the brand, they're the ones BimmerWorld sells. BTW, I'd avoid them if you care about noise - they're a lot noisier than any other (rubber or urethane) bushing I've ever used.

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Keith Q.
2008 Top Gun
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KmX8XuZ_DCo&NR=1

The outboard pads look fine. I have not taken the wheels off to look at the inboard ones yet.

Thanks
Marcus

_________________
Silver Honda
Green Ford
Blue/White Suzuki
Red Triumph
Grey BMW

"Never let life be shaped by fear of its end"

No, you're a towel!

I might post some up. I just washed it yesterday. Looks real perty. It is black on black.

_________________
Silver Honda
Green Ford
Blue/White Suzuki
Red Triumph
Grey BMW

"Never let life be shaped by fear of its end"

No, you're a towel!

Just to add to what Keith said:



Fronts are somewhat involved. Easiest if you are replacing the control arms at the same time, since the "lolipops" are hard to get off the ctrl arms. I don't know how to get the lolipops off of the ctrl arms without drilling and sawing the rubber off on the bench.

Honestly, at 60k, I wouldn't bother with the fronts at all unless you have detectable play in the ctrl arm bearings, or if you're upgrading the bushings. At 100k it's a good preventative maintenance item to do the arms and bushings together.

Once you get the lolipops off the ctrl arms, you need a press to do the front ctrl arm bushings. I have a press and have done several of these -- once you get the lolipops off let me know.

Rears are easier. I have the "special tool" to do them on the car. You're welcome to borrow it.



Like Keith said, any play, replace them. I have found that the inner tierods develop play after 100k, but I'd be surprised at lay at 60k. Minor play in the tierods can cause some steering shimmy.



I have the same problem -- pedal it too low. I believe there is a jam nut on the master cylinder input rod that can be turned. Haven't tried it or looked into it yet, but I did do this on my E30 and it worked.



The side hole is either a 14mm or 17mm allen key. I have a set of allen sockets with removable hex stubs that I put in the plug and use a 17mm wrench to turn. Fits, but barely. I think the bug 1/2" set is available at Autozone -- you may need to punch the allen bit out of the socket base. The whole allen socket won't fit.

Level is "set" when fluid starts to pour out of the side hole. Open it up and stick your finger in and down a little bit. If it comes out oily, level is fine.

Bentley describes all of this well.

_________________
Mike Whitney
whit32@gmail.com, 919-454-5445
V10, V8, V8t, I6, I6, V6, F4t, I4, I4, I4, I4, I2, 1, 1

woohoo. what class will you be racing in? any plans for STU? i'm anxious to see what you can do this car.

from what i've read the brake pedal is NOT adjustable like the E30s.. but thats just what i've read, i havent looked specifically. w/ a new set of pads and a fresh fluid flush i'm in heel-toe nirvana. when 75% on teh brakes the pedal is exactly lined up w/ my gas pedal. i have to really stomp to get it below the gas.

as for the tranny fluid bolt, i fit a 3/8" ratchet w/ a hex socket in there no problem.

i agree that you *should* be fine bushingwise w/ only 60k. what a find! i wouldnt go w/ any delrin bushings.. they dont hold up well i've read the OE M3 bushings are fine for all but a dedicated racecar. You can get delrin shims to stiffen the OE rear trailing arm bushings though.

i cut the control arm bushings off and muscled em back on using soap as a lube. i almost had a hernia, but it was a pretty quick job.

what color is it? sedan or coupe? will we see it in Greenville?

Thanks Mike.

I have not looked at the tie rods too closely. They seemed to have a little play in them when the wheel is jacked up.

Dan,

I will probably not be in G-Vegas. I hate hot weather. It makes me a lazy bastard. I have gained 6lb in the last three weeks.

I am leaning toward running it in STU. We will see.

The car is black on black. I will have to try bleeding the brakes and see if that helps the pedal height.

_________________
Silver Honda
Green Ford
Blue/White Suzuki
Red Triumph
Grey BMW

"Never let life be shaped by fear of its end"

No, you're a towel!

you probably know this, but give the tie rod ends a little squeeze w/ a big pair of channel locks squeezing them against the control arm. if theres much noticable play theyre bad. also check the control arm ball joints this way

you can also easily visually inspect the control arm bushing by just looking for tears, etc.

how are you liking it so far? what are your plans for STU mods?

I don't think Dan reads much!!!

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In need of car.

Do you think his keyboard has a shift key?

I am not going to do anything other than maintenance stuff and some konis. It is really easy to drive. About a million times easier than the suby. I do not see why the BMW guys are always spinning.

_________________
Silver Honda
Green Ford
Blue/White Suzuki
Red Triumph
Grey BMW

"Never let life be shaped by fear of its end"

No, you're a towel!

I think he just doesn't know how to use his pinky fingers.

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In need of car.

i dont wanna get caught browing around car forums at work so i gotta be sneaky and fast!

get some equal width rubber up front and its a new car