[Tambohamilton]

Time has come to replace my stock rear toe arms, at 140k miles...the bushings are super crusty, and the steel arms aren't much better. I'd like to upgrade to something with better stiffness, preferably ball jointed. But I'm not keen on spending £100+ on the typical cheap-looking adjustable units, which seem to have very basic seals or no seals at all! I'd be quite happy to press new (sealed) ball joints into a pair of stock steel arms, if that works out economical.

Any suggestions please?

[Tambohamilton]

Well I got impatient and ordered a set of cheapo stock arms, plus a set of 4 Meyle ball joints that I reckon will fit them. I'll update this thread with my results, just in case...

[Tambohamilton]

So, that worked well!



Kamoka branded cheap and nasty arms, with Meyle ball joints... went together absolutely fine. Pressing the existing rubber bushes out and the ball joints in took about an hour all in. Fully ball jointed OE-looking arms for £72.47 all in. Fingers crossed the lifespan is reasonable!

[Andy198712]

That’s how I want to do it, how did the arms look built wise? Alright?

[Tambohamilton]

Looked like bits of pressed steel... perhaps a little rougher around the edges, and I bet the finish isn't as durable as OE items. But if they do a few years before needing a refurb I'll be happy enough.

If your OE arms are in decent condition, I bet you could do the same to them. Or refurb the arms once you have the old bushings out.

[Tambohamilton]

An update, finally, some 20k miles on...

The Meyle ball joints have a tiny amount of play in them. It's been through 3 MOTs with this (including one last week) and never any mention of it, but I've been able to hear it for years, and can now feel it if I nudge the wheel with my knees while fingering the ball joints. I'm especially disappointed, because I've also used the same ball joints on the trailing arms in the rear suspension, and can (I think) feel similar play there.

So what to do? Lemforder don't seem to make their compatible ball joint any more. I don't really fancy going back to stock, and I still don't fancy overpriced poorly sealed aftermarket parts...

Anyone got any suggestions?

I can get Vaico balls for £10ish each, but don't expect their quality/longevity to be any different from Meyle. Could buy Lemforder stock rubber bits and press them into these arms to save a few £ on going back to stock, but I'd rather not if possible. Any aftermarket arms which are reasonably priced and well sealed?

[Tambohamilton]

Found the correct part numbers for the ball joints:
BMW 33 32 6 767 190
= Lemforder 30679 01 (£26ish)
= TRW JBJ1181 (£23ish)

[Andy198712]

Shame about that, bit of a let down too quality wise.
I started converting my bushings to whiteline poly bushings but I felt like my old arms were a tad worn and now I think I’ll just get new arms of good quality like TRW or Lemforder tbh.

[Peter Morrin]

Were you able to discern any improvement in rear suspension performance? My understanding is that by removing the rotational resistance of the rubber joint with the ball joint, one is effectively softening the rear suspension.

Did you consider adjustable rod ends with sealing washers when you first made the change?

[Tambohamilton]

Too many other variables for me to figure out if they made a significant difference. My suspicion is that even in back to back testing I'd struggle to tell...but that's not really the point. My spreadsheet says my suspension setup is correct with ball joints, therefore that is the law!

What do you mean by rod ends and sealing washers? Pics/link, please!

[Tambohamilton]

Anyone got a cheap source for Lemforder 30679 01, please?
Cheapest I've found so far is Autodoc at £20.87ea....but I'll probably need 8.

[Tambohamilton]

Ordered the new lemforder ball joints yesterday - autodoc now have rewards for how long you been a customer etc, so I got 10% off a list price of £21.55ea... still very not cheap! I really hope they're made in Germany, with all the recent talk about non-german parts being sub-par.

[Andy198712]

Fingers crossed! I want to renew some of mine! Tempted by M3 items where I can but the toe arm won’t fit.

[Tambohamilton]

Yeah, toe arm options are either stock, overpriced aluminium adjustable things, or this... One day I'll buy an M3 back end and swap it in...maybe.

[psubmw]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

Yeah, toe arm options are either stock, overpriced aluminium adjustable things, or this... One day I'll buy an M3 back end and swap it in...maybe.

I'd have done M3 parts myself. Unfortunately, my 335xi won't work with them.

[Tambohamilton]

You can swap in an M3 rear end, same as rwd cars.

[Tambohamilton]

Result - ball joints made in Germany, wheel bearings made in Slovakia. Now just need to get a few more parts and find the time to install it all..