zed passed mot but with a couple of advisory's..............
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pedro20001
- Joined: Sat 29 Jan, 2011 20:34
- Posts: 361
- Location: tamworth
zed passed mot but with a couple of advisory's..............
morning, zed passed mot yesterday, all good except for both ball joints have bit of wear and both front wishbone rear bushes getting on a bit... have been reading old threads about powerflex bushes ( thanks mike fishwick for all your advice ) hopefully sorting these will stop wandering at front end. My dilemma is do i get ball joints replaced in original wishbones and have powerflex bushes fitted for rear wishbone bushes or do i bite the bullet and replace both wishbones? not sure how much more labour cost involved or is it diy - able? cheers pete
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simonbud100
- Joined: Tue 09 Feb, 2010 22:39
- Posts: 204
- Location: Swansea
My experience is that powerflex bushes are good (I have fitted them to both of my Z3's) but they are not the answer to tramlining issues. In my opinion changing both ball joints will be of greater benefit. You will notice a far stiffer ride with the Powerflex bushes.
As for changing ball joints or whole wishbones, I would ask your mechanic to check the condition of the wishbones and make a decision from there. Assuming they are OK and not damaged it will be a lot cheaper to just replace the ball joints (go for OEM if you can).
Labour costs will be higher this way, but should still work out a lot cheaper than buying new OEM complete wishbones.
As for changing ball joints or whole wishbones, I would ask your mechanic to check the condition of the wishbones and make a decision from there. Assuming they are OK and not damaged it will be a lot cheaper to just replace the ball joints (go for OEM if you can).
Labour costs will be higher this way, but should still work out a lot cheaper than buying new OEM complete wishbones.
It will be cheaper by far to replace the whole wishbone as you will need to take the wishbone off to replace the balljoints and then the labour on top to get them out which isn't easy and requires a 10 ton press and correct tooling to do so far less hassle and time to just replace the entire lot.
As for powerflex bushes it is a good upgrade but as said won't totally eliminate tramlining as there are other factors involved like tyres which play a big role in solving this problem. I would yes replace the bushes either with powerflex of BMW oem bushes to ensure quality as 3rd party bushes may have soft rubber. I fitted PF ones and noticed a distinct improvement but you also get more vibrations transmitted through the wheel (minute vibrations that is) so you can feel the texture of the road is the best I can describe it.
As for powerflex bushes it is a good upgrade but as said won't totally eliminate tramlining as there are other factors involved like tyres which play a big role in solving this problem. I would yes replace the bushes either with powerflex of BMW oem bushes to ensure quality as 3rd party bushes may have soft rubber. I fitted PF ones and noticed a distinct improvement but you also get more vibrations transmitted through the wheel (minute vibrations that is) so you can feel the texture of the road is the best I can describe it.
Aceman
Arctic Silver '98 Z3M
Previously;
Bright RED '99 Z3 2.8
Rocking seats ? You need seat bushes click HERE
Arctic Silver '98 Z3M
Previously;
Bright RED '99 Z3 2.8
Rocking seats ? You need seat bushes click HERE
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pedro20001
- Joined: Sat 29 Jan, 2011 20:34
- Posts: 361
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- Location: tamworth
