Control arm/thrust arm/tie rod end

[ahlem]

I am about to change the front ones. The back ones have urethane bushings from the last time I did this ~50K miles ago or more and seem to be in good shape (until I get them off for inspection). I also have new tie rods to install. I recall a very nice write up on the subject but didn't find it. Only a helpful post from 2004. Anyone link me to the write up?

[ahlem]

And while I'm at it, I need to set the front end alignment. The car has H&R springs and Koni adjustables and Kmac plates. Anyone have the alignment specs handy? Maybe set to an e34 M5?
How about the rears?

[632 Regal]

Get a good balljoint splitter and it's pretty straight forward. I also did not find a good write up for you yet...

I do the string method to align the front. 2 times I did that to get it to a shop for a proper alignment and both times it was so close that they didn't touch it.

[ahlem]

I have the Napa scissors type ball joint splitter that works well for this project.
Last time I did the job, someone with lots of seniority linked me to someone's write up on their personal website with photos. I tried searching but came up dry.
I bought two laser pointers on sale and will try making a holding fixture for each side. I figure I can use those to project dots onto surfaces two defined distances forward of the car and measure cross dimensions and diagonals and try to remember sines and cosines to verify the geometry. I used the leaning 10 foot conduit method a couple times before and came out real well. I will have a CAD guy at work draw me a 7.9 degree from plumb line and the +/- tolerance angles and transfer those to a plexiglass sheet to set the caster. I will make another guage to measure the camber. Then I will take it into a shop to have them measure.

[shogun]

http://www.bmwe34.net/
http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/suspension-steering/19196-removing-thrust-arm-ball-joint-2.html#post343136
Johan & Sean's E32 Page (http://bmwe32.masscom.net/)
Gale's Page (http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/page_2.htm)
the alignment specs are in here
BMWTIS -- Repair Information (http://www.bmwtechinfo.com/repair/main/)

tigthening torques, from E34, but same procedure, the alignment specs E32
Vorderachse (http://www.e32-schrauber.de/bmw/s-vorderachse.htm)

[shogun]

BMW E34 5 series Website (http://www.bmwe34.net/)
http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/suspension-steering/19196-removing-thrust-arm-ball-joint-2.html#post343136
Johan & Sean's E32 Page (http://bmwe32.masscom.net/)
Gale's Page (http://www.nmia.com/~dgnrg/page_2.htm)
the alignment specs are in here
BMWTIS -- Repair Information (http://www.bmwtechinfo.com/repair/main/)

tigthening torques from E32, but same procedure for E34, the alignment specs E32
Vorderachse (http://www.e32-schrauber.de/bmw/s-vorderachse.htm)

[632 Regal]

String method: use 1/8" allen wrench to space the front string away from the tire, adjust until string just touches back part of front tire. If done properly will be within spec.

[ahlem]

Update...
I took the left side apart. Everything came off fairly painlessly. I ordered Lemforder control arms, the back ones, from Blunttech. I have a set of urethane bushings installed in the current ones that appear OK pending successful removal. I also have a set of stock ones from the switch to urethane. I plan on painting the lower bracket gizmo that everything attaches to to make it look beautiful. In a couple days my shiny new control arms will show up and all will go back together. The right side will be disasssembled next before the new parts come.

[genphreak]

Wheel alignment specs
http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/5-series-bmw/35982-alignment-specs-525i-vs-m5.html (http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/5-series-bmw/35982-alignment-specs-525i-vs-m5.html)

http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/5-series-bmw/2234-e34-alignment-specs-answer.html

and some old wheel geometry love thrown in for good measure
http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/5-series-bmw/28824-bmw-wheel-tyre-tire-geometry-sizes-explained.html (http://www.bimmernut.com/forum/5-series-bmw/28824-bmw-wheel-tyre-tire-geometry-sizes-explained.html)

[ahlem]

So a little math help for those of us who may have been distracted by that cute girl in Sophomore geometry that day...
1 full circle = 360 degrees
1 degree = 60 minutes
so .5 degrees = 30 minutes
The little double lines that look like quotation marks indicate minutes.
If any of this is incorrect, I'm blaming it on Nyquil and don't tell my wife I can't do math.
A train leaves Cleveland travelling west at 50 mph...

[632 Regal]

Pictures and more pictures! These seem to be lacking as of late on this forum.

[ahlem]

So now I need to toast the lower bracket to get the Upper Control Arm ball joint (that's the back one for all of us who use sensible descriptions) to cut loose. I've tried the pickle fork and the scissors type ball joint tools both with much hammering. Since it's a sunny day, no more snow, and I'm almost over my week-long flu, I should be OK.
I used one-piece Urethane bushings and hope to get them out somehow and re-use them. Anyone ever do that successfully? I may have to drop $80US plus freight and get the purple powerflex. I have a set of stock ones somewhere in the parts stash that are eluding me at the moment but favor the urethane for a number of reasons. I may disect the metal with a cutoff tool and a 1/8" wheel to cut almost all the way through and then break the last little bit to release the bushing.

[genphreak]

I used one-piece Urethane bushings and hope to get them out somehow and re-use them. Anyone ever do that successfully? I may have to drop $80US plus freight and get the purple powerflex. I have a set of stock ones somewhere in the parts stash that are eluding me at the moment but favor the urethane for a number of reasons. I may disect the metal with a cutoff tool and a 1/8" wheel to cut almost all the way through and then break the last little bit to release the bushing.

You could drop the arms into a local shop and ask em to push them out on their press... It's a 5 min job and no chance of damage that way.

[ahlem]

My project was interrupted by a week of the flu and then a 3 day trip to MN. The driver's side is all back together.
I remember seeing something about having the weight of the car on something when you torque down a bolt or two. Was this for e34 or am I thinking e30 front control arms. E30 would make sense.

[Tiger]

All BMW thrust arm needs to be torqued under load. Otherwise you will do the same job in 5000 miles.

[ahlem]

Which end? On the bushing end it's easy to get at the nut and bolt. On the other end, one lock nut faces down making it easy to get at but the other one faces up. The up-facing one may be for the control arm rather than the thrust arm. (Problem with the BMW terminology)

[shogun]

thrust arm = upper arm
BMW E34 Website (http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Maintenance/Suspension/Upper_arm.htm)
lower control arm is this
BMW E34 Website (http://www.bmwe34.net/E34main/Maintenance/Suspension/Lower_arm.htm)
here are the tightening torques, unter Last is German and means under load, that is from E32, but should be same for E34
http://www.e32-schrauber.de/bmw/daten/vorderachse/anzug-lenker-und-streben.jpg
more tightening torques on front

Vorderachse (http://www.e32-schrauber.de/bmw/s-vorderachse.htm)

[632 Regal]

No no no man... the car should have some weight in it before you tighten the arms through bolt. on ramps just throw a bunch of heavy stuff into the drivers front and passenger. It is to tighten the twisting to a normal driving position. Not a big deal but you don't want to tighten them all free in the air.

This is where the oppinion came along. Some shops tighten it all in the air... bushing will fail. other shops put the car weight on the car, that's when you want to tighten it.

[ahlem]

So the left side went back to gether OK with only a little extra manly effort. The right side came apart just a bit easier than the left. I did discover that my right side one piece black urethane bushing was wallowed out. I ordered a new set from Bav auto. Now I get to take the left control arm off enough to try to get the old bushing out and the new multi piece one in. May have to sawzall the old one out. The right side ball joints were way more worn than the left but the left was where the wobble was more apparent.

[ahlem]

More follow up...I made my own bushing tool from a chunk of exhaust pipe, 1/2" threaded rod a couple big washers and nuts and pulled out the old bushing from the driver's side and pressed in the new black powerflex one with the same set up. This might be a bit easier in warm Summer months but by using dish soap and cranking down on the nuts on the threaded rod and then tapping on the bushing with a chunk of 3/8" rod to get the lip to move into the control arm I was successful.
I did a driveway alignment using 1/2" conduit and a digital angle measuring tool from work. I now have -1.7 degrees camber on both sides and will try to reduce that to less than half a degree and then have a real alignment done at a local shop that does race cars and regular cars. Kmac adjusters have been on over 100,000 miles and are a bit harder to adjust at the moment.

[genphreak]

I know this thread is not about non-standard bushings, but you only need to tighten the pivot bolts with the car standing flat (level) ***if*** you are using the BMW type of bushing.

Polyurethane ones rotate around the hollow shaft (that takes the thrust arm bolt) - the shaft and bolt both go through the middle of the bushing.