e46 suspension refresh...WWYD?

[VaSteve]

I have a 2004 325xi with 120k on it. Bought new... but is a "second car" now...worth virtually nothing and we like it so not really planning to sell.

I upgraded the shocks and springs to sportier at 70k. Rear shocks blew a gasket last winter so they are virtually new.

Probably been gradual but after driving a brand new car, I'm noticing the slop in the suspension. Even when rolling it out of the driveway. Probably just all the bushings and such need replacing.

What would you do? What parts to replace? I'm sure sport aftermarket is cheaper than OEM.... thoughts?

[LPM911]

Oem control arm bushings (lollipops) are terrible. I believe they are oil filled. The OEM e46 m3 ones are all rubber and I think will work. Alternately, just put some polyurethane ones on the wagon and just took a 2 hour road trip and the wiggly steering/handling feel was much improved.

I think I need to understand what you mean by suspension slop. Too much roll? Bouncy?

[cmartin]

I havent worked on an ix but for a 2wd you can replace most of the bushings (ball joints, control arms.... ) for pretty cheap. Stick it on the lift and start with a pry bar looking for slop. If it were me I would skip the spending upgrades and go aftermarket/stock decent quality and be done for another ~50k miles.

[HughA44s]

I have a set of OEM front control arm bushings I have never used. I went with the ones with the poly inserts. Be glad to donate them to you to keep the world safe. Let me know if you want them. By the way, they are for a 330i so you would have to check if they work.

[VaSteve]

I think I need to understand what you mean by suspension slop. Too much roll? Bouncy?

Neither really. It's just that I can tell it's not as tight as it was when new. Especially when I drive a brand new car back to back. You can feel the slop in the steering at low speed like whne pulling out the garage or driveway, at speed it's less noticeable.

Hughs...I will check on it, thanks for the offer.

[Dr K]

I hope there isn't as much slop as you had on your '44 a couple of years ago (I still have that video I took at ASG somewhere...).

[VaSteve]

I hope there isn't as much slop as you had on your '44 a couple of years ago (I still have that video I took at ASG somewhere...).

That really wasn't noticiable until you were looking for it. I only found it when inspecting for something else.

[Lupin..the..3rd]

I upgraded the shocks and springs to sportier at 70k. Rear shocks blew a gasket last winter so they are virtually new.

Probably been gradual but after driving a brand new car, I'm noticing the slop in the suspension. Even when rolling it out of the driveway. Probably just all the bushings and such need replacing.

When I did my suspension refresh, I replaced just about everything that contains rubber. Strut mounts, control arm bushings, ball joints, tie rods, sway bar end links, etc. Feels crispy tight now.

For the control arms, I found it easier to replace the entire arm with a new one that already had ball joints pressed in. As a WYIT upgrade, I used the 330i ZHP control arms instead of the 325i parts. The 330i ZHP arms supposedly have all-metal ball joints, while the 325i arms use plastic cups for the ball joints.

Shocks/struts I replaced with Bilstein HD.

Everything else was stock replacement. I tried to use Genuine BMW or Lemforder for everything. Avoid Meyle, they are lower priced by quite a bit, but the quality isn't there.

Complete front suspension refresh on these cars is surprisingly easy, I did it on a weekday evening after I got home from work. Took about 5 hours start to finish in the driveway, on jackstands. I'm sure its a lot easier on a scissor lift.

Edit: This is for RWD. Not sure how the AWD ix compares, in terms of level of effort, I'd imagine it's a bit more involved.

[VaSteve]

George....aside from the shocks...what'd it cost you?

[Lupin..the..3rd]

Not including shocks, I want to say it was around $700ish for the rest? The 330i ZHP control arms are the spendy item, I think they were $220 each.

Just remembered there were two other little upgrades I did - reinforcement plates for the front and rear shock towers. These:

http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-3440-e36-e46-rear-shock-tower-mount-reinforcement-kit.aspx
http://www.turnermotorsport.com/p-323-e46-strut-tower-reinforcement-plates-pair.aspx

Not sure how necessary they are for a non-track car, but they're inexpensive, and with the firmer Bilstein HD shocks, I figured they certainly couldn't hurt.

[cmartin]

Avoid Meyle

Just curious what issues you experienced. I've put a few sets on e36's, cant speak to the e46 variant, and have had no issues with 50k+ miles. My thinking is they are so cheap even if they only last 2-3 years you are still way ahead.

Moog, beck arnly, febi all make arms for ~$100, hard to pass up in my book. Ultrapower for ~$65, now that is cheap.

[VaSteve]

Car is in for a recall on the airbags. I had them look it over and they found $2900 worth of stuff it needed: CV boot, oil separator leak, water pump, vanos supply line. Jeez.

[Lupin..the..3rd]

Just curious what issues you experienced. I've put a few sets on e36's, cant speak to the e46 variant, and have had no issues with 50k+ miles. My thinking is they are so cheap even if they only last 2-3 years you are still way ahead.

That's it exactly, the original BMW parts last 10 years. Meyle replacements you're lucky to get 18 months. IMO I'm happy to pay the few extra bucks to not have to mess with it again anytime soon.

Car is in for a recall on the airbags. I had them look it over and they found $2900 worth of stuff it needed: CV boot, oil separator leak, water pump, vanos supply line. Jeez.

Oil separator, water pump, and vanos line are all quickie DIYs. Remove the oil filter housing and all 3 become real easy to access. Popular upgrade is to install the "cold weather" oil separator, supposedly it doesn't clog as much as the original one.

[VaSteve]

All that underhood stuff doesn't scare me. The BMW forums make it out like its the hardest project in the world. They don't have a 944.

[HughA44s]

WOW didn't know I saved $2500 by doing that stuff myself. And yes these cars are far easier to work on than a 944 of any version. Did all this stuff a few months back. As I remember, the CCV (oil separator) upgraded part is $70 and the vanos oil was $100. My car had about the same mileage as yours. Metal impeller water pumps are $50 bucks. As reco'd above replace the oil filter housing gasket ($10) also. There is a good discussion of that on this forum. As for the air bag fix - Who are you having that done by? I need to do that. Also, I don

[VaSteve]

They mentioned the DISA valve which is like $400. Said it "often breaks" when fixing the other things. I'm wondering if I should wait and see if I manage to break it when doing this work.

I got the airbag recall notice in September and called Fairfax BMW. I bought it in Sterling, but they are closest. It took until March to get in the part. They did the taillight recall too.

[cmartin]

Half your stated price for the street price. They have to pay for loaner cars and coffee somehow.

[HughA44s]

I got a similar notice but have not had the work done yet. DISAs can be a problem but I think (based on my experience) you will start to get P0170 and P0174 codes when this thing starts to get flaky. Again, these are a 100k item. Be careful with these when you remove them - There is a pin on the bottom (of the flapper valve) of these that can fallout when you remove them from the housing and can fall into the intake housing - This is obviously a problem. If the pin is missing MAKE SURE YOU FIND IT. DISAs are more along the lines of $250. Also I found that the mating surface (Where it interfaces with the intake manifold) warped from heat so I applied a bit of RTV to seal it up. Also. if your in this area the the two intake boots get old and crack (Again P0170 and P0174 codes) - something like $40 for parts.

[Lupin..the..3rd]

They mentioned the DISA valve which is like $400. Said it "often breaks" when fixing the other things. I'm wondering if I should wait and see if I manage to break it when doing this work.

For the DISA, I went with the repair kit from these guys. I didn't yet have any indications of failure, but with 110k miles, it seemed like a prudent thing to do. The parts in this kit are really well made, they're impressive to look at. And it's a heck of a lot cheaper than a new replacement DISA:

http://germanautosolutions.com/bmw_solutions/disa_products/m54_m52tu/m54_disa_repair_kit/product_m54_disa_repair_kit.php

[VaSteve]

Half your stated price for the street price. They have to pay for loaner cars and coffee somehow.


They washed and I got a free bag of chips and a water while I waited.

The best was while I was waiting with my receipt that had a "treatment plan" of stuff I wasn't having them do and "N/C" where the total was, I was listening to some yuppy next to me bitch and wail about how an alignment wasn't covered as "routine maintenance" on the service plan. And how one other time he needed a bulb changed (!!!!) and they wouldn't do the free oil service because the computer said "not yet".

[VaSteve]

For the DISA, I went with the repair kit from these guys. I didn't yet have any indications of failure, but with 110k miles, it seemed like a prudent thing to do. The parts in this kit are really well made, they're impressive to look at. And it's a heck of a lot cheaper than a new replacement DISA:

http://germanautosolutions.com/bmw_solutions/disa_products/m54_m52tu/m54_disa_repair_kit/product_m54_disa_repair_kit.php


Good find.

[HughA44s]

George,

Thanks a bunch for that - I may buy a couple sets and keep one in my spare parts box.

[cmartin]

Good luck. Nothing wrong will paying the dealer for service, assuming they do what they say. I still do an occastional side job and have yet to have a problem with decent quality aftermarket parts. To me its splitting hairs to pick between the $187 and $250 disa; get them in your hand and see which you prefer. Paying $400 for the same part doesnt make sense to me though.

Same goes for control arms, ball joints... you name it. I put the 'cheap crap' in my old e36 and it was great. Ususally the cheap parts are clearly identifiable when you get your hands on them, spend a few minutes investigating to save some $$ or just buy the 'nicer' stuff and you are still ahead of the game.

[VaSteve]

I did a full coolant system refresh (except WP) on the car last fall (2013) I used the aftermarket hoses. One of them failed this winter where the inner flange just cracked off. Once before, I had after market hoses that had to have a casting mark (or worse design flaw) dremelled off to allow the clamp to fit. My mileage varies on this stuff.

[HughA44s]

I am due for a coolant system redo on my car and since I track it, I am investigating some upgraded coolant hoses (seen some recos on these) and water pump.