thrust arm bushing gone under 10k miles..........

[tim s]

my dreaded 55-60 shake has gotten much worse in the past month with a new clunk noise & now it is starting to feel like a safty hazard.
what else should i replace? something must be eating these up.
i only got about 1,000mi. out of the set on the car when i purchased it, so i installed a set of 750i bushings & had gotten about 15k even though i did not torque under load & this set (m5 lemforder) did not last 10k with being torqued under load.
i am planning on replacing everything wearable in the spring time, but i do not know if i can stand waiting that long.
thanks
tim s.

[winfred]

in about 4 years of installing m5 bushings i've yet to have a set crap out and come back to my shop, i have 46k miles on my set and short of track driving i am about as hard as you could be on them on the street, the closest i get to a **** up is on a road trip after i put a couple hundred miles on it or so without using the brakes they get pretty cool and i get a wobble or two when i finally use them and then it's gone, the main things i go after when squashing the shimmy is of corse replace any loose/worn/sloppy components first, then m5 bushings, new brake rotors (if it shimmeys under braking) strut inserts, things to pay attention to are, the idler arm, if you can move it up/down it needs a new bushing, the center link aka center tierod, if you can twist it or get any other play in the joints it's toast, loose steering box can screw with it a little too, sometimes you can adjust it but i find usually the later boxes the wear is in the bottom of the box and it's screwed, odditys i've come across, loose pittman arm and bad rag joint on the steering shaft. this may or may not be useful to you in your quest so good luck

[tim s]

the last time i replaced my bushings i also replaced the center link & idler arm.
the steering box arm felt tight & we adjusted the screw on the box to tighten the on center feel. most of the shimmy is at 55-60, but i do get a shimmy under braking every so often. i do not feel the shimmy in the steering wheel that much, it is mostly felt through the floor & seats.
could my tired struts inserts be tearing up the bushings prematurely?
could my control arms be causing some of this?
thanks
tim s.

[632 Regal]

any play will cause the same symptom as worn thrust arm bushings and if you have struts that are bad those will also cause that...but if their worn that will accellerate bushing wear.

[Jon K]

My 750 bushings went in about 20k miles too, torqued properly.

[winfred]

id need to drive the car to say for sure but it's possible you have a warped rear rotor with a braking shimmy in the seats.
the struts would be need to be totally dead to kill the bushings, it'd be like the car from the movie uncle buck (seen quite a few that bad)

but i do get a shimmy under braking every so often. i do not feel the shimmy in the steering wheel that much, it is mostly felt through the floor & seats.
could my tired struts inserts be tearing up the bushings prematurely?
could my control arms be causing some of this?
thanks
tim s.

[tim s]

they could be wearing out quickly due to a combination of old struts, springs, & control arms bushings. i did not replace the control arm bushings since i have alum. arms. this sucks because i will not have the cash to replace everything till february.
i am planning on new factory springs, but still debating on the 3mm thinner spring pads, (i need the near factory heigth for bad weather driving), bilstein hd struts & shocks, new lemforder alum. control arms, new lemforder thrust arms, m5 thrust arm bushings again, tie-rods, sway bar links, rear sub-frame bushings, dog bones, & a set of heavier sway bars.
as far as i can tell the struts & springs are original.
i am open to suggestions for what sway bar set to purchase.
i hope to eliminate some of the cars body role.
thanks
tim s.

[Jon K]

they could be wearing out quickly due to a combination of old struts, springs, & control arms bushings. i did not replace the control arm bushings since i have alum. arms. this sucks because i will not have the cash to replace everything till february.
i am planning on new factory springs, but still debating on the 3mm thinner spring pads, (i need the near factory heigth for bad weather driving), bilstein hd struts & shocks, new lemforder alum. control arms, new lemforder thrust arms, m5 thrust arm bushings again, tie-rods, sway bar links, rear sub-frame bushings, dog bones, & a set of heavier sway bars.
as far as i can tell the struts & springs are original.
i am open to suggestions for what sway bar set to purchase.
i hope to eliminate some of the cars body role.
thanks
tim s.

For what its worth, mine failed, all my suspension is brand new... arms, struts, springs, spring pads, bushings, tie rod ends, etc. They still failed.

All E34's have aluminum control arms from factory. DON'T BUY NEW ALUMINUM ARMS. Get the steel ones. They add some heft into the steering it seems and they're cheaper and stronger. You are not saving much weight by using aluminum arms.

[bimmerd00d]

large wheels kill the bushings. I swapped to 16" 225/55 tires and rims from 17", and the bushings lasted 80k, vs 20k with 17" 235/45

[tim s]

large wheels kill the bushings. I swapped to 16" 225/55 tires and rims from 17", and the bushings lasted 80k, vs 20k with 17" 235/45

tim s.