Z3: Front arm control arm

Right front bushing shot, am anticipating replacing lower arm instead of just bushing. Bavauto sells Meyle with full metal ball joint for $100 per side. Other websites sell other brands. Anybody have advice to offer on brands, etc?

Also, with 76,000 miles on the car, if you think I'm wasting my money by replacing the whole arm instead of just the bushing, give me your thoughts on that as well. I've had mixed reviews on this, but I'm leaning toward what a mechanic told me that a worn bushing is a symptom of the deeper problem - the arm.

Thanks in advance. Jim

What do you mean by "front right bushing"? I assume your talking about the ball joint? If so, 76k miles is good. I've had several E36 cars and a Z3 and have never gotten more than 50k miles out of a pair of ball joints. BimmerWorld also sells Meyle front control arms for $105 but those have a 4 year warrenty. Replacing the entire arm is easier than just the ball joint, I wouldn't call it a waste of money.

http://www.uucmotorwerks.com/FCAB/

this is the replacement control arm bushing from UUC

Originally Posted by Belgirb

Right front bushing shot, am anticipating replacing lower arm instead of just bushing. Bavauto sells Meyle with full metal ball joint for $100 per side. Other websites sell other brands. Anybody have advice to offer on brands, etc?

Also, with 76,000 miles on the car, if you think I'm wasting my money by replacing the whole arm instead of just the bushing, give me your thoughts on that as well. I've had mixed reviews on this, but I'm leaning toward what a mechanic told me that a worn bushing is a symptom of the deeper problem - the arm.

Thanks in advance. Jim

We do sell alot of the meyle hd versions and so far all of our customers have been happy with them.
http://www.oembimmerparts.com/catalo...58/5290391.htm

Max

Originally Posted by Belgirb

Right front bushing shot, am anticipating replacing lower arm instead of just bushing. Bavauto sells Meyle with full metal ball joint for $100 per side. Other websites sell other brands. Anybody have advice to offer on brands, etc?

Also, with 76,000 miles on the car, if you think I'm wasting my money by replacing the whole arm instead of just the bushing, give me your thoughts on that as well. I've had mixed reviews on this, but I'm leaning toward what a mechanic told me that a worn bushing is a symptom of the deeper problem - the arm.

Thanks in advance. Jim

I've had good luck in replacing just the bushing. As long as the ball joints are still tight you could do that with no ill effect, but if you want to play the "safer than sorry" route you can replace the whole arm. As others have said, ball joint wear is common on these cars.

-Kyle

Originally Posted by oembimmerparts

We do sell alot of the meyle hd versions and so far all of our customers have been happy with them.
http://www.oembimmerparts.com/catalo...58/5290391.htm

Max

Your right Max, good choice for replacement.

Of course the M cars have the HD arms and different angle Bushings already.