Solid Subframe Bushings

[L0okitzRaj]

Anyone savage enough to run solid dfif bushings on the street?

I run cmp solid subframe with the ECS press-in poly diff bushings (88a) in my current e46m and in my previous e46m I ran soft poly (90a-95a?) bushings in both subframe and diff. I would say that NHV is the same versus both, but the rear end feels really tight with the solid. I also dailed both e46s, which included track days, and lots of canyons and road trips.

I would say diff whine/NHV would be more dictated by diff bushings. Both setups had a ton of diff whine. If i had to do again would probably be OE (with the cover)

(o/t i feel like all this bickering between you guys is making this feel like e46fans when it was a buncha bs, plz stop)

[Casa de Mesa]

(o/t i feel like all this bickering between you guys is making this feel like e46fans when it was a buncha bs, plz stop)

Hang around a little longer. You'll find some of us just are friends poking fun at each other.

Edit: and welcome to the party!

[bjz!]

This is a complete lie, I have personally had poly diff bushings, solid, and oe rubber. Solid diff bushings whine above 10 mph and are incredibly loud on the freeway. Do not get poly or solid diff bushings, you will regret it.

If you use the car as a daily inside the town, like normal ppl, music, full interior, stock car, my man, if you heard that going 10mph. U are a dog, not a human.😂😂😂

[bjz!]

Hang around a little longer. You'll find some of us just are friends poking fun at each other.

Edit: and welcome to the party!

C'mon! Don't ruin the party.

Don't use track parts on street cars. Be smart, ppl. And don't use this car as a drag car, is slow as fuck. Don't be Honda M3 guys.

[E46m3zcp]

Reviving an old thread…

I am going CMP solid for the subframe and I wanted to go OE for the diff …. but do I have to buy a diff cover that’s over $200 when mine is perfectly fine or are there smarter ways ?

[Slideways]

Reviving an old thread…

I am going CMP solid for the subframe and I wanted to go OE for the diff …. but do I have to buy a diff cover that’s over $200 when mine is perfectly fine or are there smarter ways ?

How many miles are on the current bushings? If they are still good, the cover can be replaced at a later date. Removing the diff is not too difficult.

Not really. To get new OE bushings, you'll need a new diff cover. They really should make those bushings available as an OEM part. My guess is pressing the bushings in and out could cause the aluminum cover to crack and they have a specific orientation. Some suggest the E36 rubber bushings as a replacement option.

[E46m3zcp]

125 000 miles on the current bushings. Oh, and while we're at it, would you change all the ball joints and the upper control arm's inner bushing? The ball joints (upper and lower control arm's outer ball joints at the trailing arm) look in good shape, and it's a pain to push out and press in new ones. But at this mileage, better safe than sorry?

[dl.m3]

At that mileage I'm willing to bet your ball joints are toast. Theyre cheap enough to do and absolutely worth it.


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[fattycharged]

125 000 miles on the current bushings. Oh, and while we're at it, would you change all the ball joints and the upper control arm's inner bushing? The ball joints (upper and lower control arm's outer ball joints at the trailing arm) look in good shape, and it's a pain to push out and press in new ones. But at this mileage, better safe than sorry?

Just removed my diff last night to swap it with the spare for rebuild, rear cover bushings look great at 120k miles, so questioning if this is the original I'm impressed. Before buying a new cover, I plan to try out the e36 bushings I have on hand and see how they feel.
Ball joints, managed to tear a cover on teh lower one when removing the arm, so now have to replace...after checking it out thoroughly, it has some minor play, so not a bad time to replace them as much as I hate pressing them in and out with a generic tool. I vote change them out, if they have play now, they'll be trashed soon enough.

dropping the entire subframe is looking like a better idea this morning that it did yesterday evening, I must be getting old...

[Slideways]

The front diff bush and rear diff cover bushings should be crumbling at 125k. You can usually see pieces missing of the foam outer ring especially if it is picked at. The ball joints are easy to replace with the E36/46 ball joint tool. The ball joints are determined to be worn out if they have play, noise or are not holding their position - loose (new ones take a good amount of force to move around). These ball joints do seem to last a long time though.

For the upper rubber bushings, it is mostly inspecting for cracks in the rubber. Those bushings have to be replaced with some added attention as the arms are aluminum and can crack. I'm not sure if the stock lower control arm (camber arm) bushings are replaceable even though the rubber bushings are available separately. CMP does recommend adjustable camber arms with their solid subframe bushings.

At that mileage and with the removal of the entire subframe, it's more of a "while you're in there". I think the only parts that are not easy to remove in-situ are the long bolts for the upper and lower control arms. The diff has to be moved to access those. The outer ball joints are easy to access with everything in place.

[bigjae46]

The inner upper control arm bushing it a total PIA, at least for me. Might be worth taking to a shop with a press.

The M cars generally get much better rubber parts which are significantly tougher My original control arms survived a.115k mile beat down. But given the age of these cars, anything rubber should be a "while you're in there" if you want to be a long-term over of a reliable car. Bushings, hoses, and soft stuff.

Here's some stuff...

Axle and driveshaft CVs - replace boots or at least clean, inspect and repack
Inner bushings and outer ball joints
RTAB
Swaybar bushings
Shock mounts
Spring pads
Bump stops
Inspect the fuel system hoses - fuel and vacuum

[OldRanger]

Another vote for solid subframe bushings and OEM differential bushings. My car has 166K miles

• Subframe: I used Bimmerworld aluminum bushings. The fit is proper. I suggest an install tool like this one: https://forsvaraengineering.com/shop...tallation-tool. I also recommend freezing them prior to install and using grease. Be prepared to correct the alignment early and often with a tap of a rubber or plastic mallet and it will go smootly.
• Differential Part 1: I was trying to save money with poly rear bushings and avoid buying the entire rear diff cover. Even with an OEM front bushing, the gear whine was horrible.
• Differential Part 2: I removed the diff again, to dispose of the rear diff cover with poly bushings and replace with new OEM diff cover. All is well again.

A note on the solid subframe bushings: in retrospect, I would have replaced the subframe bushings earlier on in myy M3 rehab project. I doubt there is any performance enhancement - but getting the power to the ground happens so matter-of-factly with proper bushings. What I thought was drivetrain slack was largely attributable to worn out OEM subframe bushings.

Regarding noise: my car has a stripped interior behind the driver/passenger seats. I do notice some additional gear noise that is different from the OEM subframe bushing setup. It is minor and most noticeable at low speeds. It basically fades away with any load on the drivetrain and does NOT get louder as speed increases like aftermarket diff bushings do..

[9kracing]

[*]Differential Part 1: I was trying to save money with poly rear bushings and avoid buying the entire rear diff cover. Even with an OEM front bushing, the gear whine was horrible.[*]Differential Part 2: I removed the diff again, to dispose of the rear diff cover with poly bushings and replace with new OEM diff cover. All is well again.

This is the info I was looking for a couple weeks ago, I wanted to know how bad poly diff was with solid subframe. I guess there's my answer.

I ended up going with solid CMP subframe bushings and OE diff bushings.




I still want to know why AGK insists subframe and diff need to use the same type of bushing. Do they know something we don't?