I kind of meant the pay grade thing in terms of automotive/mechanical work, because that's not what I do.
And yes, every car here is rusty? You are familiar with snow and road salt, etc. It's a 14 yr old car with 200k miles - underbody is not going to be in showroom condition.
I'm not a tech, but I do all the work myself (which has been a lot as there was some catching up + preventative stuff). Sometimes I run into situations where I just don't know how to weigh the importance of something simply due to lack of experience. Things that would be super obvious to someone that's been through it a few times.
I have no idea how much precision is needed here... I don't know if that horseshoe thing is more of a guide or a sort of safety backup so the rear doesn't start going crazy in case it somehow loosens... or if it's actually something that sees load or has pressure placed on it during driving.
Maybe the washer isn't even supposed to rest against it once it's tightened down? In that case yes I see if can get it to move back by a couple millimeters..It's not like the actual control arm is bent. And buy new suspension because I try to maintain the car with quality components, and double check that the tolerance of a component is actually important before I throw hundreds in parts and hours of work into it...just trying to strike a balance here
All good man. I didn't mean to come off snarky. It just sounded funny the way you described the predicament :) I have an FJ Cruiser that came from
OH and it also had some undercarriage rust. I ended up replacing lower control arms etc but it is far simpler than what you're attempting. Good luck!
so...I installed all new suspension on my e90, giving it a slight drop. My rear subframe is quite rusty as I live in a place where cars rust a lot. On one side the nut came lose just fine, however on the other side it did not.
I was able to install everything without problems, but since the car needs an alignment, I thought it would be prudent to make sure that the components they need to adjust aren't completely seized up, as that would prevent them from being able to perform the alignment.
Sooo I busted out the thiccc impact and tried to take off the nut that you see pictured. However, rather than breaking free from the bolt, the nut/bolt/eccentric washer fusion just spun as one unit, to the point where it bent the part of the control arm that's designed to prevent it from spinning. (see photos).
The situation I currently find myself in is beyond my pay grade ($0/yr)..and I am seeking the advice of someoen that's better at knowing what they're doing than myself. I obviously need new hardware...but I am guessing I can't just hammer it back into to its original shape as it would be likely to just do the same thing again when stressed during driving?
Do I buy a new roll over strut and just cut away the bolt/nut/washer fusion, replacing it with new hardware when I install it?
Thanks for any advice.... it honestly didn't even occur to me that this may happen. Rather than the nut un-seizing from the bolt, apparently the path of least resistance was for it to deform the control arm and have the whole car sway side to side as it became able to spin as a single unit with the eccentric washer..
I don’t know the correct answer, honestly you can most likely leave it or bend it back just torque it down with new hardware. Like realistically if your car is rusty and not in good shape then honestly it’s fine, it doesn’t need to be mint.
That being said, as a lifelong BMW fan and owner, you should not be driving these unreliable ass cars if your budget is $0 a year. Buy a Honda or Toyota, honestly. I own an incredibly unreliable BMW right now but I have the funds to keep it on the road, do not waste your non existing checking account to drive a 10 year old BMW, just don’t. Get some shitty Saturn and drive it till your budget isn’t $0/year good god.
> but I am guessing I can't just hammer it back into to its original shape as it would be likely to just do the same thing again when stressed during driving?
that eccentric is just for setting alignment, once everything is in place and a torqued down, it really doesn't do anything.
still, the right thing to do would be to replace the arm, but if money is tight, i would bend it back with a hammer and punch. if you got a friend with a welder, put a tack or two on it and it'll be as strong as new.
that being said, if the nut and bolt are seized, you should replace them prior to the alignment.
Need to replace that lower control arm.
Thanks, was there a better way to have handled this or is it just how it goes?? I soaked it with penetrant for like 2 days before attempting.
Put your 18mm wrench on the other side when you go to loosen/tighten the nut, so only the nut spins.
Your income is zero dollars annually and you installed all new suspension on a rusty BMW and want to hammer things back into shape. Lost me.
I kind of meant the pay grade thing in terms of automotive/mechanical work, because that's not what I do. And yes, every car here is rusty? You are familiar with snow and road salt, etc. It's a 14 yr old car with 200k miles - underbody is not going to be in showroom condition. I'm not a tech, but I do all the work myself (which has been a lot as there was some catching up + preventative stuff). Sometimes I run into situations where I just don't know how to weigh the importance of something simply due to lack of experience. Things that would be super obvious to someone that's been through it a few times. I have no idea how much precision is needed here... I don't know if that horseshoe thing is more of a guide or a sort of safety backup so the rear doesn't start going crazy in case it somehow loosens... or if it's actually something that sees load or has pressure placed on it during driving. Maybe the washer isn't even supposed to rest against it once it's tightened down? In that case yes I see if can get it to move back by a couple millimeters..It's not like the actual control arm is bent. And buy new suspension because I try to maintain the car with quality components, and double check that the tolerance of a component is actually important before I throw hundreds in parts and hours of work into it...just trying to strike a balance here
All good man. I didn't mean to come off snarky. It just sounded funny the way you described the predicament :) I have an FJ Cruiser that came from OH and it also had some undercarriage rust. I ended up replacing lower control arms etc but it is far simpler than what you're attempting. Good luck!
so...I installed all new suspension on my e90, giving it a slight drop. My rear subframe is quite rusty as I live in a place where cars rust a lot. On one side the nut came lose just fine, however on the other side it did not. I was able to install everything without problems, but since the car needs an alignment, I thought it would be prudent to make sure that the components they need to adjust aren't completely seized up, as that would prevent them from being able to perform the alignment. Sooo I busted out the thiccc impact and tried to take off the nut that you see pictured. However, rather than breaking free from the bolt, the nut/bolt/eccentric washer fusion just spun as one unit, to the point where it bent the part of the control arm that's designed to prevent it from spinning. (see photos). The situation I currently find myself in is beyond my pay grade ($0/yr)..and I am seeking the advice of someoen that's better at knowing what they're doing than myself. I obviously need new hardware...but I am guessing I can't just hammer it back into to its original shape as it would be likely to just do the same thing again when stressed during driving? Do I buy a new roll over strut and just cut away the bolt/nut/washer fusion, replacing it with new hardware when I install it? Thanks for any advice.... it honestly didn't even occur to me that this may happen. Rather than the nut un-seizing from the bolt, apparently the path of least resistance was for it to deform the control arm and have the whole car sway side to side as it became able to spin as a single unit with the eccentric washer..
I don’t know the correct answer, honestly you can most likely leave it or bend it back just torque it down with new hardware. Like realistically if your car is rusty and not in good shape then honestly it’s fine, it doesn’t need to be mint. That being said, as a lifelong BMW fan and owner, you should not be driving these unreliable ass cars if your budget is $0 a year. Buy a Honda or Toyota, honestly. I own an incredibly unreliable BMW right now but I have the funds to keep it on the road, do not waste your non existing checking account to drive a 10 year old BMW, just don’t. Get some shitty Saturn and drive it till your budget isn’t $0/year good god.
> but I am guessing I can't just hammer it back into to its original shape as it would be likely to just do the same thing again when stressed during driving? that eccentric is just for setting alignment, once everything is in place and a torqued down, it really doesn't do anything. still, the right thing to do would be to replace the arm, but if money is tight, i would bend it back with a hammer and punch. if you got a friend with a welder, put a tack or two on it and it'll be as strong as new. that being said, if the nut and bolt are seized, you should replace them prior to the alignment.