Rear bush replacement - advice please

    I managed to get hold of some OEM rear bushes at a very good price.
    They are the inboard bush for the lower arm (which has the spring seat) and the two bushes that fit into the hub carrier - six bushes will do both sides.
    (The inner top link bushes have been done, as have the large trailing arm bushes).

    For a guide I asked my local BMW dealer what they'd charge to fit these bushes (as I assume they'll have all the special tools to save time).
    They quoted £472 inc VAT labour to do both sides, but excluding retracking. Given their eyewatering hourly rate that equates to about 2hrs per side......

    I've no idea how reasonable this is - comments?

    Does anyone know if the hub carrier bushes can be done with the drive shafts still attached and semi-in-situ if I make up a couple of "special tools" similar to the BMW ones?

    If not, does anyone know how much the hub needs disassembling to use a normal press for these bushes?

    the tricky part on the wheel carrier is the emergency brake cables. Normally they are badly corroded into the carrier and you need to cut them and then drill out the rest. On my car also one drive shaft refused to come out while the other side was super easy.
    Since i did a complete rear axle overhaul I disassembled everything and can't say it the wheel carrier bearings can be replaced while the unit is still in place.

    Here is a recent and very nice writeup of a DIY.


    Last rear axle we did cost us a total of 10 hrs (complete swap - disassembly, assembly) times 2-3 people. Admittedly we did it for the fun of it and not to make money or win a race.


    Hence I´d say 2 hrs per side is very reasonable. Not sure whether this can in fact be achieved by untrained personnel (read as: BMW workshop).


    BMW lists 2 AW (1 AW = 5 min) for each ball joint - sum 12 AW = 1 hr
    Removal and installation of both lower arms = 16 AW
    Removal/installation of both hub carriers = 47 AW
    All added this comes towards 75AW which is 6 hrs+


    As one can see in the topic linked to above this can be done without too much of a proper workshop, but rest assured that it is nowhere near fun doing it this way.


    Cheers
    Reinhard

    Zitat von huldra66;98797

    Anyone seeing the pix here? Im not seeing them at all:hmmmm:

    After just finishing the Front the plan for next winter is the rear end
    Number 16 in the drawing seemed a bit worn when I looked at it.

    Terje



    The first word in the the first line of Reinhard Posts:laugh:
    Too much sun o heat:help:

    Zitat von Pelle;98801

    The first word in the the first line of Reinhard Posts:laugh:
    Too much sun o heat:help:



    A lot of sun for sure as I am in Brazil at the moment :cool: ( and wow the girls down here )
    But yes I see the link , problem is I do not get too see the pictures in the link. :hmmmm:


    Terje

    I leaning towards taking my car to a BMW dealer - as the best value option - honest!
    My logic goes like this:
    Local independents have said they'd charge based on how long it would take them - given the complications without specific special tools they recon this could be a long job.
    DIY appeals, but there are worrying unknowns about access to some of the bushes for pressing out, etc. Don't want to find myself with everything dismantled and unable to proceed.
    BMW are now quoting £472 including VAT as a guaranteed fixed price for all six bushes (I've already got the parts). With all the special tools I hope they should be able to do the job with minimal disturbance/hammering/levering on other components.

    Of course, I might be kidding myself

    I think that sounds like a reasonable deal. Having just replacement the rear wishbones, I wouldn't fancy doing what you need to do on a drive or similar. I'm sure it's possible but I don't think it would be much fun, especially with all those corroded bolts.

    They are brave doing that job at that price.


    They must still have the correct tools to pull them in situ and that time would have been quoted by a service advisor looking on the time schedule.


    He will not be very popular with the technician who has to do it.


    8Tech.

    After the comments from several of our resident experts here I've made my mind up.

    I know we have expert specialists on this forum, but arranging transport and/or accommodation when the garage isn't local has proved a headache in the past with other cars I've owned. :neutral:

    The car has now been booked in to the local BMW agent for mid May.
    Wasn't sooner because they wanted it for a "few days" - which prompted me to confirm that the price quoted was fixed, because a "few days" at their rates buys a new car!
    I'm assured the price is fixed, so will await the outcome with interest and will report back :)

    Still planning to be at Duxford - if the road out of our village isn't too far underwater :hmmmm:

    Wow - well, let me see.
    Unknown technician who might see an E31 once a year or a well known E31 expert who deals with them all the time.
    Price that is about £70 less once I've allowed for travel.
    Chance to meet this forum's mentor.


    Difficult choice :hmmmm:


    I'll cancel the BMW booking!

Jetzt mitmachen!

Sie haben noch kein Benutzerkonto auf unserer Seite? Registrieren Sie sich kostenlos und nehmen Sie an unserer Community teil!

Benutzerkonto erstellen Anmelden