I am rebuilding the suspension on my R53. I've removed the subframe and all components, i.e. control arms, sway bar, inner/outer ball joints, etc. I purchased replacement front control arm brackets with rubber bushings installed. It was fairly easy to remove the old brackets/bushings with a couple of pry bars. The HUGE problem I'm having is installing the new rubber bushings/brackets on the control arms (I don't want poly bushings). Because they're angularly shaped the control arms can't seem to wedge against anything and stay in place long enough to press on the rubber bushings. I attempted to wedge the arms between the frame and a hydraulic jack in order to press on the bushings but the arms continually slip loose due to the way they're shaped. Trying to hammer them on with a piece of wood is useless because they fit so tightly. I took them to an auto shop and they attempted to press them on with an hydraulic press but they're having the same issues. There appears to be simply no way to secure the control arm. Has anyone on the forum been successful in installing original bushings/brackets on their control arms? If so, how in the world did you accomplish that? Color me extremely frustrated!!!! Thanks.

 

Have you tried lubricating the bushing to help it slide over the control arm? A little bit of Dawn dish soap "should" do the trick.

 

Yes, I've actually used a thick liquid silicone lubricant (used to lube o-rings in plumbing applications). Nothing is slicker than that. When I tried wedging the control arm between the frame and a 3.5 ton hydraulic jack it was actually lifting my car off the jack stands rather than sliding on the rubber bushing. Makes no sense to me that a lubed rubber bushing won't expand/install under pressure that high. There are plenty of videos on the Interweb about installing bushings in the brackets (fairly easy) but not installing the brackets on the control arms.

 

I would still suggest something thin and slippery, more like dish soap or WD-40. I removed mine last week, and I couldn't get them off no matter how much prying I tried. Then, I sprayed a slight amount of WD-40 between the control arm and the bushing. Bushing slid right off after that! It was not unlike trying to remove stuck exhaust hangers.

 

I'll give it a go but prying them off the control arms was easy. It's getting the new ones back on that's proven to be impossible at this point.

 

This is the actual BMW procedure:


I have not found a source for "Circo Light" or what it might be... I stand by my suggestion to use Dawn dish soap.

 

Well ... WD-40 or dish soap didn't work either. The control arm on the R53 is different than what you're showing above. On your pic, note the round shape surrounding the ball joint mount that provides a perpendicular surface to the shaft below. The R53 version does not have this. It's a straight line from the ball joint to the end of the arm so there's no way for the hydraulic press to lodge itself against the control arm. I see now why everyone goes with poly bushings because there's evidently no way to install a new rubber bushing other than spending $170 on the BMW tool 315 140 (Turner Motorsport). Anyone out there have one they want to rent?

 

Sorry, I made an assumption that the R53 bushing task was similar to the R56 task

 

Mod mini has a youtube procedure on this- I've not done it, but if you've not tried his method it might be worth a shot.

 

Please note that these bushes are tapered! You can only get them in their place from one side. I also found out the hard way. In the end I bought a workshop press haha

I replaced the bushings with the Powerflex Added caster bushes.

 

Not attempting to replace bushings in the brackets. I bought a complete bracket with bushing already installed. I'm attempting to slide the bushing/bracket onto the control arm. There's a specific BMW tool for this installation. Unfortunately, it's $165 (Turner Motorsport) so not worth it for a one-time need. I did find a German-make auto repair shop that is going to do it for $50. Thanks everyone for the replies.

 

Ah my bad, I misunderstood. They were a pita to get off, putting them in again would be an identical pita I can imagine. I can recommend the Powerflex route, it makes it way easier...Then, no effort required to get the arm in the bushing.

 

Yep, I mulled whether or not to go with poly bushings but I did that on the rear control arms and they consistently squeak even though I lubed them during installation. And, I've sprayed them with silicone lube since installation and they still squeak. Didn't want to have the same problem with much larger bushings on the front which would mean even louder squeaks. Plus, I'm never going to drive my Mini hard enough to have to worry about bushing deflection. Measuring ride quality and noise, can you tell the difference between stock and poly?

 

Thats hard to say in my case as I did a full overhaul. I fitted coilovers and renewed as much suspension components as I could ("while I am in there" thing). I went from stock Delphi struts to DTSline coilovers and also replaced:

-ARB bushings (front and back)
-Droplinks (front and back)
-Inner and outer ball joints
-New track control arms (front)
-Inner and outer tie rods
-Strut bearings
-Silver Project camber arms
-Powerflex roll center adjusters
-Powerflex rear trailing arm front bush
-Powerflex front wishbone caster adjusted bushes
-Powerflex steering rack bushing

Needless to say, a night and day difference. But I think if I went to all new rubber bushings, the difference would also be night and day. But, polyurethane has way less play, so everything feels crisper/sharper. It sits so planted on the road and devours corners with great stability, this is a very fun car to drive

I dont have any squeek from the suspension btw, I used the supplied lube from Powerflex and also used this lube on the ARB bushings (mildly).