Our project for today is going to be replacing the control arm bushings on this E46. We're also going to inspect the ball joints to get the car ready for an alignment.
Okay, project we're doing now is we're actually replacing the control arm bushings on an E46. Now what we have here -- this is the actual bushings and this is the amount of play that you have with these things, when they are totally worn out.
Okay, what we're going to replace is just the bushing component that's inside the bracket. On the other control arm over here, we've already removed the outer bracket. This is the outer piece of the bushing with the bracket, we've just torn it off.
Now what we're going to do is we're going to use an impact gun and what we're going to do is use the puller to just pull the remaining component off of here. Okay, that's all it takes.
Now what we've got here -- we basically have the inner component that gets pressed on to the control arm, and this is the piece that we've actually removed. This has been torn off of here.
Now what we're going to do to get this one ready is we're going to tear this unit off just by hand because it's already worn out, so we can get it to the point where we can pull the inner sleeve off. Now as easy as that pulled off, that give me an indication already that this control arm bushing was totally worn out. If you already -- if you look in there, you're going to see some rust inside the unit and that rust is an indication that water has been in there and it's been driven like that for probably up to 6-8 months.
Okay, here we are at the table and here is the bushing that we've replaced or removed. Here is what it looks like outside of the bracket. Here is the inner component once again, that can actually fit inside there at some point and here we have the other side of the bracket already with the new urethane bushing pressed in.
Now the way the urethane bushings work is they have an outer housing that presses into the bracket and then there is an inner pivot sleeve that goes inside. The pivot sleeve presses eventually on to the control arm, it's got a hex drive on the end to match the control arm, it fits on to the back of the control arm and then the component presses inside the bushing like that, and it will totally bottom out when it's seated correctly.
This is a much stiffer bushing obviously. It doesn't have that flex. It doesn't have these hollow voids as the factory unit does. The factory unit typically only has a few little contact pieces right there and once they rip out, that's where you get all that movement in your wheels, this thing is a solid piece. It's a performance oriented piece, but works very well as in a replacement part.
As a replacement part, it will probably never wear out, you'll never get that motion that you had before, and it's an excellent alternative to the factory. It's actually a pretty good upgrade. And it doesn't deteriorate ride that much. It's a little firmer ride but hardly noticeable to the average driver.
Okay, here we are at the control arm with our new bushing already pressed into the bracket. Basically, it's just going to slip right over the end of the bracket, you tap it. It seeds itself, and now what it's going to do is go over and mount on to the control arm bushing on the frame rail. So that will be the mounting position on the vehicle. You put your two bolts back in here and you're ready to go.
Okay, here we have the project complete. We've installed the new control arm bushings, and we're getting the car ready for an alignment. Now keep in mind an alignment can only be done properly if all the ball joints, pivot points, anywhere in components in the front end need to be in good condition. If there is any player where the alignment won't be worth doing.
The items that you want to look at on the control arm, there is an outer ball joint, there is an inner ball joint. If either of these are worn out, you'll need to replace the control arm. To test these things, if they are slight play, if you take a pair of channel locks or large pliers, and compress the ball joint against the actual lock nut, what you're going to see if there is any movement at all, that ball joint has worn out.
If you can get any movement on the wheel with the wheel mounted, if the wheel moves in and out and that ball joint moves, you can hold your finger against it. You'll also want to check to see if dust boots are torn. Dust boots are a perfect indication of a worn out lower ball joint. Water gets in there and they'll deteriorate very quickly.
Tie rods, that's a very common overlooked piece. Everyone looks at the outer ball joint of the tie rod. Yes, when those things have wear, you cannot align the car correctly, you need to replace that. But a common item that needs to be looked at is the inner ball joint of the tie rod, that's underneath the dust boot. If you get any kind of movement, this is where you want to wiggle the wheel in and out. You'll have to lift the car and move it pretty aggressively.
This ball joint right here wears out, that's inside the dust boot.
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