Front Wishbones and Lollipops needed

C

christurbo

Member
Oh the joys of BMW ownership!

When I had my 3 Series M Sport the previous owner had all the bushes etc sorted ready for me. Now that I have a low mileage Z4 it looks like I am going to have to replace them all myself.

I noticed that at 45-50mph there is a slight high frequency vibration in the steering wheel fine when going above that speed. I then noticed that driving on the motorway at motorway speeds I have to continually adjust the steering wheel when driving straight.

I got underneath the car today and found:

Offside Wishbone Balljoint Bush had play in it where it met the hub, about 2mm play. The steering Track Rod to hub OK.
Nearside Wishbone Rear Lollipop Bush had play when pushing wheel front to back. Balljoint and Track Rod to hub OK.
No play in either of the rear wheels.

Does it sound like the above could cause wandering and high frequency vibration at 50mph?

It is booked into the garage this Saturday for 2 new Wishbone assemblies with bushes including new rear lollipops.
How long in labour would it take a garage for that work? It looks like there is only a total of 4 bolts to undo each side including the lollipop bushes.

Thanks
 
Its just an expression that BMW forums use to describe the Front Wishbone Rear Bush Housing.

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glad kryton asked, i was beginning to think i was the only 1 who did not understand half the talk on here hehe
 
Ha ha! Has anyone had to do such a job yet on their zed? I would have thought so because they normally go at around 50k. Ive only done 30k though - granted she is a 2005 car though.
 
Id have personally thought that excess play in the bushes would dampen the steering if anything (not cause vibration), they could certainly cause the 'wandering' sensation though (although this could be tramlining also). Have you ruled out wheel weights?

May i ask why you've opted to replace the whole wishbone assembly? Surely just the bushes/lollipops need replacing?

Ed :)
 
The balljoints are not easily replaced on our wishbones hence the requirement for new arms.

I suppose a loose hub can cause vibration because it is not tight to the control arm. If you do a search on YouTube you will see what I mean.
 
I have just replaced my Bushes with Polys, rear wish bones both rear and front anti rolls. certainly has stopped the wandering effect on straights, car now drives straight as an arrow, did also have alignment done as well which helped, My wishbone bushes were completley shot but I did not get any vibration like you described though.
 
All done today - I didnt go for Polys this time, just OEM. However I am staggered how much this has improved my zed. Its planted, tight, and accurate, inlike before!

Oh and my vibration has also disappeared! :thumbsup: It must have been because the ball joint had loads of play between the wishbone and knuckle.

I tested the new setup before it went on the car and you could not move the bushings by hand, however when the garage showed me the old wishbone bushings they were very loose and the rear bushings had come away from their housings they were that shot!

I am very happy.

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CT,

Thanks for sharing this with us. Seems unusual that with only 30Km, you've had to replace these. Did your mech have anything to say about this?

I'm glad to read that it's made such a dramatic difference for you.

Cheers !

Mike K.
 
Yes, he said that this is very common on BMWs with stiff suspension that are constantly covering speedbumps, potholes, and bad British roads. The left rear bush was shot but everything else was ok, the right ball joint was shot and rear bush was fairly ok. Both rear balljoints were ok.

I could have just replaced the rear bushes and offside wishbone but I like to replace everything as a precuation.

I would recommend this to anyone who has handling woes.
 
Good to hear how much this improved the car :thumbsup:
I see you used OEM lollipops. Did you also go with OEM wishbones?
 
I was going to get my garage to order some Meyle re-inforced wishbones but settled with the above due to timescales and stock. I am going to run these for a while before maybe upgrading all my suspension with upgraded polys shocks and springs. I am surprised at how such a little replacement has improved driveability. I am going to take it out around the peaks today to enjoy the stiffness! :thumbsup:
 
So how much was the oem bushes(if u dont mind sharing)?
And how does that compare in price to the likes of Powerflex?
For any1 having fitted powerflex,how stiff are they compared to oem/as i have thought about fitting these at some point/but don't want a n overly firm ride! :D
cheers
 
Powerflex rear bushes (for the front wishbones) are about 30-40 quid. And does not make the suspension stiffer at all, just makes the steering a lot tighter. And you will feel a lot more of the road.

People have often complained about loose feeling steering on later BM's, these are the reason why. Nothing wrong when they are new (well sort of), but give them 10k and you soon know the difference. But then again some people dont like the powerflex ones as they tend to exaggerate tram-lining with ultra low profile tyres etc.
 
I have a bad feeling the same work is going to need doing to my Zed... :cry:

I'm starting to get the same steering wheel vibration on the motorway and its also started to pull right?!

If you dont mind me asking, how much were you quoted for the work and parts? Is it a big job or could you do it yourself with the correct tools?
 
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