E46 - Front suspension knocking sound

[Andrew Coates]

Was out in the car this morning and noticed a knocking sound at low speeds from the front end.
When I got back, I jacked it up and discovered some play in the bottom wishbone bushes (underneath the hub)on both sides. There was no vertical play but when I moved the wheel side to side, I could see some movement in the joint at the bottom.

How easy are these bushes to replace and how much? Are they a BMW part or available from a different supplier? Is it a dealer/specialist job or something I can do myself. I know my way around a set of spanners and a socket set, but are there any special tools required?

Lots of questions!!

Any help would be great

Thanks

[Nedz]

I had the same problem with my E46 cab a few years back.It was the nearside front and the whole wishbone has to be replaced.I had mine done at my local indy and from memory it cost £340 fitted.

Im assuming it will be a bmw only part,not sure if it could be a diy job,depends how handy you are with the spanners.I wouldnt bother using a main dealer though,it should be an easy enough job for any local mechanic.

At my last service they told me the other side now has a little play in it,though it hasnt started knocking yet,and this is some 3 years after the other side was replaced which proves they mustn't wear at the same rate.

[blondini]

It's not a difficult job if you are reasonably handy with a spanner, and the parts are available outside BMW network. Hardest tasks were splitting the outer balljoint for which I reluctantly used a fork type splitter, and pressing the new rear bushes onto the wishbones. This has to be done correctly to a specific dimension, you don't just hammer them on.

I replaced both front wishbones and their rear bushes on my e46 M3, the rear bushes really have to be done at the same time. I bought OEM(lemforder)parts from ebay seller united-auto but it still cost around £500.

[john_p]

I did these on my 328 a few weeks ago. Plenty of DIYs on the net.

It wasn't a particularly tough job but I did use pre-assembled wishbones and bushes so no fiddling with getting the bushes on.

Having a fork splitter and lump hammer was essential!

The fiddliest part was getting access to the inner wishbone nuts, on top of the subframe, there's limited clearance and I couldn't get a socket in there. A spanner just about fit. Also, I also found that the replacement (Meyle) nuts were bigger than the OEM ones - assuming you don't have a full set of big spanners, check you have everything before you start the job !

Also IIRC you are supposed to replace the bolts securing the lower reinforcement brace, if you need to remove it to access the rear wishbone bush carrier bolts. 4x on my car, M3 may be different.

[stevesingo]

I've done these twice now on the GF's 320d. The only difficult things are the inner balljoint nut is difficult to get to (ratchet spanner) and splitting the outer ball joint.

Why have I done it twice? I bought non BMW parts the first time and the arms were shot again in 25k miles. Buy cheap, buy twice.

FWIW, BMW do a "Value Line" parts service, same parts, different box, cheaper price. The arms, rear bushes and all the fasteners: £320 inc VAT

Steve

[Andrew Coates]

Thanks for all the information gents.

Decided to take it into a well respected specialist nearby.

Happy to pay them to know it will be done right