E34 M5/ E38 rear trailing arm bushing install how-to

nsxguy7 · Post by **nsxguy7** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 9:32 pm

You'll notice that the bushings don't appear symmetrical ..that is, one side of the bushing sticks out further than the other. I cannot find any info that it matters which way they go in, but I mounted mine so that the side that sticks out farther is closest to the diff on all four. This is the way that closely duplicates the way that the original bushings were situated.

nsxguy7 · Post by **nsxguy7** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 9:36 pm

Next, go to your local salvage/surplus yard and get a few feet of metric fine all thread. You can probably use standard, but the fine thread is much easier to turn the nuts on.

nsxguy7 · Post by **nsxguy7** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 9:46 pm

This is the most critical part for the install. You will need something to push the new bushings in with. It needs to just fit inside the bushing housing, but it cannot be too thick or it will foul or tear the rubber boots. Go down to your local NAPA or Carquest that does a fair amount of press work and ask them if you can look through their discarded bearing pile. I came up with this in about five minutes. I'm not sure what it came off of, but I think it's from a early 60's Chevy pickup. Clears the housing perfectly and the rubber boot fits snugly inside.

nsxguy7 · Post by **nsxguy7** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 9:50 pm

You'll also need a few more items. You can get extra thick metric washers at most hardware stores. I made a "cup" to go on the other side from thick walled steel tubing with a centered washer welded to one side. I used an old 3/4" drive socket to back the race with.

nsxguy7 · Post by **nsxguy7** » Sun Jan 11, 2015 9:58 pm

Here is the order of how all the pieces fit together. Be sure to coat the threads with a good amount of anti-seize. I drew a line on the race (bushing driver) so I knew when to stop tightening and to make sure that all four wound up at the same depth. NOTE- in this photo, the driver is turned around. I started that way in order to have a little more "meat" pushing on the bearing to get it started. Then I disassembled it, flipped it around, and continued threading it in until my sharpie line was even with the housing. A word of caution- they will still seat with GREAT DIFFICULTY. But just go slowly and take your time and you'll get there. The whole job took me maybe 2 or 3 hours to do all four. I did these myself because I could not find a machine shop willing to tackle the job. When I finally did, I was quoted almost 250 bucks for the job. One shop explained to me that the difficulty lies in fitting the arms in the press- our e24 arms will not easily fit in a good press (if at all).

nsxguy7 · Post by **nsxguy7** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 5:56 am

...and here's where they wound up. Behold my newly rebuilt complete rear suspension. About a solid month of work here but I think the results were well worth it. I can hardly wait to bolt this up...

ericono · Post by **ericono** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 6:58 pm

Congrats. It looks good (I think). Need a larger picture or link to a larger picture...

sansouci · Post by **sansouci** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 7:31 pm

The next time some tries this, can they use a micrometer to give us the inside and outside dimensions?

nsxguy7 · Post by **nsxguy7** » Fri Jan 16, 2015 9:14 pm

See page 1

Ralph in Socal · Post by **Ralph in Socal** » Sat Jan 17, 2015 6:50 am

ericono wrote:Congrats. It looks good (I think). Need a larger picture or link to a larger picture...

Agree X3. Very Niiice.

Ralph

Colin C · Post by **Colin C** » Sat Jan 17, 2015 12:38 pm

ericono wrote:Congrats. It looks good (I think). Need a larger picture or link to a larger picture...

Right click and save to your desktop then you can manipulate with whatever software you have........a bit low res but you can see the detail.

Great job, I love threads like this resulting in a 'build'

Do you have a table lift for install or are you dismantling and installing in component's?

nsxguy7 · Post by **nsxguy7** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 12:24 am

Thanks for the tip. I borrowed a low lift transmission jack to lift it in to place so it will go in in one piece.

nsxguy7 · Post by **nsxguy7** » Sun Jan 18, 2015 4:55 pm

A few details...that's a 2.93 limited slip diff. I replaced the rear wheel bearings as long as I was there. Used SKF brand (ouch!) but some of the cheaper brands were getting bad reviews so I bit the bullet for the premium ones. I found a small crack in the sheet metal that supports the diff so I welded it up. I used the dragon motorsports adjustable toe/camber kit. Its a bit of a pain to install as it requires a fair amount of cutting and welding with little margain for error. But the results are well worth it. I used new OEM subframe bushings and filled them with pourable poly I got fom McMaster-Carr. Pretty easy to do and cheaper than molded poly bushings.

sansouci · Post by **sansouci** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 1:49 am

Did you rebuild or replace the half shafts?

nsxguy7 · Post by **nsxguy7** » Mon Jan 19, 2015 10:48 pm

I replaced the half shafts. They only cost about 79 bucks apiece at most of the major supply houses. Hard to build them yourself for much less than that.

ericono · Post by **ericono** » Thu Jan 29, 2015 6:04 pm

Hey, by chance did you weigh the assembly once you completed it, but before installation back into the chassis? I'd be curious what it weighs as a point of reference.

Thanks,

Eric

nsxguy7 · Post by **nsxguy7** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 4:25 am

Sorry I did not. Probably should have, though...

sansouci · Post by **sansouci** » Wed Feb 04, 2015 4:00 pm

Sexy red brake lines..whose?

nsxguy7 · Post by **nsxguy7** » Sun Feb 08, 2015 8:37 pm

Sorry but I'm not sure. The brake lines were a Xmas gift from the wife...yeah, she really is that awesome...

nsxguy7 · Post by **nsxguy7** » Sun Feb 08, 2015 8:41 pm

Got new calipers so I decided to try my hand at painting them. BTW, Brembo rep said that powder coating them is a big no-no...they use ceramic paints. So I followed suit...

wattsmonkey · Post by **wattsmonkey** » Sun Feb 08, 2015 10:55 pm

I'm at the "putting it back together" stage with the rear axle on the M: this is an inspiration!

Amazing work.

ericono · Post by **ericono** » Wed Jul 08, 2015 3:29 am

Do you have any more details on the adjustable camber and caster pieces you added to your subframe? What sort of cutting and welding did you have done?

Also, where did you locate the plates relative to the holes, and where did you get your plates or kit from: IE, Dungeon Motorsport, someone else?

Thanks,

Eric

TBM · Post by **TBM** » Sun Jul 12, 2015 4:30 am

ericono wrote:Do you have any more details on the adjustable camber and caster pieces you added to your subframe? What sort of cutting and welding did you have done?

Also, where did you locate the plates relative to the holes, and where did you get your plates or kit from: IE, Dungeon Motorsport, someone else?

Thanks,

Eric

This should give you insight into what can be doneL

http://www.s14.net/jakesdtmtours/image-html/sus1.html

nsxguy7 · Post by **nsxguy7** » Tue Feb 23, 2016 6:58 am

Rear calipers turned out great. I had some "M" decals made and covered them with a couple of coats of clear...

nsxguy7 · Post by **nsxguy7** » Tue Feb 23, 2016 7:11 am

Got a great deal on Michelin Pilot Super Sports. I'll be running 225/40-18s front and 265/35-18s out back on these wheels, 18x8.5 F and 18x10 R...

bigcoupe.com

E34 M5/ E38 rear trailing arm bushing install how-to

Rear suspension rebuild

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Re: E34 M5/ E38 rear trailing arm bushing install how-to

Re: E34 M5/ E38 rear trailing arm bushing install how-to