[BadContrakt]

Don't really wanna buy a whole kit for a thousand dollars.

On a 2008 PRE LCI 335XI is it possible to just refresh bushings and ball joints and feel a big difference in the handling and alignment (my car is out of spec and can't be aligned any more.

He said my suspension is so tired that it can't be aligned so I should get new struts/shocks/springs and I think I could probably get away with replacing bushings and ball joints... But I've never done that on an E90 and knowing BMW, I wouldn't be surprised if I had to buy an entire control arm just to replace a ball joint.

[PerfectAce]

On the xi, the ball joint for the front upper control arms can be purchased separately from the arms themselves. The lower control arms are all one piece.

If you're certain that the ball joints are the cause of all your problems, then I suppose you can go that route. That may solve your alignment issue and will reduce vagueness and unpredictability in its handling.

However, since your car is a decade old and everything is likely original and worn to some degree, your biggest bang-for-buck improvement would be to replace all suspension components while you're in there.

I was able to piece together all new control arms (upper and lower), tie rod ends, sway bar end links, Bilstein touring struts and shocks, strut mounts and shock mounting hardware for around $800. For a car with over 100k miles (with none of the above components obviously busted, blown, bent or broken) it was money well spent.

[Emilime75]

You're better off replacing the whole control arm to get the ball joint. Control arm bushings wear and cause just as many comfort/handling/steering/alignment/noise problems as ball joints. Also, if one side is bad, chances are the other is close...replace both, align once, enjoy the car.

If you plan on keeping the car a while longer, it would make sense to go through it and spend some money.

[ArchE90]

I'm going through the same dilemma on my 2011 328xi, it has developed a vibration at highway speeds, seems like a rotational noise. I swapped over to my winter wheels (stock BMW 17's) and the vibration and noise are still there... so I figured it couldn't really be a coincidence.

Went into a "Euro Specialized shop" in my Area, asked them to inspect car, rebalance wheels to eliminate that variable.

They found that :
My right Ball joint needs replacing
My two "Radius bushings" need replacement
My left rear lower control arm needs replacement.

My question is, could my vibration and noise be associated to these worn parts or could there be something else that they didn't see during inspection? I was expecting them to tell me about a bearing or a U-joint with this type of low-frequency vibration but they said all my drive shafts (front and rear) were fine, and that I had no bearing issues...

Thanks

[gotturbo]

Once you fix all that you’ll know!

[ArchE90]

Sure, but what I meant was : Have others experienced vibration symptoms at highway speeds with these same worn bushings?

If so, I might actually be more inclined to do it sooner than later if I know I'm headed towards fixing what is currently irritating me the most. I'll be honest the "worn out" bushings aren't causing much of a rough ride if we put aside the vibration, car feels fine on the highway and I drive 2 hours a day to work.

Thanks

[ArchE90]

I had 2 bent stock wheels had them repaired in a professional shop to straighten them out. Vibration is still present and there seems to be whining accompanied with the vibration between 80-120 km/h.

I have a front left LCA bushing that is apparently shot, I wonder if this single part can cause this type of chassis vibration or if there's something else going on.