FAO the E36 types, im a bit baffled..

Matt82

Matt82

Matt82

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13 Mar 2004
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i had a bit of spare time yesterday so decided to get the rear trailing arm out of the garage and start replacing the upper and lower (spring and camber) arm bushes

i rigged up a tool and got them removed after a moderate amount of swearing.

the replacement bushes are lemforder and im using new upper ball joint bushes to go into both holes.

http://www.ecstuning.com/BMW-E46-M3-S54_3.2L/By_Brand/J-L/Lemforder/ES253001/

i offer it up to the lower hole and its snug, ie will have to be pressed in.

with the upper hole it just drops in the hole and with a few light taps goes all the way through and it does it with all four of the bushes i have

im buying a new vernier tonight to measure up as my old one has seen better days

both holes should be 45mm ish

i could understand if the top hole was damaged, egg shaped etc, but it seems to be perfectly round but easily 1mm larger

anyone come across something like this before?
 
yes. they came out intact but my vernier has seen better days so i cant say for sure on the measurement.

the difference in diameter was approximately 0.6mm but ill have better measurements tonight

as for the part, im using these

http://webcat.zf.com/index.asp?PKW=...01&EINSPNR_ART=35&LASTPAGE=nc2_teile_info.asp

odds on all four of the parts being manufactuered badly is slim, which means it would be a defect in the arm but i cannot imagine how one hole would end up over sized but apparently perfectly round
 
The arm being damaged seems unlikely as you say - I doubt the 4 parts are poorly manufactured either (or if they were then they would all be different sizes). It seems more likely they are the wrong revision/ part for your car.

Did the arms change between the 3 litre and Evo? (I don't think they did but I can't remember)
 
that is a good question, but the bush is meant to be common. evo and m3 do have different arms

E36 M3 Coupé S50 Europe Right hand drive Manual
Production Code: BF92
01 Trailing arm, left 1 33322227077 $919.56 +core
01 Trailing arm, right 1 33322227078 $919.56

You Have Selected: 10/1998 E36 M3 Coupé S50 Europe Right hand drive Manual
Production Code: BG92
01 Trailing arm, left 1 33322227985 $919.56 +core
01 Trailing arm, right 1 33322227986 $919.56 +core
 
had the vernier out, there is 0.27mm difference in the two holes. ive not idea how that is possible and the diameter is consistent all the way round.

i cant think of a sensible way to get the bush to seat permanently.

sadly this is likely to end up with me buying a whole evo rear subframe and trailing arms, rebushing those and fitting them to the car.

a stack of extra work, but i might get to use an evo diff, which is 3.23 vs 3.15

am i likely to even notice the difference?

whats the say the same wont happen to the next one too!
 
im no bmw expert but on visual inspection the main difference is a big M printed on them

at this rate car is not going to be on the road for ages.

i did some googling, im gobsmacked at the torn-bootfloor e46s seem to pick up :eek:
 
[TW]Fox;22457502 said:
£881.77 per arm!?>!?!?£?"£3rjtlfgk
Click to expand...

I saw that earlier and thought it was just some arbitrary figure. Surely they're not that much?!?
 
Matt82 said:
im no bmw expert but on visual inspection the main difference is a big M printed on them

at this rate car is not going to be on the road for ages.

i did some googling, im gobsmacked at the torn-bootfloor e46s seem to pick up :eek:
Click to expand...

E36 do suffer the same problem too, and the RTAB pockets tearing out.
I couldn't tell you about the bushes, the M trailing arms have a different camber angle to non-M, not aware of a difference between evo and 3.0 though.

If you run an evo subframe then you will have no choice but to run an evo diff, medium case will not fit. IIRC the e46 M3 diff will fit though and that is 3.64.

Told you not to mess with the bushes ;)
 
the front wishbones are almost a consumable item as in theory the ball joints are not available separately. lemforder items, with a good discount are close to £300 each, i didnt ask BMW for a price.

"but it costs the same as a 1999 Ford Focus, why are the parts so dear?"
 
That is cheap, usually the diff alone costs 300+, that has the whole lot including brakes! I see an X-brace in the background too, does your M3 have one as standard?
 
no, thats for convertables only

i just want to get it in to a nice state and drive it. x brace is a luxury in my eyes at the moment
 
the bottom camber arm bush was such a pain to pull apart (had to rip the core out as bolt was fused inside it) that the bushes really werent in bad nick at all.

ive contacted the ebay fella to see if i can collect tomorrow. wondering why i dont just buy two arms rather than a whole subframe tbh
 
Buy the subframe, take the arms, sell the diff and brakes separately, shoes might buy the subframe off you as he has a diff already. You will make a profit on it that way.
 
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