Control arm refurbishment

P

PDJ

Senior member
 Worsley Manchester
As my post in the what have you done to your car

I have removed the control arms to get at the big end bearings and in the process spot the rubber boots on the ball joints of the control arms

So the question is can these ball joints and the lollipops be purchased separately and how hard is it to change them I have a press at work but it has very few packing spacers etc.

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Flip the wishbone over, I suspect the ball joints are cast and therefore nigh-on impossible to remove. And, even if you could remove them (I used 10t of pressure to see what it'd take to remove mine, and it still didn't work) replacements have a lip on them which means they won't sit flush in a wishbone that's been cast.

If it's not cast then yes, you can get replacements, and they're about £70 for the large joints (for a pair) and £40 for the smaller joints (for a pair). The lollipop bush is available in poly for about £25 a set, although I went for the BMW genuine concentric bushes at £50 a pair. I keep saying "a pair" as if one side is knackered you can assume the other's the same, so replace both sides.
 
It is an alloy wish bone

Have seen a you tube video of a guy removing one on the car so they well come out just haw hard I need to try as it looks like the complete unit is not cheap.
 
You can get the lollipops on their own, the ball joints as above aren't removable unless you get a slightly different design wishbone then you can replace the joint on their own in the future.
 
PDJ said:
This one

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-76vbQbodY
Click to expand...

But, we don't know that yours aren't cast in, if they're flush to the bottom of wishbone then they're cast and whilst they'll come out, with several tonnes of pressure, you won't be able to fit a replacement as the replacement has a lip on them and means they can't be pressed back in.

I know this as I've literally just been down the same cul-de-sac you're parked in. :D
 
So, those will press out, so you can replace the joints.

However, you may find that it's cheaper to replace the entire wishbone, I paid £100 per side for the Meyle unit with both joints and the rear bush. By the time you factor in the outer and inner joint, and rear bush, and having the pressed in and out, you might find the new route is cheaper. Personally, I'd refurb, even though it's often more expensive to do, but mine weren't the HD version so I had no choice but to replace.
 
Thanks if you know where to buy the replacement ball joint could you post up a link thanks

Searching the internet now........
 
Are you sure you can change the ball joints? I.E. can you actually find some new ones?

I've never seen anyone suggest you can, or anyone selling new ones - except for the Meyle arms that use the replaceability as a selling point which further re-inforces the above.

Note - Z4M uses different bushes to the Z4, and you have what are more often called E46 ZHP arms which aren't the same (but are very similar to) regular arms.

EDIT - For reference I've replaced the ball joints on my Megane with a press and enjoyed paying only £10 for new joints vs buying a whole new arm. Had it have been possible on my Z4 I would have gone down that route.
 
PDJ said:
Thanks if you know where to buy the replacement ball joint could you post up a link thanks

Searching the internet now........
Click to expand...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOR-BMW-3-SERIES-E46-Z4-LOWER-WISHBONE-ARM-MEYLE-HD-HEAVY-DUTY-INNER-BALL-JOINT/150969583513?fits=Car+Make%3ABMW%7CModel%3A3+Series%7CPlat_Gen%3AE46&hash=item23267d0799:g:vZgAAOSwC8Zck5gx

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FOR-BMW-3-SERIES-E46-Z4-LOWER-WISHBONE-ARM-MEYLE-HD-HEAVY-DUTY-OUTER-BALL-JOINT/160944730205?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649
 
Jakg said:
Are you sure you can change the ball joints? I.E. can you actually find some new ones?

Note - Z4M uses different bushes to the Z4, and you have what are more often called E46 ZHP arms which aren't the same (but are very similar to) regular arms.
Click to expand...

Yes, some wishbones weren't cast and so the bushes could be changed. My first Z4 did have non-cast wishbones, so I pressed in new ones, whereas my latest Z4 had the cast type and so I had to replace the entire wishbone.

The Z4m concentric rear bush is a direct fit on the standard Z4 wishbone; I've fitted them to mine, with no problems whatsoever.
 
If it’s for a Z4M almost certain you can’t buy replacement ball joints for the arms. I had the same and just brought new arms, they are made by Lemforder so you don’t need to buy them from BMW which are a rip off obviously. Couple of hundred quid I think for both arms from various places.

The lollipops lots of choices, I went powerflex for these personally. Just make sure they have the offset for the M.
 
PDJ said:
Thanks if you know where to buy the replacement ball joint could you post up a link thanks

Searching the internet now........
Click to expand...

Give £10 to any Veteran's charity and I'll send you a set of these:

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BMW-E85-Z4-Front-Wishbone-Rear-Bushes-in-Purple-Duraflex-Polyurethane/253417981519?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649

I bought them, then decided to use the castor Z4m bushes, so these haven't been fitted.
 
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