Rear Upper/Lower Ball Joint Replacement

[oceansize]

bigjae is correct, you drop the diff. For every e46 m3 owner it truly is a WTF moment.

[bigjae46]

If I remember correctly for the inner bushing you have to loosen/drop the subframe just enough so the bolts will slide out.

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Have to drop the diff. It is one of the few WTFs was BMW thinking. Not complaining…Ford, GM and CDJR have hundreds of those on each car.

[Altaran]

Can anyone point to a helpful DIY for the upper arm outer ball joint/inner bushing? I had a shop install adjustable LCAs and at that time they did the outer ball joints; should have just had them do the upper but must not have been thinking. If replacing only uppers--either just the outer ball joint or in addition, the inner bushing, is alignment necessary?

If I remember correctly for the inner bushing you have to loosen/drop the subframe just enough so the bolts will slide out.

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[Altaran]

I had a seized ball joint when I bought the car...it happens.

It does. I remember when I did those, the eccentric bolt was seized to the inner part of the joint. Had to cut it out...

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[PSUEng]

Can anyone point to a helpful DIY for the upper arm outer ball joint/inner bushing? I had a shop install adjustable LCAs and at that time they did the outer ball joints; should have just had them do the upper but must not have been thinking. If replacing only uppers--either just the outer ball joint or in addition, the inner bushing, is alignment necessary?

[Arith2]

I changed mine with my rear end refresh. I just used a generic kit from harbor freight and I would actually consider these the easiest part of everything. They popped right out and the new ones went right in.

[bigjae46]

I had a seized ball joint when I bought the car...it happens.

[Tonggi]

I tried doing this:

https://www.e46fanatics.com/threads/e46-rear-trailing-arm-ball-joint-and-control-arm-bushing-tools.1104247/

the 46mm works well to receive the ball joint. However all the sockets i tried would damage the rubber boot. Between the threaded rod and sockets you end up spending almost the same.

perfect, exactly what I did back in the day.

[eacmen]

You can also make your own from old sockets and a threaded rod. the old M3F I remember making a DIY for one. It wasn't too diffcult (im sure everyone has old sockets laying around)

I tried doing this:

https://www.e46fanatics.com/threads/e46-rear-trailing-arm-ball-joint-and-control-arm-bushing-tools.1104247/

the 46mm works well to receive the ball joint. However all the sockets i tried would damage the rubber boot. Between the threaded rod and sockets you end up spending almost the same.

[Tonggi]

Nevermind. Just tried pushing the ball joint out from front to rear and it came out. In case anyone ever needs to do this I highly recommend the PMD tool. Now just need to wait for the new ones to get nice and cold in the freezer!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018VAWETU/

You can also make your own from old sockets and a threaded rod. the old M3F I remember making a DIY for one. It wasn't too diffcult (im sure everyone has old sockets laying around)

[oceansize]

I replaced all ball joints, bushings (and I do mean all), mounts, FCA, and inner/outer tie rods shortly after I bought my car. Transformative to say the least and being a southern car everything was super easy.

[eacmen]

Yeah i’m surprised people don’t talk about replacing these more often. Only reason i’m doing it is I had to pull the GC lower control arm to replace the inner bearing and found that the outer ball joints were very loose. The rubber looked intact but they just did not seem as tight as they should be.

[FBloggs]

It is a decent kit.
I used it for the same job, plus I used other cups in it to R nR the rtabs on my E30 M3.

[Casa de Mesa]

Nevermind. Just tried pushing the ball joint out from front to rear and it came out. In case anyone ever needs to do this I highly recommend the PMD tool. Now just need to wait for the new ones to get nice and cold in the freezer!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018VAWETU/

+1 I used the same exact tool on mine, except it was branded as the Bavarian Autosports "Trailing Arm Bushing Tool - Master Set #B8800100". Worked like a champ. Bav Auto's "special" tools are often just white labeled, as far as I can tell.

Also for those interested, here is the orientation I used to pull the ball joints.

[eacmen]

Nevermind. Just tried pushing the ball joint out from front to rear and it came out. In case anyone ever needs to do this I highly recommend the PMD tool. Now just need to wait for the new ones to get nice and cold in the freezer!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B018VAWETU/