they will make a difference... it'll be noticeable for sure. funny thing here isa buddy of mine brought over a new to him (2000) bmw 540i to do show & tell... and to fix a sway bar bracket that was broke. now were talking bmw here so the dealer figures he can make some easy bux of a new bmw owner... they wanted 170 bux to do the install... so he asked me to help install it... took us about 15 mintues... most of that was getting the right tools. we took it out for a spin and with his blessing... on ramp @ 95 & peaked @ 128ish before hitting traffic. sweet.

anyways, you should definately feel the difference. when I did the control arm bushings, it made the front end feel like new and really locked down the front axle. well worth the pain of the install. yeah it was a beotch to do but well worth it.

 

Ya, I should probably do the control arm bushings too, but they do look like they would be a pain.

 

Drove it this morning, and can't really say it made a noticable difference, but this was only the sway bar bushings. I'm sure control arm bushings would be more noticable. Regardless, they needed to be replaced.

Oh, and Shott, add these to your master nut/bolt list if they are not already in there:
-Sway bar bushing clamp to frame bolt: 5/8, torque to 46ft lb
-Sway bar link upper nut: 5/8, torque to 27ft lb.

 

Is there a writeup anywhere on the control arm bushing repair, I know that mine definately need it, what spooks me about it is the getting everything aligned back up right.

 

Ya, I figure when I do my control arm bushings, I will just take it over to the tire store for a full alignment, just to make sure it's straight. I would rather spend the $45 on an alignment then to chew up my tires. I've never seen a write up on it though, other then whats in the service manual and Chiltons/Haynes.

 

when I did it I made my own press... cost about $10 bux from home depot. there really isnt much to it, 2 bolts and a prybar and the arm is out. cut out the old bushing (save the shells they are reused) and push in the new bushing.. the new ones are a split design so put them in is a 2 second job... putting the arm back in however can be a bear... lots of patients is needed.

 

What did you use the press for. To get the metal inserts out?I guess I just don't understand the alignment part during the re-install, probably will understand alot better once its apart.

 

to yank the arms out you loose the alignment.. your best bet is to mark the adjuster cams before you pull it apart so it goes back close to what it was.

I used the press to get the bushings out of the sleeve (sleeve stayed with the arm) as clean as possible. I ended up using a pvc union that was just a tad bit smaller than the sleeve. worked great but was difficult to do. if you have a press it would be much easier. one thing you can do is drill out the bushing all the way around, then push it out with the press. I did that and it helps some but its still a bitch of a job.

 

I think no matter how close you get back to your original marks, your still going to need an alignment. The new bushings alone will probably change the control arm alignment enough to warrant it anyway (escpecially if the old bushings were very bad).

 

definatly, I wasnt indicating to bypass the alignment... what I ment was to get you close to what you had so your at least not having to fight it much. the last thing you'd want is to have a hard pull one way or the other. that would suck.

I would definately get an alignment once its done.