Rear Wheel Carrier

[jtriana]

Hello. I installed front m3 upper and lower control arms and also rear m3 control and guide arms last week. Everything went well, so I thought until I had an alignment done today and the car didn't feel right. It was real squirrelly when I would accelerate. Brought it back to the shop and they rechecked everything and the tech guy showed me how my rear wheels were both lined up going to the left. Once he showed me this I thought of a complication I had when I attached the rear passenger side control arm.

When tightening the bolts for the rear passenger control arm it got really hard to screw in at about a quarter of the way in. I backed it out and tried again, thinking I may have misaligned it going in. It went it okay and I torqued it under load.

Well when I got home from the shop after we discussed possible issues, I removed the rear wheel and looked at the control arm and well, the bolt was gone.

I believe I probably cross threaded the bolt and it didn't torque properly and it backed out.

I think I may need to replace the wheel carrier now.

I searched google and this forum for a DIY and couldn't find one.

Has anyone here replaced a rear wheel carrier and can provide me a guide of sorts, please?

[Suprgnat]

Originally Posted by jtriana

I believe I probably cross threaded the bolt and it didn't torque properly and it backed out.

I think I may need to replace the wheel carrier now.

I searched google and this forum for a DIY and couldn't find one.

Has anyone here replaced a rear wheel carrier and can provide me a guide of sorts, please?

Been there, did that. Mine was never the same after bunging up the threads and would come loose about every 3 months. The replacement is relatively easy; I got a suitable donor carrier from the junk yard, bolted it in, and was back in business.
On the donor carrier I cleaned up the thread lead-ins with a deburring tool, chased the threads (of course), and thoroughly cleaned everything else up including the axle splines. I was extra-special-careful putting everything back together.

-If you don't already know, only get a 1-series carrier. 3-series carriers bolt in but have a different (10mm narrower) wheel hub. A 3-series carrier would require a new wheel hub and bearing.

-The axle can be a bitch to get out and in. Penetrating oil and an axle press may be required to get out. I was able to tap mine out with a brass drift and mallet, but don't beat on it. I used the Bavauto CV axle shaft puller to draw the axle back into the "new" hub, but there was enough thread sticking out that I probably could have used the axle nut to do the same thing.

-Where Bentley says "Remove shock absorber" I only disconnected it from the camber arm ("swing arm").

-Where Bentley says "Remove" about the arms I only disconnected the arms from the carrier itself.

All the videos I see are for bearing/bushing replacement. Even the Bentley manual doesn't spend much effort on carrier replacement:

[jtriana]

Thanks suprgnat. I appreciate your reply.

Do you think it’s possible that only the bolt was cross threaded and not the carrier? I ordered a new bolt and will see if I can get it it threaded and torqued without any difficulty, if not then I’ll have to get a replacement rear carrier.

Speaking of which, per REAL OEM the part number that is listed for my car also states it applies to E90/E92 3 Series as well as my E82 1 Series.
PN: 33326774808

[Suprgnat]

Originally Posted by jtriana

Thanks suprgnat. I appreciate your reply.

Do you think it’s possible that only the bolt was cross threaded and not the carrier? I ordered a new bolt and will see if I can get it it threaded and torqued without any difficulty, if not then I’ll have to get a replacement rear carrier.

Speaking of which, per REAL OEM the part number that is listed for my car also states it applies to E90/E92 3 Series as well as my E82 1 Series.
PN: 33326774808

I wouldn't bank on it being just the bolt, but you never know.

The carrier P/N is the same but requires the correct drive flange.

135i drive flange is P/N 33416771082
335i drive flange is P/N 33416760058

Swapping drive flanges requires new bearings as they're destroyed on drive flange removal.

33416771082 on left with the remains of the bearing, 33416760058 on right.

[fe1rx]

I have made a puller tool from an axle nut as described below.

The nut is first welded to an arbor





Then the nut is turned down to the same diameter as the arbor.

I used a standard 3-jaw puller and a plate made from a front rotor hat to push the axle out of the hub.



With a bit of blocking and some threaded rod, I pulled the axle on.



The arbor OD dimension as drawn allows the arbor to pass through the splines in the hub. Making the parts is a bit of work but it makes removing and installing the axles really easy.

[jtriana]

I ended up getting a M12 x 1.5 x 100mm bolt (10.9 grade). Thread it through the control arm bushing into the carrier, then screwed a matching nut on the end coming out the carrier and torqued it to spec. I also used a 1 1/4” washer on the control arm side to surround the bushing to ensure it doesn’t slide out (just a precaution).

Hopefully it’ll last. Getting alignment done this morning.