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      03-17-2020, 03:29 PM   #1
kdog_x
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Front suspension issues

So, my 14 328dx has BC racing Type BR coil overs. I'm beginning to get some rattling noises when going over bumps. I popped the wheels off to inspect yesterday. The ball joints look good and the control arm bushings didn't appear damaged. The swaybar end links also look good. So I'm thinking maybe the shock is just bottoming, they are at 90k so they are probably overdue.

I'm planning to freshen up the coil overs, I just had a couple questions.

I am planning to replace the shock cartridges, And the rubber boots which are torn. The springs have some surface rust and the powder coating is peeling off. See picture.

1) Is the surface rust a sign they need to be replaced, or could they be wire brushed and painted?

2) are there any other common failure parts to the suspension in this area? Figured I should tackle any other potential problems since I'll need to get an alignment afterwards
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      03-17-2020, 05:53 PM   #2
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I would check your camber plate monoballs for wear to see if that might be causing the noise too.


If your tension strut (forward control arm) and wishbone (lower/rear control arm) bushings have never been changed before you might consider that as well. They typically don't last more than 50-70k.

The springs are probably still ok, although ugly.
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      03-17-2020, 06:12 PM   #3
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i had something similar...I tightened the top shock nut and increased the pre-load on the spring. no more noise.

otherwise, monoball in the plate or control arm bushings might be due as Farkle said.
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      03-17-2020, 07:42 PM   #4
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Ah, that makes sense. I didn't do the test with the jack, but the noise in that video seems accurate to what I hear. The camber plates looked terrible, they're rusted thoroughly and the paint is almost all peeled off. I bought the car with the BC's installed, the previous owner gave me a box with two new camber plates, he said BC sent them free, so maybe they were a recall or something.

The cars nearing 150k, so I'll definitely add the bushings to the list. It looks like the bushings are about $30 and the whole control arm is around $50, so might be worth swapping the whole arm to get the ball joint swapped too (though they look undamaged). Thanks for the suggestions!
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      03-17-2020, 08:07 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FaRKle! View Post
I would check your camber plate monoballs for wear to see if that might be causing the noise too.


If your tension strut (forward control arm) and wishbone (lower/rear control arm) bushings have never been changed before you might consider that as well. They typically don't last more than 50-70k.

The springs are probably still ok, although ugly.
Great advice as always.
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      03-17-2020, 11:28 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kdog_x View Post
Ah, that makes sense. I didn't do the test with the jack, but the noise in that video seems accurate to what I hear. The camber plates looked terrible, they're rusted thoroughly and the paint is almost all peeled off. I bought the car with the BC's installed, the previous owner gave me a box with two new camber plates, he said BC sent them free, so maybe they were a recall or something.

The cars nearing 150k, so I'll definitely add the bushings to the list. It looks like the bushings are about $30 and the whole control arm is around $50, so might be worth swapping the whole arm to get the ball joint swapped too (though they look undamaged). Thanks for the suggestions!
Definitely do the whole arm with your mileage. Lemforder makes the stock arms and can be had at a great price with new bushing and ball joint.
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      03-18-2020, 07:07 AM   #7
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Definitely do the whole arm with your mileage. Lemforder makes the stock arms and can be had at a great price with new bushing and ball joint.
Yeah, I was looking at the Lemforder arms on FCP last night. Looks like they're only $10 more than Beck/Arnley at Rock Auto. I have always had good luck with B/A thus far, but the lifetime warranty is a no brainer when it comes to a part with bushings and ball joints.

After the arms and struts, The only 'old' part left on there would be the tie rods. the joint on the outer rods looked good, but I didn't disconnect them or remove the boots to check the inners. This job is starting to add up... I suppose I should do that
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      03-18-2020, 07:42 AM   #8
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Steering transmission aftermath issue

I have an issue with my steering transmission. It has been acting weird and loosing some screws. I left my car in the shop, they said they had to change the mangle. Well, fine. But is it true that now I have to re-upload all the software and overwrite any modifications?
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      03-18-2020, 08:17 AM   #9
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Originally Posted by Emmett1976 View Post
I have an issue with my steering transmission. It has been acting weird and loosing some screws. I left my car in the shop, they said they had to change the mangle. Well, fine. But is it true that now I have to re-upload all the software and overwrite any modifications?
Loosing screws? Change the mangle?

I hope it doesn't literally have screws falling out lol. Not sure what you were trying to say, but if they changed the steering rack, I'm sure there is some software programming / teaching to the replacement.
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      03-18-2020, 02:37 PM   #10
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So, I was considering what exactly I need to order from BC. Looking into the available components, it is becoming apparent that I am probably going to need to remove the coil overs to assess what I need to order. ie. condition of the bump stops and the bearing piece that fits into the camber plates, Spring perches, etc... this should also give me a chance to test the dampers by hand and see if either are actually collapsed.

From what I understand incorrect toe eats tires. If I were to replace the camber plates while I am in there inspecting, would this throw off the toe enough to cause alignment issues? The tops of the camber plates are the same, so I could just set the camber according to the current position (or pretty close).

Attached is a picture of the camber plates. They are pretty rough. It would almost be a sin not to replace them if I have the shocks off lol
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      03-18-2020, 03:35 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kdog_x View Post
From what I understand incorrect toe eats tires. If I were to replace the camber plates while I am in there inspecting, would this throw off the toe enough to cause alignment issues? The tops of the camber plates are the same, so I could just set the camber according to the current position (or pretty close).
You should be close enough if you set the new camber plates at the same as your current ones.

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Originally Posted by kdog_x View Post
Attached is a picture of the camber plates. They are pretty rough. It would almost be a sin not to replace them if I have the shocks off lol
Wow, and that's why the OE top mounts and more expensive camber plate options are made of aluminum, and not steel...
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      03-18-2020, 04:21 PM   #12
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Those top mounts have seen better days eh?! Even though those camber plates are steel, if you change your alignment frequently, the setscrews will peel the paint off and start digging into the steel wearing them out more quickly. It certainly isn't the highest quality but for the price...it is what it is.

I have a BC racing set up and if I am driving a long distance, I will usually setup my alignment at the event then switch it back for the way home to minimize tire wear.
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      03-18-2020, 06:14 PM   #13
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The pillowball camber plates always wear out on these coilovers. I would say you should replace the upper mounts every few years depending on how bad your roads are.

They are guaranteed to clunk as the pillowball bearing wears out.
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      03-18-2020, 06:46 PM   #14
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Quote:
Originally Posted by johnung View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by kdog_x View Post
Ah, that makes sense. I didn't do the test with the jack, but the noise in that video seems accurate to what I hear. The camber plates looked terrible, they're rusted thoroughly and the paint is almost all peeled off. I bought the car with the BC's installed, the previous owner gave me a box with two new camber plates, he said BC sent them free, so maybe they were a recall or something.

The cars nearing 150k, so I'll definitely add the bushings to the list. It looks like the bushings are about $30 and the whole control arm is around $50, so might be worth swapping the whole arm to get the ball joint swapped too (though they look undamaged). Thanks for the suggestions!
Definitely do the whole arm with your mileage. Lemforder makes the stock arms and can be had at a great price with new bushing and ball joint.
And do the f80 arms while youre there. They offer far better improve in steering and braking feel and response than i would have imagined.
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      03-18-2020, 07:08 PM   #15
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Originally Posted by jbiswurm View Post
And do the f80 arms while youre there. They offer far better improve in steering and braking feel and response than i would have imagined.
Except that he's xDrive...
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      03-18-2020, 09:10 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jbiswurm View Post
And do the f80 arms while youre there. They offer far better improve in steering and braking feel and response than i would have imagined.
going with a poly bushing in both the thrust arm and control arm should provide a very similar result however some of the feel is lost because of the xdrive...
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      03-19-2020, 07:38 PM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FaRKle! View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by jbiswurm View Post
And do the f80 arms while youre there. They offer far better improve in steering and braking feel and response than i would have imagined.
Except that he's xDrive...
Whoops. Missed that.
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      03-20-2020, 09:30 AM   #18
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going with a poly bushing in both the thrust arm and control arm should provide a very similar result however some of the feel is lost because of the xdrive...
I've sworn off of poly bushings after installing them on my previous car. They have a nice 'track' feel to them, but for daily driving they transmit too much feedback from the road for my liking and were quite a bit noisier. If the car was a garage queen I would consider going that route.
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      03-20-2020, 02:04 PM   #19
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WTF is Chicago putting on their roads, I drove through Indiana winters for 4 years in my old car and there was only slight surface rust on the threads.
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      03-20-2020, 04:47 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kdog_x View Post
I've sworn off of poly bushings after installing them on my previous car. They have a nice 'track' feel to them, but for daily driving they transmit too much feedback from the road for my liking and were quite a bit noisier. If the car was a garage queen I would consider going that route.
absolutely. I try and dial that out with damper adjustments and different sway bar settings but I can still feel it...I love it granted its not for everyone.
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      03-22-2020, 01:58 PM   #21
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Stupid question, but does the top collar on these things spin independently of the damper? (Pencil in picture below) The replacement damper picture on BC's site doesnt appear to have a fixed collar. I cleaned up the threads and the lower collar spins easily. But I was beating on the spanner wrench pretty good and couldn't get the top collar to move. Also tried a hammer and punch with no luck. The instructions seem to indicate that the top collar would set the spring preload.

Got the tops replaced anyways. Dampers seem good, it takes a good amount of force to compress them. I did notice that one side is 1/16" higher than the other. Debating on setting them equal, but I'm thinking I shouldn't since I'd probably need to go get an alignment, which would require finding an open shop here during the apocalypse.
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      03-22-2020, 05:15 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kdog_x View Post
Stupid question, but does the top collar on these things spin independently of the damper? (Pencil in picture below) The replacement damper picture on BC's site doesnt appear to have a fixed collar. I cleaned up the threads and the lower collar spins easily. But I was beating on the spanner wrench pretty good and couldn't get the top collar to move. Also tried a hammer and punch with no luck. The instructions seem to indicate that the top collar would set the spring preload.

Got the tops replaced anyways. Dampers seem good, it takes a good amount of force to compress them. I did notice that one side is 1/16" higher than the other. Debating on setting them equal, but I'm thinking I shouldn't since I'd probably need to go get an alignment, which would require finding an open shop here during the apocalypse.
The collars will move freely from the thread/body. The purpose of the dual rings is the bottom locks the top in place. On coilovers of this design, they'll provide a pair of wrenches to counter hold both rings while loosening or tightening them.

The order of operations usually goes something like: Loosen locking ring (smaller one in your case), adjust the larger adjustment ring, then lock the rings in place once you've set your height or preload.
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