Problem with 535i Thrust Arm Replacement

[hlenoble]

I read carefully (& printed as a reference) the procedure for replacing the thrust arms. I was able to remove the arm using the pickle fork as recommended, but I am having trouble getting the new arm installed.

On the ball joint (wheel) side, the bolt has an unthreaded "shoulder," which I have not been able to get through the mounting hole. The threads on the bolt do not protrude enough to use the nut to pull the bolt through. Would a pitman arm puller work in reverse to press the bolt through? Any tips, hints and suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance.

- Hal

[632 Regal]

smack the bottom of the new arm under the joint to seat the shank of the deal, it should line up enough to torque it down just isnt in the lined up position yet. No biggie smack it!

[hlenoble]

smack the bottom of the new arm under the joint to seat the shank of the deal, it should line up enough to torque it down just isnt in the lined up position yet. No biggie smack it!

I tried that, but it didn't seem to budge. Maybe I need a bigger hammer... What about the pitman tool?

[1992 BMW 535i]

Question, I'm a new BMW enthusiast, with most of my experience with classic Jags and Porsches. I have the same problem that most of you seem to be having, wheel shake when applying the break at around 70 MPH. Someone here said that I should replace the Thrust Arm bushing/Arm but I have no idea what is. Do you mean Control Arm?

[winfred]

are you sure that you are not trying to put it in the wrong way? the hole is tapered and the joint comes in from the top on the thrust arm

[AllanS]

Or perhaps the pickle fork scarred the top surface, preventing the pin from fitting back in?

I just did the thrust arms 2 days ago and the pin on the ball joint fits in extremely easily.

[MBXB]

Question, I'm a new BMW enthusiast, with most of my experience with classic Jags and Porsches. I have the same problem that most of you seem to be having, wheel shake when applying the break at around 70 MPH. Someone here said that I should replace the Thrust Arm bushing/Arm but I have no idea what is. Do you mean Control Arm?

[632 Regal]

thrust arm and control arm are different...anyways did you try to put load on the arm to press it far enough to get it threaded? You know that makes me think here, did you already torque the thrust arm down? If so the position is WAY off if you have to press the taper in, it should be hard to get the knuckle ontop of the tapered deal. Thats why I initially recommended a hammer smack.

[MBXB]

Jeff, In Bruno's site, he calls them the same thing.

"On the BMW E34, E28 and E32, upper control arms, also called thrust arms are attached to the subframe through bushings and to the steering arms by ball joints. The bushings are well known for failure because they take most of the load in the front end under braking and may cause the car to shimmy if worn.Shaking of the front end is often cause by worn thrust arm bushings."

[Triton540i]

The threads of the new thrust arm's ball joint should protrude through the mounting hole. When you have enough threads showing, take one of the old nuts and turn it upside down and place it on the ground. Take a torch to the nut and melt the plastic out of the nut. You can then place that nut on the new ball joint shaft and tighten it down a bit until it seats the new ball joint into place. You will then want to remove the nut and replace it with the new nut. The reason you do this is because otherwise the plastic/nylon in the new nut will grab the shaft of the ball joint and cause it to spin instead of seating like it should. Remember to tighten you're bolts under sprung load (on ramps) to make sure you get the proper torque settings. I hope this answered you're question.
-Eric
technobmw.com