Graham Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 (edited) Hi guys. Just had arms done on my 535d, Dosnt seem to be done correctly car is riding high. Is there a correct way of fitting them? I did all 3 Thnx Graham Edited July 6 by Graham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 Did you tighten the bolts on the bushes at the subframe at ride height/with the weight of the car on them? Main wishbone arm fitting Front banana arm tension strut fitting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted July 6 Author Share Posted July 6 Garage did it mate so I presume not Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 17 minutes ago, Graham said: Garage did it mate so I presume not Ah I assumed you did it when you said 1 hour ago, Graham said: I did all 3 Take it back and ask them to slacken them all off and replace the bolts and tighten at ride height. Bolts are stretch bolts so need replacing each time they get undone. It’s normal procedure when replacing suspension components to tighten their bolts at ride height so as not to stress up bushes or affect ride height. Garage should know that. Assuming the garage fitted decent OEM or genuine parts and not cheap Chineseium grade made to incorrect dimensions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted July 6 Author Share Posted July 6 I supplied the parts, mayle Hd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 6 Share Posted July 6 Just now, Graham said: I supplied the parts, mayle Hd Meyle HD, yeah they are good. Ask the garage if they tightened it up with car at ride height Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted July 6 Author Share Posted July 6 Will I need a complete set of bolts for all the arms mate? What a pain, I asked garage if he knew what he was doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 On 06/07/2024 at 22:34, Graham said: Will I need a complete set of bolts for all the arms mate? What a pain, I asked garage if he knew what he was doing. Did you originally buy the bolts and supply them with the arms to the garage, or just the arms? The answer is yes, all the bolts on the arms are of the stretch variety so the torque settings will have a specific xxNm setting plus an additional angle. It is this additional angle that stretches the bolts so they should never be used twice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 I find this frustrating with parts like this that if you need stretch bolts then they should be supplied. Omission can only encourage people to reuse but is also frustrating if you don’t know. Makes ordering tricker too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 11 hours ago, duncan-uk said: I find this frustrating with parts like this that if you need stretch bolts Only cos you don’t read my posts properly…. 😝 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted July 8 Share Posted July 8 Sorry why can't you use the royal mail? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 9 Share Posted July 9 I use the Royal Mail plenty. When I sell my stuff on eBay, I ask the postie to bring me a sticky pre printed postage label and off my parcel goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duncan-uk Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Joke Andrew - i don't read your posts so i missunderstood obviously 🤪 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 10 Share Posted July 10 Lol I know, you can take a horse to water..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted July 11 Author Share Posted July 11 I'm really struggling to get this put right mate, My car has adaptive suspension. Does it need setting to 90mm the same as in your instructions? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted July 11 Author Share Posted July 11 Is there a sequence to follow when doing all 3 arms? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 11 Share Posted July 11 3 minutes ago, Graham said: My car has adaptive suspension. I don't know enough about the adaptive suspension I'm afraid. The 90mm dimension is for MSport coil springs. 4 minutes ago, Graham said: Is there a sequence to follow when doing all 3 arms? I didn't follow any particular sequence other than ensuring car was at ride height when torqueing the bolts. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted July 11 Author Share Posted July 11 It's msport mate has eco upto sport+ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve VH Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 Most control arms should be allowed to swivel up, and down, so the holding bolts should do just that, hold the control arms, if the garage did the bolts up with the Milwaukee gun, so tight that they are clamped, then the bushes will probably need replacing inside a year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 37 minutes ago, Steve VH said: Most control arms should be allowed to swivel up, and down, so the holding bolts should do just that, hold the control arms, if the garage did the bolts up with the Milwaukee gun, so tight that they are clamped, then the bushes will probably need replacing inside a year. No that’s incorrect in the case of these arms. The arms do not swivel on the inner bolt. The subframe clamps the metallic inner part of the bush due to the torque applied by the bolt. 85Nm plus 180 degrees (RFT!) When you take an arm out of the subframe you will see evidence of the clamping on the bush. The rubber bush flexes which gives the movement. This is why it is essential that the arms subframe bush is tightened at ride height so the bush is not stressed. If you tighten the bolt at the wrong ride height, the bushes will then be stressed up at normal ride height and wear out very quickly as they are already stressed. When the car is sat on level ground there should be no stresses in the bushes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve VH Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 (edited) If that is the case every time the front wheels move up or down the control arm bush will be subject to torsional forces, when I assumed the bushes were there to absorb fore and aft forces. Andrew Edited July 17 by Steve VH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Posted July 17 Share Posted July 17 Both Torsional from every bump and fore/aft movements. The bushes are designed to be relatively weak in torsion so can flex torsionally relatively easily but not by pivoting around the bolt. The arrangement of the lower arms is almost triangular in plan thus this alone is a very stiff shape for resisting the fore/aft movements. This puts lateral loads in the bushes which is why when they are worn and you brake, you feel them shudder. It’s also why these big barges go round bends so well. And why they need bushes replacing every 70k miles or so. It’s the trade off. Think of a budget car from the 1990s they had pressed steel lower front arms that were ‘L’ shaped. They were crap at cornering as the leg of the L could move as it wasn’t braced with anything. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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