Rear End Removal - How To?

[t-tony]

Great news Faheem, Brian is a diamond mate. I took pictures of those screws on the Z3M this morning but haven't had chance yet to do much. As Sean pointed out Mole grips would be little use, my plan would've been to use a cutting blade on a mini grinder to cut a slot across the bolt head and then use a big flat blade screwdriver and spanner to turn it.

Tony.

 

[Althulas]

Nice one Brian coming to Faheem’s aid. Nothing worse then to have a frustrating problem on your own to sort out.

 

[Faheem]

So, next question, is there a kit that can be bought which includes all the bushings (powerflex) - rear beam, trailing arm and diff or do the bushes need to be purchased separately?

Also what have people chosen to go with, I'm just conscious that if I 'upgrade' to the powerflex bushings the ride may be a lot harder and as I plan to upgrade the shocks and springs with the bilstein kit at some point I don't want the ride to be excessively firm!

Any advice is appreciated.

 

[Faheem]

P.S Are the E30 and Z3 bushes the same (as the rear end setup seems very similar)

 

[handsomejackuk]

P.S Are the E30 and Z3 bushes the same (as the rear end setup seems very similar)

have you looked at duraflex...

http://www.duraflexpubushes.com/bmw-e36---compact-rear-bush-set-in-duraflex--polyurethane-365-p.asp

http://www.duraflexpubushes.com/bmw-e30e36-compact-79-c.asp

http://www.duraflexpubushes.com/bmw...-bush-set-in-duraflex--polyurethane-328-p.asp

 

[Faheem]

Cheers @handsomejackuk significantly cheaper than the powerflex kit, can anyone comment on the quality of duraflex bushings and how they compare to brands such as powerflex. The difference in pricing is quite significant between these two brands!!

 

[handsomejackuk]

i fitted duraflex front control arm bushes and they seem ok... good quality i can see that the powerflex use a differerent system in that they rely on a pin knocked on to the shaft and the bush riding on that... whereas the polyflex just knock straight on to the control arm but the rear bushes look as though they use similar principle as powerflex / superflex... i think the poweflex are priced singularly too... maybe someone else can confirm this ? so end up being a lot more expensive...

i got a few pics of my front bushes fitted if thats any help ? I think @Seand is fitting duraflex shortly too mayvbe he be along later to comment...

Al.

 

[5harp3y]

P.S Are the E30 and Z3 bushes the same (as the rear end setup seems very similar)

NO!

i found that out the hard way as the supplier sent me the wrong bushes (see my build thread for details)

 

[5harp3y]

So, next question, is there a kit that can be bought which includes all the bushings (powerflex) - rear beam, trailing arm and diff or do the bushes need to be purchased separately?

Also what have people chosen to go with, I'm just conscious that if I 'upgrade' to the powerflex bushings the ride may be a lot harder and as I plan to upgrade the shocks and springs with the bilstein kit at some point I don't want the ride to be excessively firm!

Any advice is appreciated.

I've got powerflex RTAB and Diff bushes along with Revshift raising beam bushes which gets rid of some of the camber.

i don't think the ride is too harsh, in fact the car handles amazingly

 

[the Nefyn cat]

Fitting Powerflex (or whatever) bushes won't really change the ride, they'll just let the suspension do it's business properly instead of flopping about. If you look at the way the rear swinging arm sits, with knackered bushes the first couple of inches of suspension movement just flaps the transverse beam about, with the new bushes it'll stay still and let the springs and dampers work a whole lot better.
Fitting non-rubber bushes will make things a bit noisier, but that ain't a problem. Just drive faster.

 

[Antm72]

Cheers @handsomejackuk significantly cheaper than the powerflex kit, can anyone comment on the quality of duraflex bushings and how they compare to brands such as powerflex. The difference in pricing is quite significant between these two brands!!

I have Duraflex anti roll bar mounts front and rear and in the p bushes too.
Have tightened the car nicely and no adverse noises

 

[Faheem]

Old beam bushes came out relatively easily with the help of a drill and around 20 minutes of my time.

Trailing arm bushes which are supposed to be easier out of the two have been nothing but a pain, I opted not to burn them and instead use a threaded rod along with some nuts and washers to push the bushes out of the trailing arm as was shown by a few videos on YouTube. No joy as the bar just ended up bending.

So then decided to use a heat gun as I dont have a propane torch to put against the bushing. 2 of the 4 bushes came out with ease but the 3rd bush broke my heat gun, dismantled the heat gun and the heating element is broken!!

 

[Sean d]

Old beam bushes came out relatively easily with the help of a drill and around 20 minutes of my time.

Trailing arm bushes which are supposed to be easier out of the two have been nothing but a pain, I opted not to burn them and instead use a threaded rod along with some nuts and washers to push the bushes out of the trailing arm as was shown by a few videos on YouTube. No joy as the bar just ended up bending.

So then decided to use a heat gun as I dont have a propane torch to put against the bushing. 2 of the 4 bushes came out with ease but the 3rd bush broke my heat gun, dismantled the heat gun and the heating element is broken!!

I used a drill on them mate, only took 5 mins per bush,

 

[the Nefyn cat]

Threaded rod, extra-deep socket, plenty of washers, did it for me. Was a nice thick bit of rod, mind. Probably not a good idea to google that last bit.

 

[handsomejackuk]

loosened the rear beam bolts today and the allen key bolts that attach the plate to the chassis... all came out ok not too much of a struggle plenty of plus gas and patience.. just so hot in my garage.. hoping to loosen the exhaust to cat bolts tomorrow evening, not tackling the job until i return from vanity bmw.. but getting the stuff all loose in readiness should make the job a little easier.. thats my plan anyway... all tightened back up and copper greased should make dissambly much easier.. any tips, on other stubborn bolts i should be tackling while i am under there.. I assume the job is a lot easier with the spare wheel carrier gone, as i intend to permanantly remove that at some stage ?

 

[handsomejackuk]

asssume abs wheel sensors need to be removed as i had a bit of difficulty getting the front one out the other day... ?

 

[Sean d]

asssume abs wheel sensors need to be removed as i had a bit of difficulty getting the front one out the other day... ?

No, you only need to disconnect the cable

 

[handsomejackuk]

No, you only need to disconnect the cable

is there a plug then some where ? i see the black plastic thing attached to the trailing arm is the plug in there ?

 

[Faheem]

The brake pad wear sensor is the black cable and I think the grey cable is for the ABS sensor. Most people tend to disconnect it where it where it connects it up to the car using the plug on the trailing arm. Luckily i was able to get my sensor out of the hub without any issues really, it more or less pulled straight out.

 

[handsomejackuk]

i have had the brake pad sensor cable off the pads before, so thats no prob just trying to suss out what other things i need to be aware of... so the abs sensors can stay on the hub and disconnects from the beam in that plastic block thing..?? and i have had the differential speed sensor out before when i drained the diff oil and renewed the diff gasket... i got there handsbrake cables are easy as i have adjusted up my handbrake today as its crap... will start to get the bushes once i get back off my busy weekend...