CONTROL ARMS BUSHES now with video

S

shadow worrior

///Member
Hi all would like to find out on the E46 330d (2003) F/L how many bushes are there for the control arms as i am a little confused now I went to o spares shop 1. they said there are 4, spares shop 2 said there are 2 and the stealers well ya the kit is 2.1k :dropjaw:
I also check on the real oem site problem is what the heck am i looking for :)
My car is woberly and shakes at 140 / 160 badly when i go over bumps there is a rattle under the car like something is loose from what i have read in previous posts it could be the control arm bushes :shocked: im hoping, please correct me if im wrong, oh and the cornering is also woberly like the shocks are worn but the were check and are fine.
1 would like to apologize in advance if this have been posted before
 
ASH M

ASH M

Active member
Hi, i won't be able to help you with the number of bushes your car takes but i can say that the bushes are defiantly worn out.

I had the same problem a few years back when i had my E46 M3 , since it was an SMG the gearbox put a lot of load on the rear suspension as well as the diff when driving spiritedly :). Had it take to BMW because i didn't know what the problem was, all i knew that with the traction control on it snaked through the gears and got very bad when changing up from like 200+ where the should start to twitch, scary stuff. BMW say it's a common fault with these cars.

Knowing how much of torque the 330d has the bushes are defiantly shot. Phone BMW and find out from the parts guys how many bushes the car takes, then try and source polyurethane bushes which are a bit more expensive but last much longer than the normal ones.

If all else fails give RG Motorsport a call, i know that they had these bushes from way back.

Hope you find this helpful.
 
M

MikeBMW

New member
It would be number 7 on this diagram.
B0031672.png


Part number:
7 31126783376 SET: OF BRACKETS WITH RUBBER MOUNTING - D=66MM (07/99 to 02/01) 2.96 1
-- 31106757145 CIRCLIP (07/99 to 02/01) 0.02 2 $6.28
07 31126783375 SET: OF BRACKETS WITH RUBBER MOUNTING - D=66MM (to 07/99) 2.96 1
-- 31106757145 CIRCLIP (to 07/99) 0.02 2 $6.28
07 31126783376 SET: OF BRACKETS WITH RUBBER MOUNTING - D=66MM (to 07/99) 2.96 1

One of those 3. You will need to clarify with the dealer.
 
msm

msm

Well-known member
If you're up in Gauteng, chat to Gizmo. He can get some good quality aftermarket ones at decent prices - he did mine a couple of months ago.
 
S

shadow worrior

///Member
mmm thanx guys maybe if worth my while ill take a drive up to jhb my uncle is always saying we must come visit, :clap:

from what i can see there is only one on each side so I,LL NEED 2 :thinking: if that the case the spare shop quoted me R350 each better than 2.1k
 
N

Nelson

New member
Hi guys.
Had the same problems like that myself on the csl. At speeds, anywhere from 150km upwards. I must say that it wasn't that noticeable when we drove it but when they were replace it felt like 2 different cars in the corners. So it really does make a big deference in handling
 
S

Stallion

New member
I might have the same problem.Couldnt figure out what the noise was when going over a hump etc. Feels like something is loose on my F/R. Can it also be my control arm? Is it hard to replace new bushes?
 
S

shadow worrior

///Member
stallion does it sound like the brake caliper is loose like mine does ,
Please anyone correct me if im wrong but this is what i did took off the f/r tyre you can see all the goddies suspention and stuffs take a look at the above diagram so you know what you looking at the bush ( if peering in from the tyre side the back of the car is on the left and front is on the right ) you can se a little rubber thingy (no 7 in the pic ) to your left right near the body, move the arm and you can see the play on it and might even hear the same sound but softer,
 
S

shadow worrior

///Member
just found out from a mate it only take 2 ( one on each side) lolly pop bushes like the one in above diagram no 7 and is a 20min diy job jack the car up knock out the bush with a hammer put in new ones and hey job done, :clap: :thumb:
 
StK

StK

New member
shadow worrior said:
just found out from a mate it only take 2 ( one on each side) lolly pop bushes like the one in above diagram no 7 and is a 20min diy job jack the car up knock out the bush with a hammer put in new ones and hey job done, :clap: :thumb:
Click to expand...

KNock the lollypop off then drill the rubber part of the bush out and hammer and screwdriver to get the metal sleeve out and then if you fitting powerflex bushes it just pushes in by hand,The first one you do will take longer but once you've figured out the one side the other side goes a hell of a lot quicker :thumbsup: If you fitting OE bushes then it takes longer as you will need to press the bushes in...Which you can do if you have a vice and work carefully :thumb:
 
Legacy

Legacy

///Member
If some of you still haven't figured out how many there are it basically works like this on the E46:

Bushes.jpg
 
StK

StK

New member
Legacy said:
If some of you still haven't figured out how many there are it basically works like this on the E46:

Bushes.jpg
Click to expand...

Part No1 is the control arm bushes(prone to wear)
Part No2 is the anti-roll bar bushes
Part No3 is the rear trailing arm bushes(prone to wear)
Part No4 is rear anti-roll bar bushes
and part No10 are the subfromae mounting bushes :thumbsup:

If part No3 is worn then the it'll be twitchy when going over bumps and feel like the back end is loose,also when pulling off you may experience knocking and movement...these are prone to wear and well worth replacing with powerflex or polyurethane bushes-much better than OEM there

If part No2 are worn then you can experience vibration at speed,rubbing when turning the wheel,odd sensation when brakeing,knocking...Opinion is varied on whether to replace these with OEM or with powerflex...many say that powerflex don't work as well on the control arms as OEM ones however I have not had a problem with powerflex...also powerflex are stiffer so you get a more direct feel when steering

Its also a good idea to replace the anti-roll bar bushes with powerflex-I did and the difference is amazing-well impressed.The car is now totally planted on the road-feels like driving on rails :)

Its not really neccessary to replace the subframe mounting bushes...I am only doing so because I am replacing my rear axle.
 
S

shadow worrior

///Member
gee wizzy so many bushes ... i am off to se george :clap:

Thanx guys I will print these out and frame them really like it, its like diy for dummies lol

STK PLEASE dont forget to find out the prices for me
 
StK

StK

New member
shadow worrior said:
STK PLEASE dont forget to find out the prices for me
Click to expand...

Its as I said yesterday they're £30 from ECP and then around £12-18 to ship them out-might even be cheaper shipping cause they're not that heavy but will only find out if I get them to weigh exactly how much they are-also you need to measure your old ones before getting them-I believe they're 66mm same as mine but they could be 60mm
 
netercol

netercol

New member
just some fyi from my own experience, i would sugest replacing the anti rollbar bushes (number 2) with oem rather, i replaced mine with powerflex ones, and twice had to replace broken shackles (the ones holding the bush, they are made from aluminium)

the powerflex bushes seem to carry much more force over to the aluminium shackle, which does nor seem up to the task..

:dunno:
 
S

shadow worrior

///Member
thnx netercol will do that as seen we have the same car :clap:
did you replace the control arm bushes as well and did you use the pwerflex bushes and if so how did the work
 
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