When you click on links to various merchants on this site and make a purchase, this can result in this site earning a commission. Affiliate programs and affiliations include, but are not limited to, the eBay Partner Network.
The bushings can only be replaced once and then you need a new arm. So, if you think they may have been previously replaced, you need a new arm anyway.
If you are gonna go this, I just replaced the arm, it wasn't all that much more and I also replaced the ball joints. They were a PITA to get out of the knuckle, you you can beat them out from the top.
I used TRW parts from Amazon (sold by Amazon) and that's what was on my car from the factory -- TRW suspension is part of ZF just as is Lemforder.
My 2006 530xi used the TRW Automotive JTC1165 and JTC1166.
I went on eBay and bought a bushing kit that had threaded rods and a whole lot of different sizes of cups. I snapped the cheap threaded rod so bought a sturdy grade 8 one and it worked great. I bought the kit so I could do lots of different bushings. Did all 19 of them on the rear of my E46 as well.
I used my 12 ton shop press, and it was a pain. It's very easy to get the bushings started not quite straight, and would be easy to mess up both the bushing and control arm. I managed to get mine squared up using one of the VERY stout sleeves from my large bushing driver kit, but this is one place where a new arm might make sense for most folks.
If you DO decide to press in a new bushing, mark how far it should go in so you know where to stop pressing (my new Lemforder - ?) bushing came with a thin steel "guide sleeve" that made it impossible to see the bushing's progress.
08-10-2022, 08:08 AM
Xi Front Control Arm Bushings
