thrust arms again.............

[tim s]

when i purchased my 1995 (4/94) 540i/a last year i learned about the thrust arm bushing issue due to the car shaking at 55-60mph. i purchased a set of arms w/"750il" bushing, center link, & tie-rods from FCP Groton in ct. they claim the parts are made by TRW. i have them installed one year & 16,000mi. and the 55-60mi. shake is back. after looking at the suspension on the rack my friend (a mechanic of 30 years on foreign cars) believes it is the bushings again due to the large amount of movement within the bushing & also the center link has to much play in the joint at the idle arm. the idle arm appears to be tight but i am planning on replacing it also. did i get ripped of from "FCP Groton"? the thrust arms appear to be fine besides the bushing. should i just replace the bushings again & use the TRW arms or should i replace the arms also? i have the bmw arms but the ball joints are bad. i am looking at using eurthane bushings. what is my other options for bushings & where should i get them. bmpdesign has the eurthane bushings for $90.00.
i also purchased a brake booster at the same from FCP Groton & it does not appear to boost as much as the original.
should i complain to FCP Groton or is it a waste of time?
thanks again
tim s.

[tim s]

i was reading through old threads & found one discussion on torquing the thrust arm bolts under load. i did not do that. i also found a thread about a bearing type bushing. does anyone have these?
thanks
tim s.

[Mobius]

If you didn't tighten them with the suspension at ride height, I'm shocked they lasted 16,000 miles.

I don't think there's much in the way of better bushings - I know urethane ones exist, but I'm not entirely convinced urethane is a necessary (or even smart) option here. Personally, I'd go with the 750 bushings again, and perhaps Bruno's inserts to stiffen them a little.

And this time, tighten the thrust arm bolts with the wheels on the ground.

[Bruno]

It is called live and learn.

Stick to Lemforder parts for the suspension... And they will last longer.
As for bushings, you can get the M5 that are lasting longer than the 750i. You can even fill them up with liquid urethane.

And buy your parts from BMA: www.bmaautoparts.com
Other companies will sell you cheaper parts...

Like everything in life.. you get what you pay for.

[tim s]

is there any bad about using urethane bushings besides a harder ride?
i here that they last longer & provide better steering response.
thanks
tim s.

[Paul in NZ]

i think there is a procedure on e 34 .net,your uretane bushings may also transmit more road noise into the cabin..

is there any bad about using urethane bushings besides a harder ride?
i here that they last longer & provide better steering response.
thanks
tim s.

[avitt2]

I can tell you that the bushings in the TRW arms from FCP Groton are the exact same as those used in Lemforder OEM arms. Lemforder would have failed the same way, if installed incorrectly. (My last set of Lemforders went at 40,000).

[Mobius]

I can tell you that the bushings in the TRW arms from FCP Groton are the exact same as those used in Lemforder OEM arms. Lemforder would have failed the same way, if installed incorrectly. (My last set of Lemforders went at 40,000).

I've posted before about this; the FCP Groton arms use BMW bushings and the arms themselves match the casting of the arms I pulled off my car exactly - except the Groton arms are missing the cast-on BMW part number.

That leaves the ball joint as the only slightly uncertain bit - and it, too, looks identical to the one I pulled off.

I know they have a very good reputation among the RWD Volvo community for their suspension parts - I have no reason to believe otherwise in this case.

[Bill R.]

autoparts today, If you were going to counterfiet the original thrust arms and sell them the easiest way is to buy one of the OE. arms and you use that for your mold. If it has the lemforder seal cast into the arm then you have a pretty good idea that they are lemforder. The arms i've seens by fcp groton on ebay has the numbers and any id marks ground off. Visually its impossible to tell a counterfeit part from an oe. part. I personally would rather pay Patrick a little bit extra and get the oe. lemforder arms. That said if you tighten the arms unloaded then it will definitely kill the bushings quicker.

I've posted before about this; the FCP Groton arms use BMW bushings and the arms themselves match the casting of the arms I pulled off my car exactly - except the Groton arms are missing the cast-on BMW part number.

That leaves the ball joint as the only slightly uncertain bit - and it, too, looks identical to the one I pulled off.

I know they have a very good reputation among the RWD Volvo community for their suspension parts - I have no reason to believe otherwise in this case.

[tim s]

but for now to same cost i will press urethane bushing in & torque them with the load.
thanks
tim s.