BMWben Posted June 3, 2014 Report Share Posted June 3, 2014 I need a BMW Bushing Puller Tool to replace my subframe bushings. If anyone has one I can borrow or know of a place I can rent them from please let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenDem Posted June 4, 2014 Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 Strange first post, as I've not gotten around to introducing myself first... Anyway, I'm going to have a go at making / using one of these soon: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1389953-A-better-subframe-bushing-puller I don't know what your schedule is for the work, but I'd be happy to lend it to you once I'm done. patsbimmer1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMWben Posted June 4, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 4, 2014 Strange first post, as I've not gotten around to introducing myself first... Anyway, I'm going to have a go at making / using one of these soon: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?1389953-A-better-subframe-bushing-puller I don't know what your schedule is for the work, but I'd be happy to lend it to you once I'm done. Well I'm the first that gets to say welcome! Thanks for the offer as well. What car are you going to be using this on and what job? I'm going to be out of town next week so I won't be doing anything for a while still. Where are you from? I'm living in Milwaukee during the week right now. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenDem Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Well I'm the first that gets to say welcome! Thanks for the offer as well. What car are you going to be using this on and what job? I'm going to be out of town next week so I won't be doing anything for a while still. Where are you from? I'm living in Milwaukee during the week right now. I'm in Shorewood. I'll be replacing the subframe bushing's on my 88' e30 cabrio. I'm still sorting pics, but if you want to see some from our road trip bringing it back, you can find some on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram under #redbird2wi (my brother took the pics). Here's the twitter link: https://twitter.com/search?f=realtime&q=%23redbird2wi&src=typd I'll PM you once i have the tool made. If you are around MKE, you're welcome to pop over to see if / how it works. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMWben Posted June 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 I'm living in Cudahy and I work at Shorewood High School guarding at the pool. I will have to stop by and check out the car, looks really nice from the pictures. Honestly if you don't mind or want, I could help out with doing your subframe or at least see how the job is done. Give me at least a slight idea of what the hell I'm doing plus its always great to put forum names to faces. I'm going to be doing the subframe bushing on my e34 540i but like I said I'm gone next week but maybe we can work something out, if your up for it of course. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyhundley Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Hey Ben. I too am too doing rear subframe bushings this winter on my e30 and would be more than willing to lend a hand. I am located in bayview. The car looks great by the way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenDem Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 What a welcome! You guys are more than welcome to come over and make fun of me while I break my car I'll PM you both once I figure out timing of stuff, but about a week sounds right. I've got two young kids that dictate when I work on the thing. FWIW, I'm going to try to do the bushings without dropping the subframe, per the thread I posted above. Even if you guys are planning on dropping your subframe, the tool should work the same either way. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMWben Posted June 5, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 I'm going to try to do the bushings without dropping the subframe, per the thread I posted above. Are we going to be doing it in 5 minutes too? and please let us know! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenDem Posted June 5, 2014 Report Share Posted June 5, 2014 Are we going to be doing it in 5 minutes too? and please let us know! I'm shooting for 4. I'll know more about my plans once I find the source of some other noises (hopefully tonight). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Posted June 9, 2014 Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 An air chisel works really well for removing the outer metal sleeve too. Both of you are upgrading to poly bushings I would assume? They last forever so I see no reason to use OEM=) Also, they are easier to install and they stiffen up the rear a nice amount. I put poly in my compact and my e34 has all poly rear bushings and it feels excellent. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenDem Posted June 9, 2014 Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 An air chisel works really well for removing the outer metal sleeve too. Both of you are upgrading to poly bushings I would assume? They last forever so I see no reason to use OEM=) Also, they are easier to install and they stiffen up the rear a nice amount. I put poly in my compact and my e34 has all poly rear bushings and it feels excellent. Aren't poly's pretty noisy / harsh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Posted June 9, 2014 Report Share Posted June 9, 2014 Mine aren't harsh and make zero noise. If you lubricate them properly they shouldn't make a peep. Mine are also 75a. That is a hair stiffer than the oem rubber. 90-95a is a good bit stiffer and might bring some road noise Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenDem Posted June 10, 2014 Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 Good to know. Any idea how long the OEM bushings are supposed to last? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Earl Posted June 10, 2014 Report Share Posted June 10, 2014 100,000 miles at best I would say. They are pretty soft too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMWben Posted June 20, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 20, 2014 I'm shooting for 4. I'll know more about my plans once I find the source of some other noises (hopefully tonight). I don't know what you were thinking but how would next Monday afternoon work for messing around with some bushings? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenDem Posted June 20, 2014 Report Share Posted June 20, 2014 Sorry, life kinda got away from me the past few weeks. I still need to order my bushings. They should be in middle of next week sometime Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BMWben Posted June 21, 2014 Author Report Share Posted June 21, 2014 I'm just throwing this out there but if you wanted to or would be able to we could do my bushings Monday evening. I have the bushings in my trunk I just don't have a place to do them in Milwaukee. Just an idea Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest bigjae1976 Posted June 27, 2014 Report Share Posted June 27, 2014 Did you get this done? I might be able to do them on a hydraulic press for you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenDem Posted July 1, 2014 Report Share Posted July 1, 2014 Just to update the thread. I finally carved out some time, and replaced the bushings without removing subframe or the bolts using the techinques in the link I posted earlier. I didn't take any pics of the process, but it was very straight forward. The only think I'll add to the above is that if you need to replace the plate washers that sit on top of the bushings, you might have to remove the subframe bolts to install them. So, I've now got a homemade bushing puller thing that I'll happily loan out to whoever for the cost of shipping. It took me about an hour to make the tool, but I was trying to be carefull to get as good a fit as reasonable without going totally anal-rententive. I'll start a new thread about how I'd like the loaning process to go, and what other tools you'll need to do the job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris3 Posted July 5, 2014 Report Share Posted July 5, 2014 Good to hear it went well! So here's a look at my passenger side rear subframe on the beater. Possible to replace what remains of this bushing without dropping the subframe? I'm not optimistic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BenDem Posted July 7, 2014 Report Share Posted July 7, 2014 It might... My guess it would depend if the bushing is seized onto the bolt / frame of the car. Then again, if it's not a vert, you could probably remove the bolts and then get a saw in there to remove whatever the tool didn't remove. It's worth a shot... worst case, you'd just pull the subframe anyway. But... If your subframe bushings are that bad, your trailing arm bushings are probably shot too. You'd probably save time by removing the subframe and doing both jobs at once. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris3 Posted July 22, 2014 Report Share Posted July 22, 2014 Pm sent about borrowing the tool. Holding on to a little optimism that the bushings will come out with little drama. We'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris3 Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 Well borrowed Ben's tool, and no success for me. Puller and heat and all I accomplished was bending the outer metal lip of the subframe bushing. Short of pulling the subframe which I really don't have time or the inclination to do, any suggestions on options? I was able to knock out the long bolt. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jc43089 Posted July 26, 2014 Report Share Posted July 26, 2014 It is a pain but I have used a drill bit to destroy as much of the rubber as I could to get the center of the bushing out and then using a sawzall to cut the outer sleeve so that it collapses on itself and falls out. I did this when I replaced my e36 RTABs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boris3 Posted July 27, 2014 Report Share Posted July 27, 2014 Thanks. I used a drill and hole saw to clear most of the rubber. Metal center though looks to be stuck to the body. The outer sleeve is stuck to the subframe tube. Car is on jack stands so not enough height to use the sawzall. Any other suggestions ? Starting to see why folks drop the subframe to do this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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