When is a "Wishbone Rubber Mounting", not.

#1

I have this rubber bushing(?) that has failed. RealOEM.com calls it a “Wishbone Rubber Mounting”. Seems to me like there’s likely a better version of this being sold by performance shops, bushings being free in the regs. But none of our sponsors are selling a “Wishbone Rubber Mounting”. So maybe it’s called something different? Any recommendations on who’s bushing to buy?

#2

If it’s not something Chuck sells… you might want to give Carr Industries a call. They have all sorts of bushings.

http://www.carrindustries.com/

#3

Ranger, are you referring to part #8 in this drawing?

http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=1113&mospid=47309&btnr=31_0261&hg=31&fg=05&hl=39

If so, you do not want to run street/OEM parts here. You need poly or delrin, and probably the offset version (provides more caster).

These are commonly called front control arm bushings, and sold by me and most every E30 performance parts supplier.

#4

Ranger wrote:

What’s the part number for the “wishbone rubber mounting”? I suspect it’s a front control arm (“wishbone” in the ETK) bushing, but without knowing which part you’re actually talking about it’s hard to say for sure.

#5

Thanks Chuck, I figured out that the wishbone is the control arm only a couple min ago.

What do you guys think about the pricey BMWCCA control arm bushings? http://store.bimmerworld.com/shared/StoreFront/default.asp?CS=bimmerworl&StoreType=BtoC&Count1=80211818&Count2=997352242&CategoryID=20&Target=products.asp

What about some of the other steering bits? I don’t sense any symptoms of problems, but maybe it’s standard practice to replace more front end stuff if it’s going to be apart anyways?

Like maybe if my control arm bushing is worn out, one might assume that the balljoints are getting tired too? Therefore replace the control arms?

What about tie-rod ends, replace them while I’m at it or wait until there are symptoms?

#6

Scott, if you bought an old beater car and they (front control arms) were not recently replaced by the previous owner, I would replace them. Failure would be very costly - and dangerous. We run the solid delrin and I think many others do as well. Run the hole to the most outward position for the most caster. With tie rods, if they are old and sloppy, they are relatively easy and inexpensive to replace.
Ed

#7

Might be a good idea to do the control arms too. Do what you can while you’re in there…

But as far as the bushing goes, here’s a link to F3P’s bushing
http://www.factory3performance.com/shop/shopexd.asp?id=248&bc=no
As with all of Chuck’s stuff… you’ll be hard pressed to find a better price.

#8

How 'bout all these metal “spherical” bushings. Front, rear and subframe. Any use in spending the money for those?

Re. Chuck. He’s a good guy. And being a fellow E30 and a sponsor means a lot. Anything that can be bought from a sponsor is.

Later edit: May have answered my own question. James Clay in BimmerForums: “Solid - Not prefered for most people. The black race urethane compound is very stiff but with a little compliance - this is not to be interpreted as “squishy”… We have full solid on our racecars and we strip the shells down to bare metal every year to inspect and repair cracks. Solid mounting is maintenance intensive and for the PITA factor versus minimal performance tradeoff for most types of racing, it just isn’t at all worth it once you have had a couple of years to deal with it.”

#9
#10

Scott, we’ve done this stuff over many cars.
You cannot go wrong with the guy at Factory 3 or the guys at Bimmerworld(both in our area). Bimmerparts,Elephant and Valley Motorworks would likely share the same thoughts and they serve their racers well.
Find a vendor you can trust and keep the economy going.

Regards, Robert Patton