Author Topic: new rubber? (Read 4318 times)

Screaming M42 · « **on:** June 02, 2008, 12:01:58 AM »

Hey everybody!

so, now that everything is working properly,

(boy was that a chore!! bought the car, had to have it towed to my house where it sat on jackstands for a month as i rebuilt most if the motor)

Ive put about 1500 miles on my pride and joy. Mostly baby miles. But, lately Ive been tossing it around some and Ive discovered the car wallows in the twisties really bad. i know the car has been abused for 15 years and im sure NOTHING has been replaced. ): i think it has the original shocks, even after 120k miles. The car is sooo bouncy.

Now, i have been scowering this forum and cant seem to find anything about replacing the rubber. Ive looked at Pelican parts suspension rebuild kits, but 600 bucks is a little steep. are there other companies that offer the same type of kits?

what is everybody doing about the tired rubber?

im just looking to go for an OEM feel. i dont really want to go with anything racey. i spend way too much time driving on crappy city roads compared to driving up a canyon.

OH! and after looking under the car for an hour, I realized I am missing a swaybar tab on the front. How the heck do I fix that? Do I just go to IE and buy some weld on tabs?

thanks (:

nomad · « **Reply #1 on:** June 02, 2008, 10:19:29 AM »

wow, no front sway will certainly give you tons of body roll.

try rmeuropean.com and buy all the shock mounts and bushings for the suspension. He's got good prices and great service. cheaper than Pelican, who seems to overcharge for their kits.

Febi Guibo · « **Reply #2 on:** June 02, 2008, 11:06:42 AM »

my 2 cents ...call patrick at bmaparts.com and get OEM rubber (except go for the treehouse racing eyeball control arm mounts) and a suspension techniques sway bar kit

Screaming M42 · « **Reply #3 on:** June 02, 2008, 11:27:32 AM »

You wouldnt even believe how much roll I have. Its absolutely awful.

Thanks for your help! Hopefully I can order up all the parts this week so I can put them in this weekend

KenC · « **Reply #4 on:** June 02, 2008, 02:25:14 PM »

How are you missing a tab up front? The mounts are directly in the control arms...

If you're looking for an OE ride, I'd replace the shocks with Bilstein Tourings.

What you'll want to replace on the car for a full suspension refresh:
Struts/shocks
Strutmounts (or if they're still OK, just refresh them with some grease)
Front and Rear swaybar bushings and endlinks
Front Control arms and bushings (I'd go with the M3 bushings over the Treehouse ones for your application)
Tierod ends
Rear subframe and trailing arm bushings, and a new diff mount.

I second buying them from BMA... great guys.

nomad · « **Reply #5 on:** June 04, 2008, 10:01:58 AM »

What's the price fro all that? I'm starting to compile a list of stuff too.

I need to do brakes though and I'm not sure the ABS is doing much of anything.

Screaming M42 · « **Reply #6 on:** June 05, 2008, 01:09:24 AM »

so, I think tab is the wrong name, but the cradle thing that holds the sway bar bushing has broken off. bushing is still there though.. held onto the sway bar with zip-ties. the "bushing cradle" looks as though it was welded to the motor mount k-member? i will take pictures tomorrow and post. I am at a loss with this stupid sway bar.

Birdman16 · « **Reply #7 on:** June 05, 2008, 05:35:32 PM »

I put e36 bushings in my 91 318is and it corners flatter and has a little harsher ride than stock, which we all know is a bit soft for a true driver's liking.

pbgd3skier · « **Reply #8 on:** June 05, 2008, 07:22:29 PM »

There is a common problem where in the tabs that mount the sway bar and bushings really are flimsy parts, and can fatigue and break.

many people sell kits for the rear, for up front you'll probably do best making some plates and boxing the mounts in from the sides.

The kits look something like this http://www.turnermotorsport.com/html/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=T30REINF

Now is it necessary? if you drive hard on occasion, no, but if you start getting into some autocrossing,or install thicker diameter sway bars and stiffer springs it would be a good idea to start reinforcing different trouble areas.

As far as bushings, i don't feel like you necessarily need to do every thing, but most are probably on their way out if they were OE. I wouldn't spend alot of money on aftermarket ones in most areas of the car, again if you autocross you might make some exceptions, but for the most part they are decent. Rear subframe bushings are the hardest ones to do, but probably the most important, my cars were shot and the things would shift in corners if you hit a bump. Unnerving to the extreme.