Bottom ball joint/wishbone

weirdfish · Post by **weirdfish** » Fri Mar 16, 2012 11:58 am

I have slight play in the bottom ball joint, it's the rear of the two arms, I have no problem at all in changing it myself, but what I'm wondering is where the best place is to buy one from, obviously dealers are going to be very expensive, ( but I have yet to ring them ), local motor factors have one on the shelf @ Â£59.18, + vat, but on eBay they are about Â£40.
Now I know quality can differ from one to the other, so basically what I'm after is, has anyone changed any of these and where did they source them from, and, what sort of quality were they, ( basically, did they look like they were going to last ).
Thanx.

Edited to add, dealer price was Â£170

phill · Post by **phill** » Fri Mar 16, 2012 12:21 pm

Mine came from Eurocarparts and did not last 12 months unsure if the garage fitted them correctly as they both failed. Eurocarparts did replace both and the garage fitted them for free last August, so far they are ok. Indy garage charged Â£95 fitted each side.

Phill

AW8 · Post by **AW8** » Fri Mar 16, 2012 1:28 pm

I would try to go for Lemforder for suspension parts if not sourcing OE. Thats what I did when I had one changed on mine - same again for a drop link/stabiliser bar.

Not saying it must be Lemforder but same would be a safe bet in abscence of other sound recommendation.

Lemforder recommended by those in the know on BMW Land.

weirdfish · Post by **weirdfish** » Fri Mar 16, 2012 2:18 pm

Whilst awaiting any replies, I thought I would visit the local motor factors and have a look at the wishbone they have in stock, just to either consider it, or indeed rule it out. Must say, I was pleasantly surprised when the part they showed me was made by bilstein. So seeing as it was less than half the price of a BMW part, and still made by a leading player in the suspension world I just coughed up my hard earned and walked away quite happy.
Now to fit it, but maybe wait until the sun comes out again.

dirtymonkey29 · Post by **dirtymonkey29** » Fri Mar 16, 2012 5:45 pm

Measure centre of the wheel to the top of the wheel arch before you start work. Once its changed and before you torque everything up jack up under the ball joint till the centre of your hub to the top of wheel arch matches your original measurement. This will allow you to tighten everything up under load, which is the proper way and new bushes will last longer

weirdfish · Post by **weirdfish** » Fri Mar 16, 2012 6:07 pm

[quote=""dirtymonkey29""]Measure centre of the wheel to the top of the wheel arch before you start work. Once its changed and before you torque everything up jack up under the ball joint till the centre of your hub to the top of wheel arch matches your original measurement. This will allow you to tighten everything up under load, which is the proper way and new bushes will last longer[/quote]

Thanx for the tip, I had intended to retighten everything once the car was back on the ground, but this way might give me a bit more room to get to the nuts/bolts etc.

dirtymonkey29 · Post by **dirtymonkey29** » Fri Mar 16, 2012 6:23 pm

Exactly... No wheel in the way

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