E30/E36/Z3 Control Arm Bushing (Lollipop) replacement.

[2.5-12]

E30/E36/Z3 control arm bushing replacement (Lollipops)

Tools you’ll need:
1.) Floor Jacks
2.) Jack stand (recommended for safety)
3.) ½” drive ratchet
4.) 1x 3” extension for said ratchet
5.) 17mm shallow socket ½” drive
6.) 19mm shallow socket ½” drive
7.) 22mm shallow socket ½” drive
8.) angle grinder with cutoff or grinding disc
9.) chanel locks
10.) 2x 12” all thread 5/16” - 18.
11.) 4x 5/16” washers
12.) 4x 5/16” -18 nuts
12.5.) a 6” section of ⅜” square metal stock
13.) a 3 jaw gear puller. I bought one off of Amazon.com
14.) a Harmonic Balancer puller (I bought this on amazon too. basic is fine.)
15.) new lollipops

Shall we begin?

Step 1.) Jack up the front of the car, I used two floor jacks, one on either side.

Step 2.) locate the lollipops, and the two 17mm bolts that hold them to the underside of the car.

Step 3.) remove and set aside the two 17mm bolts and washers from the lollipop.

Step 4.) Position your 3 jaw puller around the lollipop and once seated firmly, tighten the 17mm pusher on the tool until the old ring and outer rubber bushing pop out.


Step 5.) take your angle grinder and notch the remaining rubber and metal part of the bushing all the way down so you can see a layer of rubber, a layer of metal and another layer of metal

Step 6.) once you’ve gotten to the inner rubber, use your chanel locks to rotate the remains of the bushing 180 degrees and repeat step 5.

Step 7.) once you have your two nothces, the metal part of the bushing should fall right off. the remains will be a thin rubber sleeve and that will slide right off with the help of your chanel locks, or a gloved hand (its VERY hot.)

Step 8.) push the new Lollipop on to the control arm as far as you can by hand, then position your newly created tool (harmonic balancer puller with thread rods, metal stock, washers and nuts) through the control arm and around the face of the new bushing.


Step 9.) put your 22mm socket on the face of the bushing, around the hole where the control arm end will come through. place the pointy end of the pusher section of the balancer puller in the drive hole of the socket.

Step 10.) KEEP YOUR TOOL STRAIGHT! and use the 19mm on the end of the puller to push the new lollipop onto the control arm.

step 11.) re-install the two 17mm nuts and torque them to 55 lb/ft. (or just guess, but pretty hard.)

step 12.) repeat all of that on the other side, and you’re done!

[hamradio]

nice writeup!

also, good advice:

Step 10.) KEEP YOUR TOOL STRAIGHT! and use the 19mm on the end of the puller to push the new lollipop onto the control arm.

[pdubs10]

RE: Step 4

When I did these the rubber was too beat up to get the whole thing off with the puller. The floppy bushing would angle and the puller would slip off. You can "carefully" use a sawzall to cut through the rubber, leaving just the center metal ring on the CA. You can then use the puller (a smaller 3-jaw) to get the inner ring off the control arm.

If you want to reuse the lollipops, you can cut through the outer ring of the bushing with a hack saw, dremel, or other thin metal-cutting saw and use a cold chisel to collapse the ring. Pops right out if you do that.

[EWAustin]

You make that look hard, I've always just hosed 'em down with PB blaster or whatever I have handy, twisted 'em and pulled 'em off...

[2.5-12]

I bet it took longer than this did, though.

40 minutes start to finish with no headaches.

the right tools make all the difference.

[Robgrover]

you can also just loop a tow strap through the holes on the control arm and then push the bushing on using the jack out of the trunk. When you get to the end of the arm just use a big socket. That is how I go them back on.

[2.5-12]

fair enough, I just tried to reduce headache.