Just changed the steering components over on the 540i/6 and thought I'd pass on a few thoughts about how I did this.

Flying bmw's please! If you attempt this without proper axel stands, you're asking for trouble as some of the steering components can require a hefty amount of force to break free.



The v8's have bugger all space underneath them, and this job can very quickly become a complete pain in the arse if you've got a balljoint seized into a fixture.

First things of note:
1) Remove the rear plastic undershield.
2) (see next picture) On the v8's there are heat shields underneath each exhaust manifold - which protect each end of the centre tie-rod ball joints from heat damage. These need to be removed before you're going to get the centre tie-rod out.


You can see the heat shield above the ball joints here.

3) It's much easier to remove the centre arm with the idler arm attached, as you only have to pull a bolt out of the subframe - rather than splitting a balljoint. You need to attack the points arrowed in the picture above.

The picture below shows that it's possible, just, to wedge a 17mm spanner between the exhaust manifold and the starter so that you can easily undo the lower 17mm nut through the subframe. You then need to drive the bolt out and catch it carefully.