- Joined
- Apr 22, 2019
- Points
- 79
During lockdown, I've been working through the Z3 2.2 2002 refreshing various components. In this guide, I'll go through how I changed the lollipop bushes.
Lollipop Bushes.
I had noticed that the bushes in the lollipops were beginning to look rather tired and were worth a change. I also noticed that the ride was quite harsh and pot holes where very noticeable when driving.
I wasn't sure if there was any stored energy in the suspension system, so I was quite cautious in removing the bolts. These are 17mm bolts and using a breaker bar they came off hassle free. There is no stored energy in the suspension system when undertaking this activity. I had the car on axle stands to make sure there was no chance of movement.
Next came the removal of the lollipop bush from the wishbone, and to be honest, I was braced for the worst. I tried a bearing puller to try and pull the lollipop / bush off the wishbone, but the bush just deformed and didn't move off the wishbone. In the end, I simply twisted the lollipop, ripped the bush and ragged the lollipop off. This then left the remaining bush on the wishbone and using bearing puller, I then took the rest of the bush off the wishbone.
This worked a treat!
Next came the challenge of removing the remainder of the bush from inside the lollipop and I did this using a hacksaw. I undid the blade, threaded it through the lollipop and cut into the old metal band of the bush. The bush was then levered out and discarded.
The new bush was then pressed into the lollipop using a vice and some fairy liquid. Quite a lot of effort, but my neighbour helped with this.
Putting the new lollipop onto the wishbone caused me to think about how to get the bush onto the wishbone, considering how difficult it was to remove. In the end, I used sandpaper to clean off the corrosion on the end of the wishbone, applied copious amount of Fairy liquid to the wishbone end and lollipop and then, using a hammer handle (simple is best) wedged of the front cross brace I pressed the lollipop onto the wishbone. Simple, but hard work.
I also took the opportunity to spray the lollipop with stone chip paint whilst it was off.
Word of advice - make sure you are putting the lollipop back on the correct way around! I could think of nothing worse than replacing the bush, only to find it has to come off!!
The ride has improved dramatically as the car is no longer so harsh on uneven surfaces. I did use BMW bushes as there was little cost difference in using BMW parts against decent quality parts from online retailers.
Lollipop Bushes.
I had noticed that the bushes in the lollipops were beginning to look rather tired and were worth a change. I also noticed that the ride was quite harsh and pot holes where very noticeable when driving.
I wasn't sure if there was any stored energy in the suspension system, so I was quite cautious in removing the bolts. These are 17mm bolts and using a breaker bar they came off hassle free. There is no stored energy in the suspension system when undertaking this activity. I had the car on axle stands to make sure there was no chance of movement.
Next came the removal of the lollipop bush from the wishbone, and to be honest, I was braced for the worst. I tried a bearing puller to try and pull the lollipop / bush off the wishbone, but the bush just deformed and didn't move off the wishbone. In the end, I simply twisted the lollipop, ripped the bush and ragged the lollipop off. This then left the remaining bush on the wishbone and using bearing puller, I then took the rest of the bush off the wishbone.
This worked a treat!
Next came the challenge of removing the remainder of the bush from inside the lollipop and I did this using a hacksaw. I undid the blade, threaded it through the lollipop and cut into the old metal band of the bush. The bush was then levered out and discarded.
The new bush was then pressed into the lollipop using a vice and some fairy liquid. Quite a lot of effort, but my neighbour helped with this.
Putting the new lollipop onto the wishbone caused me to think about how to get the bush onto the wishbone, considering how difficult it was to remove. In the end, I used sandpaper to clean off the corrosion on the end of the wishbone, applied copious amount of Fairy liquid to the wishbone end and lollipop and then, using a hammer handle (simple is best) wedged of the front cross brace I pressed the lollipop onto the wishbone. Simple, but hard work.
I also took the opportunity to spray the lollipop with stone chip paint whilst it was off.
Word of advice - make sure you are putting the lollipop back on the correct way around! I could think of nothing worse than replacing the bush, only to find it has to come off!!
The ride has improved dramatically as the car is no longer so harsh on uneven surfaces. I did use BMW bushes as there was little cost difference in using BMW parts against decent quality parts from online retailers.
