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+--- Thread: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i (/showthread.php?tid=11117)
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - Apoc - 03-24-2016
It took me about a year to train the wife not use the e-brake on the Mini 'cause I'd drive off with it engaged.
I'm not even sure I actually use it on the 911. I think maybe I do when I'm out but not at home?
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - Senor_Taylor - 03-24-2016
Okay, back on track here
Now that is halfway figured out for now. I have an appointment next friday to have these tires mounted and balanced and a 4 wheel alignment. So the race is on to get these RTAB's installed. I figured they should be here early next week. The only time I have to work on it is Monday or Wednesday after 5:30 so I might be working in the dark
If I can get that done, the car should be good for the cruise and the auto-cross.
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - Senor_Taylor - 03-24-2016
Wait, am I supposed to have a cover for the sun roof? I don't have one...
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - *insertusernamehere* - 03-24-2016
Senor_Taylor Wrote:Wait, am I supposed to have a cover for the sun roof? I don't have one...What do you mean?
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - Jake - 03-25-2016
Like the slide-y sunshade thing? You should have one but the guide clips frequently break on the E46's, so it's possible that Chan or someone else ripped it out.
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - Senor_Taylor - 03-25-2016
Does anyone have any tips about doing the RTABs? They should be here Monday and I'm just going to use the Harbor Freight Ball Joint Press. I've read that they're supposed to be preloaded? How would i do that?
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - PDenbigh - 03-25-2016
Also look back in the sunroof area - when the stops break, the cover can get pulled pretty far back in when the sunroof retracts. You may just have to fish for it.
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - Senor_Taylor - 03-25-2016
PDenbigh Wrote:Also look back in the sunroof area - when the stops break, the cover can get pulled pretty far back in when the sunroof retracts. You may just have to fish for it.I looked. There's nothing in there.
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Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - D_Eclipse9916 - 03-25-2016
Senor_Taylor Wrote:Does anyone have any tips about doing the RTABs? They should be here Monday and I'm just going to use the Harbor Freight Ball Joint Press. I've read that they're supposed to be preloaded? How would i do that?
Have to measure the angle between where the RTAB mounts at ride height vs where you are installing it. Install at the angle of ride height.
Or just install them and forget about it. (Most mechanics would do it this way). Only shortens RTAB life.
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - SlimKlim - 03-25-2016
EDIT: DJ Beat me to it...
The pre-loading thing has to do with the angle of the carrier bracket that holds the bushing to the trailing arm/hub. Apparently the official method is to use a straight edge and eyeball it so that the bottom of the carrier bracket is 8mm above the casting mark on the trailing arm.
![[Image: alignment.jpg]](http://relaxkev.free.fr/E36_DIY/rtabs/alignment.jpg)
The point is to get the angle of the carrier bracket to trailing arm as close as you can to the angle it will be at when the car is on the ground so that there isn't tension on the bushing when the car is at rest. I can't tell you more, one of the advantages of the poly bushings is that you don't have to worry about pre-loading.
Other tips & tricks: If you have expectations of the alignment being kind of ok after the install, abandon them now. Still make marks around the carrier before you loosen it so you can get it as close as possible, just accept it'll be completely whacked out and the only place you should drive it afterwards is straight to the alignment shop.
Use soapy water to help seat the new bushings.
Have patience. It probably won't be too bad because you have a press, my dumbass did it with a flathead screwdriver, hammer and a borrowed sawzall and shit got dark halfway through.
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - Sully - 03-25-2016
I don't remember if it was when I put the rear end back together on the m or if it was something else but I had to preload suspension one so I had the car completely in the air on jack stands and then I just jacked up the one wheel. I'm sure that's not approved or the correct way and hopefully dj will now explain why but that's how I did it
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Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - Senor_Taylor - 03-25-2016
I have an appointment for my new tires to be mounted on Friday and a 4 wheel alignment, hence my rush to do the RTAB, I'm not worried about the alignment since I'll just drive straight straight there the next day. Thanks for the infographics, those will definitely help.
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - BLINGMW - 03-25-2016
Jake Wrote:Chan ripped it out.
![[Image: You+_4359bd861dc19b1cdd642b0e7d5a5d6c.gif]](http://static2.fjcdn.com/thumbnails/comments/You+_4359bd861dc19b1cdd642b0e7d5a5d6c.gif)
It's around here somewhere, I forgot all about that stupid thing.
Good luck with the RTABs, that's super fun.
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - Senor_Taylor - 03-25-2016
BLINGMW Wrote:Jake Wrote:Chan ripped it out.
It's around here somewhere, I forgot all about that stupid thing.
Good luck with the RTABs, that's super fun.
Do I have to pay extra for that? I'll forgive you. Just throw those stock wheels in and I'll call it even
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - Senor_Taylor - 03-28-2016
I have been defeated. I'm really going to try to not be butt hurt about this, but it'll be hard. 5 hours, a sore foot from kicking my tire as hard as I can, and a thumb with a piece of metal stuck in it later... and the car is sitting on the ground with no trailing arms and the tires cambered AND toed in like crazy. Unfortunately Copper will tow my car if it's on Jackstands and I'll get in trouble.
I bought the HF ball joint press and we set to work. Struggling and struggling until Sam showed up with some large sockets to help push the bushing out more. The first one sheared in half and was stuck, so we moved onto the second. After fighting and fighting and tearing up every piece of metal under the car there AND the side skirt, the bushing came out. Then I drove to Lowe's and walked in the door at 8:59 to rent a reciprocating saw. Turns out Lowes doesn't rent tools. So I now own a fancy saw. (Do the math, and I'm not having spent considerably MORE than the RTAB tool costs). I get back and manage to get the bushing out on the right side. By this point, my back is hurting so bad I can barely stand up. Sam, Sam, and I are cranking and cranking on the tool trying to get the bushing to go in. We lubed it (which you aren't supposed to do) and we used zipties, and cranked some more. The bushings won't budge.
So now it's dark and I hadn't even been inside my house all day so we gave up. I called a few people and sent facebook messages to ask if it's okay to put the car down without the trailing arms and no one responded, so I had Sam and my roomie hold the tires up as high as they could while I let the car down to the ground. That was the only way to keep the wheels from folding under the car. So now the wheels are cambered extremely positively and I'm sure that's not good for anything under there. Sad day. I had Wednesday night to try to get these bushings in and I'm not sure how I'll do it.
I think I figured out what we did wrong, so we will see on Wednesday.
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - BLINGMW - 03-28-2016
oh man
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - SlimKlim - 03-29-2016
I hate to come in here with I-told-you-so's after the fact, but that's why people like to do the black "powerflex" bushings or whatever they're called, they come in 2 pieces and more or less tap in, no press required.
I had a similar problem trying to get my old RTABs out, the metal sleeve of the bushing seems to completely bond with the trailing arm over time, I think I ended up using a combination of my biggest flathead screwdriver, a hammer, and a borrowed sawzall to get mine out.
So you got both bushings out but you can't get the new ones in?
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - D_Eclipse9916 - 03-29-2016
Its not a job I like to do. Sorry you are having such issues. Take some sandpaper and knock off all the built up crap on the inside of the RTAB housing. Then remember that the housing and the bushing are BOTH tapered. They should only go in ONE way. A nice sledge should get them most the way in, and then use the HF ball joint press to get it the rest of the way in. Trust me, you would have to do WAYYYY too much sanding (like a day's worth) to fuck up the actual trailing arm hole.
Also, facebook messaging me at 10 oclock at night and expecting a 5 minute response time is not happening. I was underneath a car finishing up a manual swap. (or attempting to do so because UUC forgot to send the correct shifter bushing with their short shifter kit).
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - ScottyB - 03-29-2016
when i did my RTABs on the subaru i used a hacksaw to get the old bushing's metal sleeve off. just really careful sawing so i didn't gouge the trailing arm knuckle.
it may be worth it to just yank the trailing arm off completely and take them to a garage with a press. its a lot easier to turn bolts than press bushings in my experience. +1 to Joey's advice as well, always buy 2 piece self lubricated bushings if the quality is remotely comparable to OEM...much easier. don't despair too much though, bushing jobs are NEVER easy.
Re: The Blue Phoenix - E46 325i - Senor_Taylor - 03-29-2016
Thanks guys. I've done bushings before when I redid the suspension on my Tacoma and it was super duper easy, so I wasn't expecting as much resistance. Both sides have the bushings pushed halfway in right now so I'll try to get them the rest of the way in before pulling them back out and getting them sanded. If I have to get them pressed in, then the car will not be ready for this weekend at all, haha. I'm not sure why I didn't think to sand them at first because that's exactly what I did on the Taco.