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In Reply to: Re: control arm bushing posted by Barry on September 23, 2000 at 22:09:49:
I have taken the driver's side control arm off of my 86 E30 due to a bad outer ball joint and I have a OM replacement. I would like to reuse the bushing if possible as it looks serviceable. Is it possible to get the bushing off of the old control arm without damaging it? Any advice is welcome as I am a novice with this stuff.
Also, my next project is the driver's side rear wheel bushing. The passenger side of this car had all suspension parts replaced due to an accident. Thanks for any information.
Yes, you can reuse the control arm bushing if it's still good and you don't damage it trying to take it off! Try lubricating the shaft and knocking the arm out with the bushing in a vice. Be gentle.
The control arm and bushing are critical to your front end! If they fail you lose steering and braking ability. Don't skimp on the bushings they're only $45 a set for stock ones! A crashed car costs alot more. Also, given our experience with E30's I'd be surprised if the other control arm was any good, or the tie rods for that matter. If you properly want to check the inner and outer ball joints, jack up the car and compress the the joint using a large set of pliers. If the joint moves at all it's worn out and unsafe. You can check the tie rods the same way. If you can feel looseness in your front end by simply grabbing hold of the tire your wheels are bout to fall off!
Good Luck!
Mike
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