I have a 2005 545i. The dealer said I need rear ball joints. Does anyone know of a diy for this. Also where would the best place to buy.

 

I think member Achtung made a DIY on bushings and control arms replacement for both front and rear. Try searching for his old DIY thread. That's the only one I can remember. There was another one but only for front control arms. As for the best place to buy, it all depends on whether you want OEM or aftermarket. Some members bought the parts from FCP Groton.

 

You can the the rear ball joints from almost anywhere for about $40-50 a piece. Getbmwparts.com, FCPEuro.com, Bavauto.com.
DIY is pretty much impossible unless you have the BMW ball joint removal tool which costs something like $300.
This guy did Macgyver something together for the ball joints on his E39...
http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...d.php?t=265867

I ended up just sourcing the parts and taking it to an independent which had the proper tools.

 

This is the DIY rctmthouse is referring to.
https://5series.net/forums/topic/107...1#entry1282333

Unfortunately it only covers the front end control arms and bushings not the rear ball joints which are inside the wheel carrier.
I searched the whole forum when I had to do mines...

 

Luckily replacing ball joints is pretty much exactly the same on an E38, which there is allot of documentation on. I replaced my rear ball joints on my 545i at 140k. It made a huge difference in the feel of car.