Rear Spherical Bearings Conversion on Stock Arms

[Redd]

Originally Posted by //steve\\

33326792553 has an OD of 47.3 mm. It is the standard outboard camber arm bearing that is pressed into the bearing carrier.

Referencing this statement above.

If Lemforder 33326792553 is the standard outboard camber arm bearing, then it will have a height of 55mm.

Stock trailing arm rubber bushing has a height of 47mm. Both Meyle 3147100005 and Lemforder 3067901 have a height of 48mm. The Lemforder 33326792553 won't fit.

[ornicar]

Originally Posted by marconi118

What is the model nber of the ball joint in the BimmerWorld Rear Camber Arm Bearing Kit?

Living in Europe i would prefer to buy the spherical joint and build the adapter Bushing needed...

For the front curvy harm is there any ball joint kit?

So, Did you built your own adapter bushning kit?

What is THE P/N of the spherical joint?

Thanks

[//steve\\]

These things are fighting me for sure. I've been having a real hard time getting them cleanly back into the arms without them wanting to go in crooked and really dig in.

Hopefully I can report back some good news in the near future.

[roastbeef]

anyone need some rear toe arms to play with? i have a set for sale.

[//steve\\]

Originally Posted by roastbeef

anyone need some rear toe arms to play with? i have a set for sale.

They may not work, if they are like the solid ends of the other 4 upper rear arms it's not a pressable bushing like the rubber ends.

[roastbeef]

Aah ok, I have no clue.

[Redd]

The rear toe links are already ball joints on both ends.

[//steve\\]

For the upper arms or trailing arm stuff is there a specific side the tool needs to go on to make sure you're pulling square to the bore?

[//steve\\]

UPDATE...

I finally got mine together. I definitely learned a few things that would make this much easier to do a 2nd time.

1. Do not try to articulate the bushings at all.....I had wanted to do this by hand before installing to see how different ones felt (I had some Lemforder and Meyle on hand). Doing this makes them nearly impossible to get back to perfectly "square" which I think is why I had so much trouble getting them to press in without digging in crooked. Lesson learned here. I'm positive that I messed up a few bushings in doing this but that's fine.

2. Freeze the bushings. Applying a little science definitely seems to help.

3. Make sure you clean out the bore of the arm well after removing the old bushings. I took some sandpaper to clean it up moving up from a rougher to finer grit and then used a red scotchbrite pad to get a nice smooth finish afterwards. I lastly hit them with just a dab of metal polish and only went around the surface 2-3 times. Then make sure you clean the parts very well. I used some isopropyl alcohol to get any grease, dirt, etc off.


I'd be curious if my experience would have been different using the Bav Auto tool that most seem to suggest. I had some cheaper Schwaben press kit and there really wasn't a perfect die to act as the press. I ended up buying a 34mm socket that was perfect.

Overall I'm glad this is done. I was expecting the whole process to be pretty straightforward and quite frankly very simple but it was anything but that. Like most stuff, I could do it 5 times faster the next time. I think I have the confidence to tackle the trailing arm bushings now too so I'll get some extras on order for that and do them soon.

I think I mentioned this in a previous post but if you're considering doing this don't feel like you must buy new arms. I understanding wanting to and if it's in your budget great but what I found was that even some higher mileage arms I got cheap had solid ends that still felt great compared to the brand new ones I bought so I ultimately opted not to use the new arms and I'll be returning them. I had two sets of spare arms (one was ~75k miles and the other 100k+ miles) and both had solid ends that still felt 99.9% as good as the brand new. Absolutely no play in them that made me feel like they were worn out.

[Redd]

Yeah when my old arms came out the ball joints were still in excellent shape. Rubber bushes were a bit dry but not even cracked. I wound up cleaning and selling my old upper arms. This M3 was built to take a beating.

[W12x]

Been researching about this as I'm preparing to swap out my current trailing arms...

Thinking about going with the Delphi ones, based on what I have seen before Delphi quality seems to be good overall and Meyle is a hit or miss...

Car245 does list the Lemforder ones in stock but a bit skeptical about that website

[bbnks2]

Originally Posted by //steve\\

UPDATE...I think I mentioned this in a previous post but if you're considering doing this don't feel like you must buy new arms. I understanding wanting to and if it's in your budget great but what I found was that even some higher mileage arms I got cheap had solid ends that still felt great compared to the brand new ones I bought so I ultimately opted not to use the new arms and I'll be returning them. I had two sets of spare arms (one was ~75k miles and the other 100k+ miles) and both had solid ends that still felt 99.9% as good as the brand new. Absolutely no play in them that made me feel like they were worn out.

Yeah I bought a bunch of arms off ebay for <$20 each and all the bushings were fine and maybe even better than aftermarket given how much stiction is in many of the aftermarket bushings. They all seem super tight which defeats the purpose of going spherical if the bushings doesn't move freely without significant load applied to it.

[//steve\\]

I actually haven't installed mine yet and started to lean towards just leaving my car as is. I might end up listing them for sale soon instead of just letting them collect dust.

[W12x]

Originally Posted by //steve\\

I actually haven't installed mine yet and started to lean towards just leaving my car as is. I might end up listing them for sale soon instead of just letting them collect dust.

What bushings/ball joints do you have again? I'm looking into a few options right now

[//steve\\]

My car currently has full SPL arms. I feel it's pretty overkill for my use though (previous owner did it all) and I liked the idea of simplicity with making the stock arms solid.

Also in the interest of trying out different bushings the arms I did solid with arm Lemforder on two arms and Meyle on two others. Initial impression is that quality is pretty equal between the two. Lemforder might be a little tighter out of the box.

[W12x]

Originally Posted by //steve\\

My car currently has full SPL arms. I feel it's pretty overkill for my use though (previous owner did it all) and I liked the idea of simplicity with making the stock arms solid.

Also in the interest of trying out different bushings the arms I did solid with arm Lemforder on two arms and Meyle on two others. Initial impression is that quality is pretty equal between the two. Lemforder might be a little tighter out of the box.

I just got the SPL front toe ends and haven't even put them on yet, got that mostly to work with my Ohlins

A little indecisive on the Lemforder(better quality, more expensive, shipping from overesea), Meyle(lower quality i heard, cheaper, FCP warranty), and the Delphi(heard good things about Delphi in general compared to Meyle, good price).

Interesting to see Lemforder is a little tighter tho

Which ones are you thinking about selling?

[Redd]

Schirmer uses Meyle. Good enough for Schirmer, good enough for me. Lol

There's a car here that runs full Turner arms for street use. The owner complains that the arms don't hold alignment for long cos of the bad roads we have here. He's thinking about going back to stock arms with sphericals since his car is daily driven and not a dedicated track car.

[//steve\\]

Originally Posted by Redd

Schirmer uses Meyle. Good enough for Schirmer, good enough for me. Lol

There's a car here that runs full Turner arms for street use. The owner complains that the arms don't hold alignment for long cos of the bad roads we have here. He's thinking about going back to stock arms with sphericals since his car is daily driven and not a dedicated track car.

It seems like quite a few places are using the Meyle. Also that FCP warranty

My SPL has held alignments rock solid so I can't complain about that but I don't feel like I really need it.

[Redd]

Yeah can't complain about that FCP warranty. Definitely a key decision factor for me when I got the Meyle's.

[Rochen_00]

Hello everyone, I don't think it is of much interest on this side of the pond, but in my country (Spain) I have found some conical washers extremely similar to the ones we need at a very cheap price. I leave it here so you can see it and I would like you to give me your opinion.



All dimensions are in mm

Seeing as how the UK guys use the Mcgillmotorsport ones with no problems, I don't think you'll have a problem with these.

[Redd]

Originally Posted by Rochen_00

Hello everyone, I don't think it is of much interest on this side of the pond, but in my country (Spain) I have found some conical washers extremely similar to the ones we need at a very cheap price. I leave it here so you can see it and I would like you to give me your opinion.



All dimensions are in mm

Seeing as how the UK guys use the Mcgillmotorsport ones with no problems, I don't think you'll have a problem with these.

Good find! Is there a link where people can order these?

[Rochen_00]

Originally Posted by Redd

Good find! Is there a link where people can order these?

Yes, of course

https://www.elesa-ganter.es/es/esp/E...ricas--DIN6319