Car_Almond

Interesting youtube video of a lower control arm problem in an E46.

twh

Anyone had a leaking lower control arm bushing? I have a 2006 530xi. Decided to change the oil and brake fluid today. When I pulled the car out of the garage, I noticed some very black fluid under the driver side under the front near the tire (my garage floor is epoxy painted). Got the car on jacks and the fluid seems to be originating from the lower control arm where it is attached the the frame (not wheel). When I rub the fluid in my fingers, it isn't particularly oily. It isn't oil, it isn't antifreeze.

How critical is it to change them immediately?

turboawd

its not that critical. when they get really worn, the worst that will happen is you may notice clunking and the car will wander. and the tires may increase wear.

Car_Almond

I might add that on the E60, there are two lower control arms, and here we are talking about the rubber bushing that attaches the front suspension's front lower control arm (NOT the front suspension's rear lower control arm). Like part number Lemfoerder W0133-180480, the squiggly, twisted looking piece of aluminum. (( Caution: Note the AWD "xi" 5-series models require a different control arm. )) Also, you might as well replace the entire control arm that comes shipped with a new bushing and ball joint so you don't have to remove the thing soon for a worn ball joint (labor costs).

My BMW dealership just saw cracks, no leaking yet, and they knew a 5-series with 94,000 miles might have this problem. When in for inspection, they have a checklist of stuff that is expected to fail, and they say are right about 90% of the time. Like mechatronic sleeve transmission leakage and this fluid-filled bushing cracking/leaking.

andymax

To the OP:
The control arm bushings are a known issue, Yes they can leak and leave a very obvious black fluid trail on the bottom of the aluminum arm itself directly under the bushing. Emergency replacement? No. Do it soon? YES. Your dealer diagnosed it, so unless you simply don't trust them, they are probably right, given your miles and symptoms.

Some will argue to replace the whole arm, which is a CHOICE but is not absolutely necessary. The ball joints rarely go bad...which is why most shops happily replace the bushing only. There is much debate about this, which proves it is a choice either way.

Bad bushings will give exactly the symptoms you describe. My experience was exactly the same as yours...vibration at speed...nothing during braking. Then it got worse over time and it started shaking badly while braking from anything over 30mph. The key is when it happens during braking to really pay attention to whether you distinctly feel it in the pedal vs the steering wheel. If you've driven a car with bad rotors you know that feeling in the pedal. Though the pedal will move, it is not nearly as bad the feeling from a warped rotor. I'd get a bunch of movement in the steering wheel and very little in the pedal.

FWIW I replaced my bushings only (did it myself) and voila....back to brand new feeling.

Curious if you've had this done yet and what your results were. Hope it works out for you.

RTR

By the way, Powerflex LCA bushings are now available for e60s. Not sure if it's old news, but I haven't seen them a year ago.

Car_Almond

https://5series.net/forums/diy-do-yo...-107786/page3/
Where I posted replacement procedure in the Bentley service manual for the Tension Strut (control arms for a 530ix.

E60Japanese

I recently bought an E60 525I sedan. The front tires were worn on the inside. After jacking it up and checking the front control arm bushes were broken. I swaped everything. The two control arms and sway bar conencting rods.
They weren't expensive and the car drives like new.
In the future I will also change the rear bushes and new struts all around.
.
Good luck with yours. I hope to read about what happened

knklhead

I noticed an issue, for example, water bottle in cup holder would rattle a bit back and forth at speed. I didn't notice it much, but a passenger felt some vibrations.

I went to Dunn Tire in Buffalo for an alignment or wheel balancing. Kudos to the management who went out in the parking lot, felt my tire, and said alignment and balance is probably fine, something else was wrong.

I took the car to an indy and he suggested a control arm replacement. I was very skeptical, but spend the $700 or so to replace. Voila. No more vibration at speed, smooth as silk.


e60 525i with 75,000 miles.

Vileem

I have a set of front control arms for E60 for sale. Was going to put them on my 550I but will be selling the car instead.