Considering the OE bushings are so soft with physical gaps inbetween, instead of getting them pressed out with gadgets and tools, won't it be easier to just cut them out?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dackelone
Ok, I finally went ahead and had my car’s rear bushings replaced with M3(nee… 1M) ones. The soft squishy rear suspension was really going on my nerves. The rear axle felt so over powered and twisted when ever I would go WOT upon exiting a corner. Or even just cruising down the road… the rear suspension would wiggle and wander on its own. I had basically gotten use to just going with the flow and riding out the wiggles and movement of the rear suspension. No more!
I had contacted my local BMW dealer about installing M3(nee… 1M) rear suspension bushing. My SA was curious because they had never done a repair like this before. But I was confident in them and know they could handle the job. The M3 rear suspension bushings have a list price over here of 39 euros each(156 euros in parts). You need four bushings total. Although the rear ones are different in design than the front sub frame bushings are.
When my SA looked up the TIS (BMW’s repair guide) they told me it would cost 170 AW’s in mechanic time units. My German dealer’s labor rate is 110 euros per hour. That equated to 294 euros in labor. That sounded like a really good deal to me. It was(more later…). Plus my SA always gives me 20% off parts and usually a pretty good break on labor too. So… I gave them the ok to go order the parts.
The first snag was that they needed to order a BMW special tool to install the bushings on the car. BMW’s TIS guide said that both bushings(front and rear) could be replaced while the axle was on the car. (…But that was not the case) SO… a few days later my guys received their special installing tool… and I booked a service date and loaner car(118d hatch). It was suppose to be a one day job. It ended up being a two day job!
The rear bushings were very easy to replace. But the front bushings of the rear sub frame required more work than previous thought. My guys tried to drop the axle as much as possible… but the problem was that while the rear bushings can be pressed out and back in while the axle is still bolted up to the car(only dropped six inches or so) the front ones can not. The rear bushings come out thru the bottom of the sub frame (axle) carrier. But the front bushings go in thru the TOP! So this requires you to drop the rear axle. That means the exhaust, brake lines, driveshaft, cross bar and a few other things have to be taken off the car. My poor car was a mess. But the guys at the dealership came thru for me. They were able to drop the rear axle and press in the forward M bushings. Then put everything back together and bleed the brakes. All in all it ran me an extra 200 euros than I had anticipated. I think they worked on my car for the better part of a day. So I think they cut me a break on the labor as best they could without bending me over. Still… it ended up costing me more than I thought it was going into this. But then again, I knew 440 euros for this job complete sounded too good to be true. In the end it came to 600 euros with all my discounts. I know that’s a lot but it was worth it!
I took some pictures of the old OE axle bushings. What struck me right away was how soft they are when you hold them. Also how little they weigh. Also take note of the huge gaps in rubber inside the bushings. They are by no means solid. The M bushings on the other hand must weight at least twice or three times as much. And have a more solid feel to them. The M bushings are made from hard rubber and have no give to them at all. At least not in your hand.
So… how does the car ride now with the M rear axle bushings? FANTASTIC!!! Before (//M bushing install) what bothered me the most are these three things:
1). When traveling at low speeds (25 mph or so) on a flat road… when you encounter bumps or go over recessed man hole covers, the rear end of the car would wiggle or step out somewhat. It was really going on my nerves.
2). When giving accelerating out of corner… the rear end would windup and the rear end would go and do what it wanted. The rear axle felt very rubber-y like. It was hard to predict what the rear end would do when giving the car some power out of the turns. Enter some bumps on the exit and it only made things more dramatic.
3). When pitching the car hard into a turn… the rear end would not take on a “set”. The rear end felt as though it was being help in place via rubber bands. It made it hard to feel what the rear end would do “thru” any hard corning turn. What I realized (after the M bushings were installed) was that I was more riding things out thru the turns, rather than “driving” car thru the turns.
Now this is what I noticed most after the M bushing install:
Gone is ALL the wiggle (& movement) from the rear end!!! When going over (ever so slightly)bumpy roads or manhole covers – there is no wiggle from the rear end. The car just feels so much more solid. As one would expect of any sporting BMW. While there is no wiggle, the impacts of said bumps are not over harsh in the least. I would say that the ride or impacts that the rear end absorbs is no more than 10% firmer than the OE bushings. But gone is all movement of the rear axle.
Gone too is that “rubber band” feeling you get when trying to launch the car out of the turns. The rear end just plain STICKS and hunkers down. Gone is all that slack and movement. The rear end just feel “planted” and more solid.
Now when you through the car into a turn or even just take it easy… when the rear end loads up with corning forces… it just feels (much more)secure and reassuring. It is not going to twist or catch you off guard like the OE bushings. No wobble or axle hop, skip, jumping over bumps on the exit. The rear end just stays planted. It is truly amazing how these bushings have transformed the way the car drives.
One thing I really did not expect is how much better the car feels at high speeds (120 mph and above). The car just handles so much better now. I always thought the movement from the rear suspension was due to the progressive rear springs(since my car is a 2010). I thought perhaps the 2011’s and later cars had a better handling rear end due to the linear springs. But all that wiggle and movement is due to the soft weak OE axle bushings.
Another thing that surprised me is how the front of the car’s suspension seems to be working better now. Maybe this is all in my head, but I feel like the “whole car” feels like it is way more solid now than before.
Really the only negative thing I can say about these bushings is on all cobble stone roads the ride is noticeably more rough. I’d say 20% rougher. But on normal roads or even badly paved roads… the ride is almost the same. I’d say at most 10% stiffer. Even when you hit a pot hole dead on… there is no crash and boom – like one would think. The car just absorbs the impact and moves on.
SO… I would say to anyone considering this mod DO IT! You won’t be sorry. I am not.
I can say that I now know this will push me to get the rest of the M bits on my car ASAP. Like the front control arms and tensile rods, ect. I think proper shocks and springs will be in my future as well. 
Btw… I did not have the chance to take any pics during the install. I only took some pictures of my old OE bushings. I did find some pictures on the web that I thought would be useful. I have included some links bellow to some relevant threads.
Dackel
M3(1M) rear axle bushings...
M3 bushing on LEFT is the front bushing. Bushing on right is the rear axle bushing.
Attachment 633636
M3 bushing LEFT, OE soft bushing RIGHT.
Attachment 633637
Attachment 633638
OE 135i soft rubber axle bushings...
Attachment 633639
Attachment 633640
Attachment 633641
Note: the gaps of rubber - that give the bushings too much movement or squish/rubbery feel!
Attachment 633642
Attachment 633643
Rear of car "rubbery" under hard acceleration?
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=631854
Alpina B3 Lux great suspension writeup...
M3 suspension components + Quaife Limited Slip Differential
http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=379775
BMWFanatics Forum
http://www.bmwfanatics.co.za/archive...ead-23348.html
You can use M3 or 1M bushings. They are one in the SAME part(s). You need two for the front part of the rear axle carrier and two for the rear part of the axle carrier.
(2) bmw #33312283382
(2) bmw #33312283383
I paid 40 euros for each rear bushing or 160 euros for all four. Thats without 19% German sales tax. I think the price has gone up slightly since then.
Also... for anyone thinking about also replacing their trans rear saddle mounts... read these two great posts by 1addict member: Wolfe
Some great reading on the trans M3 mounts for our e82's...
Anyone fitted e46 M3 transmission mounts?
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...ghlight=e46+M3
DIY: Upgrading/replacing transmission mounts
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showt...ghlight=e46+M3
and...
My new Michelin PS3’s 225’s & 255’s…
http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=510873
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