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I Absolutely Hate State Mandated Car Inspections!

401 Views 6 Replies 2 Participants Last post by  MANDD
A year ago, I took my car to a NC inspection station. It was the place I usually go to that invariably passed my cars (I had eight at the time; I'm now down to 7). Anyway, he pointed at a part on my 2000 528i. I promptly purchased the part, put it on and went back to have the car re-inspected. The guy, mind you, was not the regular guy I usually went to but some young guy who I suspect had been sent by the state to see why this guy passed so many cars. He said I had replaced the wrong part!!! What an idiot! I'm sick of these guys! The car ran fine. It's solid as a rock and I had to beat on the car for a solid week to get this part off to replace it (was he really worried it was going to break on me on the freeway?). Anyway, here's my problem that this inspection guy prompted:

Please correct me if I call the part by the wrong name, but I think it's the passenger side, front rear-facing control rod. It has a bolt that faces up through the steering knuckle, and was nearly impossible to get out. I finally got it out by first cutting off the rod and grinding the round head into four flat areas that I could eventually get out with a huge crescent wrench. My problem? All the replacement arms have a smaller end (about 5/8" in diameter) than the one that came out (which was about an inch in diameter). I'm including photos of the ends of my replacement and the ground off remnant. I also found one on eBay that's located in Germany used, but I really don't want to put a used one in that's really unlikely to be any better than the one I removed.










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Oh, and now my problem is: what is it that I'm missing? Is it metal bushing that goes into the place circled in red in the last photo which would mean I have the correct part, but I'm missing the part to goes into the area circled in red in the second photo. What in the heck am I missing? I'm embarrassed to say the only reason I took it apart to begin with was because my wife said the brakes were acting strange (they're fine) and, oh, I got the car inspection passed when I finally just took it to another NC state inspection (rip of place), woops I mean station.
The picture on the right of the old part, that round piece must be pressed off an fitted back on the car. That is an insert that sits in the knuckle, it gets stuck on the old joint when removing.

Heat and a 2 jaw puller should work in this case.

Mark.



A year ago, I took my car to a NC inspection station. It was the place I usually go to that invariably passed my cars (I had eight at the time; I'm now down to 7). Anyway, he pointed at a part on my 2000 528i. I promptly purchased the part, put it on and went back to have the car re-inspected. The guy, mind you, was not the regular guy I usually went to but some young guy who I suspect had been sent by the state to see why this guy passed so many cars. He said I had replaced the wrong part!!! What an idiot! I'm sick of these guys! The car ran fine. It's solid as a rock and I had to beat on the car for a solid week to get this part off to replace it (was he really worried it was going to break on me on the freeway?). Anyway, here's my problem that this inspection guy prompted:

Please correct me if I call the part by the wrong name, but I think it's the passenger side, front rear-facing control rod. It has a bolt that faces up through the steering knuckle, and was nearly impossible to get out. I finally got it out by first cutting off the rod and grinding the round head into four flat areas that I could eventually get out with a huge crescent wrench. My problem? All the replacement arms have a smaller end (about 5/8" in diameter) than the one that came out (which was about an inch in diameter). I'm including photos of the ends of my replacement and the ground off remnant. I also found one on eBay that's located in Germany used, but I really don't want to put a used one in that's really unlikely to be any better than the one I removed.



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Thank you, Mark, for your reply. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, it's already off the car! How do I get a replacement and what would you call it. I'd be surprised if it was pressed into place because all the surfaces in contact are smooth, but it sure was difficult to get out (as you can tell from my grinding the heck out of it and using a big crescent wrench to twist it out).
This part is not available has a separate piece.

The insert must be removed from the broken control arm stud that you have pictured, this typically happens when removing the lower arm from the knuckle.

You will need to clamp the broken part in a vise and then use some heat to pull the part off of the broken control arm stud. Once off and cooled you can then first insert it back into the knuckle, and then fit the new control arm.




Thank you, Mark, for your reply. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending on how you look at it, it's already off the car! How do I get a replacement and what would you call it. I'd be surprised if it was pressed into place because all the surfaces in contact are smooth, but it sure was difficult to get out (as you can tell from my grinding the heck out of it and using a big crescent wrench to twist it out).
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Is the part that appears like a washer pulled with the "sleeve"? Can you purchase another? I've seen pieces that look like this but they never show the location. I'm looking to see if I can just buy another.
The washer is part of the sleeve. It is not available has a separate piece from BMW however there are some companies in the US that have reproduced this part.
seller "set km" on ebay has these for about $28.00.


Mark.

Is the part that appears like a washer pulled with the "sleeve"? Can you purchase another? I've seen pieces that look like this but they never show the location. I'm looking to see if I can just buy another.
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