dantheman1

Took my 550i to a professional race shop to have a look at the front suspension for these hwy vibrations problems I've been having (accelerate from 70-90, lots of vibration) and discovered that I need new tension arm bushings and lower control arm bushings. Would it be cheaper to buy the bushings separately and have them stamped in, or just buy the whole arm with bushings already in place? Do you know a source or exact part number for the front lower control arms and tension arms? Thanks!

dantheman1

Are these the parts I need:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-Control-...ht_2761wt_1010

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-Control-...ht_2761wt_1010

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-20...gn=31126768298

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-20...ntrol-arm.aspx

Is there a less expensive version of the one TMS sells?

ironb

You can also check out these sites:
http://www.oembimmerparts.com/5series_20042010.html
http://www.fcpeuro.com/products/bmw-...front8piecekit

hks

those prices on ebay look good. i bought the set of bushings on ebay for $50 couple months ago.

dantheman1

After doing some more research, I'm just going to get tension arm bushings ($70 for the set) and new lower control arms with bushings in place (since apparently those aren't sold separately)


http://www.rmeuropean.com/Part-Number/Bushing-Set-for-Control-Arms-(Tension-Struts)-Front-(1-Per-Car)-__31126765992_LEM_2CB14693.aspx

http://www.rmeuropean.com/Part-Number/Control-Arm-with-Bushing-(Wishbone)-Front-Left-Rear-__31126768297_LEM_2CB14693.aspx

http://www.rmeuropean.com/Part-Number/Control-Arm-with-Bushing-(Wishbone)-Front-Right-Rear-__31126768298_LEM_2CB14693.aspx

Going with Lemfoerder parts since they seem to be of higher quality (last longer) than chinese made replacements. Part numbers seem right to y'all? I also found this page: https://5series.net/forums/topic/107...rut-wishbones/ which helped a lot, although my wishbone part numbers are different since mine is an LCI.

olivierfm

How many miles do you have on your car? I'm surprised that a 2008 model year has to have these replaced so soon. Is this common?

Thanks

dantheman1

It's got 60,000 miles and I have a noticeable vibration at highways speed that gets worse if I accelerate quickly and unload the front suspension. A race shop here in Fort Worth confirmed that the tension strut bushings were torn in half and lower control arm bushings worn and cracked, but not leaking fluid yet.

dantheman1

And accroding to the race shop, these bushings very commonly fail on the E90 and E60 BMW's due to an inherent flaw in the front suspension design. Rather than having a wishbone or double wishbone suspension with 3 or 4 bushings per front wheel, we have a macpherson strut with an upper tension arm (curvy long bar) and a lower control arm which is a straight bar. Because there are only 2 bushings holding the wheel to the frame, it puts a lot of wear and tear on them. The new F10 5 series has a wishbone front suspension now.

olivierfm

Thanks for the update. From the posted DIY it looks like you can visually inspect the front upper tension arm for wear and tear by removing the undershield. I have an XI model and have been having issues with front suspension vibration as well (the added stress of the front wheels driving as well doesn't help...)

Will check.