Fcab replacement question

[zing]

I just replaced my fcabs with new oem bushings pushed into oem lollipops from The Fly. They DIY wasnt too bad. The 3 jaw puller made the right side lollipop come off super easily. A little dove soap and you can basically push the new ones onto the control arms by hand with a little effort. My passenger side bushing was broken on the inside, so it slide right off. After pressing them both on and moving them around to get them to mount again, I noticed that the passenger side bushing would move off the control arm about 1/4" or so. I pulled the lollipop back off and remounted it, but it did the same thing.

Question:
Any issues having the passenger side lollipop not fully seated on the control arm? Would the inner ring of the FCAB being separated from the rest of the bushing have caused damage or wear to the control arm preventing the new lollipop from seating correctly? Should I take it all back apart and bang on the control arm until it seats all the way into the lollipop, replace the control arm, or just leave it be?

The first pic is the passenger fcab after driving on it for 5miles or so. The second pic is the driver side fcab after install and it looks the same now.

[zing]

both fcabs actually may be seated equally. It may have been the broken fcab that made the passenger side control arm mounting point wear down a bit, so that the fcab could be mounted deeper than it should be. just another thought.

The car drives a bit better than it did before. There was a slight bit of play in the steering wheel and while goin over bumps, the driver side wheel would seemingly bounce around independent of the passenger wheel. It stopped doing both of those things, but the steering wheel still clicks a little bit at the end of travel, when quickly turning it from side to side. will drain and fill the ps reservoir, because its been a few years since I did the ps lines and a full flush. Otherwise, the click is likely the other 2 control arm joints or another worn joint in the front suspension. :/

[FBloggs]

The mounting stub on the passenger side FLCA has been polished by the heat hardened and shrunk FLCAB .

[zing]

Was hoping that was the case. thanks!

[eacmen]

I don't think you want the control arm sliding on the bushing. Will likely yield premature bushing wear. You may need to invest in new control arms.

When installing FCABs you can measure 299mm from the center of the ball joint to the arm and that is where the edge if the FCAB should be. This is especially useful with new control arms since the is no marking from where the previous bushing was installed.

ref: https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/e...mounts/Em0y44u


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[zing]

awesome! this will give me extra piece of mind. After mounting the lollipop to the frame, the position of the bushing hasnt changed. After reading the install instructions on the link, I realized i used one drop of concentrated dawn soap, rather than a soapy water mix. the soap should still dry, especially considering all the heat, but itll probably take longer.

[zing]

Eyeballed the measurement with most of the underbody still in place. seems to be pretty close to 299mm, hasnt moved at all, and handling still feels good. Thanks guys!

[FBloggs]

If the car still has the US spec cats, be prepared to change the offside fcab frequently, due to the heat from the lower cat.

[the_fly]

If the car still has the US spec cats, be prepared to change the offside fcab frequently, due to the heat from the lower cat.

The man speaks the truth -- especially for cars used on track. This is why I don't offer or recommend poly for e46m3 FCABs. Some folks have seen theirs totally fail from the heat.

[Hotchkess]

The man speaks the truth -- especially for cars used on track. This is why I don't offer or recommend poly for e46m3 FCABs. Some folks have seen theirs totally fail from the heat.

I completely agree. I had my Turner bushing on the passenger side develop a ton of play almost immediately after I tracked my M3 a few months ago. I wouldn't recommend poly at all, at least for the front control arm bushings.