jeffandjane

Hi

The rear driver side suspension has developed a creeking noise on my 2005 E61 545i, that is getting gradually worst. Looks like its the lower bush on the suspension has worn. Getting at it is not too bad, but I read lots of posts that a special tool is required to remove and refit the bush, the price of which appears to make a DIY fix uneconimical. Has anyone tackled this job succesfully without using this tool, or with a "Make shift tool", if so can you advise how you did it?

Thanks

Jeff

The_Sauce

Bushings just require a press of some sort. Depending on location, structure the bushing is in will determine what press you need. I have a pretty decent number of random presses I have acquired over the years from doing bushings on previous cars. Have not looked under my 530 to see what exactly may be needed.

fletchedpair

I have changed this bush on my current E61 and my last E39, this bush is also on the E38 and X5 so really common across the BMW range.

You need the bush tool to do this work, no question. The tools cups fits exactly the bush and lower suspension arm/hub and pulls the bush out and pushes the new one in. I bought my tool online and then sold on ebay after use for the same money. They are really expensive to buy but I believe there is a company who advertised in some of the UK BMW magazines who can rent you the tool.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2001-BMW-X...item27d1c59bb2

If you are really inclined to do this youself and handy with a spanner then it is not too much trouble to do. You only have to remove the rear wheel and undo some of the suspension points, the main bolt that passes through the bush and the ARB. But you need to chock the top hub carrier from the bottom one with a chunk of wood 2x4 so you can clear the bush (it wants to close due to the suspension).

The old bush is going to be corroded in as it has a steel jacket which sits tight in the arm which is alloy and the steel circlip will be rusted in but you can get a screwdriver under it and snap it out. Under no circumstance do you heat it up or whack the arm with a hammer. A bit of penetrating fluid and gentle torque with the bush tool will slowly draw it out. I gently ran some sandpaper in the bush hole to clear out the corrosion (you do not want to make the hole bigger!) and crap and a lick of grease to draw the new bush in.

By the way, as soon as you replace one, the other one is bound to fail. In both cases I replaced one and literally 2 months later had to replace the other squeaking side! So do them in pairs.

The bushes and cir-clips are not expensive and on reassmbly I suggest you replace some of the nuts you undid with fresh ones. You can get the part numbers from realoem. Also please stick to the torque settings, some of those bolts go into threads in the suspension hub and you will strip them if you are too heavy handed and you will be totally screwed if you do that as you will have to replace the complete hub assembly unless you can helicoil insitu somehow!.

Its a common fault but irregular. On the E39 first failed at 180k miles on my E61, it was 73k miles. No logic to that.

RealOEM.com * BMW E61 530d REAR AXLE SUPPORT/WHEEL SUSPENSION

Part No. 33326767748