I recently took my lady (00' 328CI) to an independent shop for her service II inspection, and among the normal stuff that needed to be replaced, my mechanic told me I would need new front lower control arms and bushings. My confusion is because I just replaced my bushings a little over a year ago and have only put 15000 miles on since then and I know I had the front right control arm replaced back in 05. My question is 1. Why if at all would the bushings need to be replaced so soon and 2. what is the reccomended life cycle of control arms? Any information would be appreciated. Zach
How many miles are on the car? 15,000 miles seems like a short lifespan for control arm bushings but if they were replaced with inferior parts then it is possible they are bad. Same goes for the control arm, cheap parts = short life. Is your mechanic recommending both control arms be replaced because both are bad or is it because he will be "in there anyway"? Make sure to use either OE BMW parts or aftermarket Lemforder parts. Lemforder is the manufacturer of the OE BMW pieces. Matt
Actually what you want are the... Mehle control arms w/ solid metal ball joints. Look into it here: http://www.bavauto.com/ On the 3 series 99 on, worn ball joints are problematic. The OE ball joints use a nylon insert that fails prematurely, causing shimmying and poor handling. And because the OE ball joints are an integral piece of the OE control arm, you cannot simply replace the ball joint, you have to replace the entire control arm assembly. Our reinforced aluminum control arm upgrade is not only lighter and stronger than stock, it has replaceable ball joints. Plus, our ball joints use an all-metal insert that performs better and last longer than the OE part. You win twice!
Matt, Sorry about the late reply. I have 90,000 miles on my car. I talked to my mechanic and he said the control arm replacement was do to my ball joints being in horrible shape. he was supprised they hadn't popped out yet. Also, he said he was going to use all OE parts. I wanted to upgrade a little (urethane bushings and such) while he was in there but ran out of cash. Lastly, is there a difference between a the bushings and lower control arm mount? dumb question probably but oh well. Zach
290064 Thanks for the info and link, I appreciate it!, however I would have done this if I knew my ball joints were so out of shape, and knew I would have to replace the control arms. But given the facts that I didn't know and therefore didn't reasearch replacements I just had him use OE parts so I could get my car back as soon as possible. I am driving a buddy's evo 8 right now and while the excelaration is somewhat fun, it's just not my BMW
How does the Bavarian Meyle control arm compare to the ZHP control arm, especially if I'm going to use in a track e46???
Control Arm on E46 Just subscribed to this thread. I too have have numerous problems with control arms and bushings, all caused by hitting pot holes. My independent BMW mechanic told me that all control arms and bushings should be replaced on both sides at the same time. He said this also applies to ball joints as well. Has to do with the dynamics of the BMW suspension. Hope you get her fixed for more than just 15,000 miles.
