Need both wishbones to finish my project

[ABZY]

Everything sorted on my E9 BUT cant find wishbones - anyone know were i can get these from - like hens teeth or rocking horse sh1T!!!

need to chnage due to both side ball joints gone - which i beleive are part of wishbone iteslef - please help!!

 

[Stefan]

Everything sorted on my E9 BUT cant find wishbones - anyone know were i can get these from - like hens teeth or rocking horse sh1T!!!

need to chnage due to both side ball joints gone - which i beleive are part of wishbone iteslef - please help!!

Wishbones are avaible at your local BMW dealer. (quite expensive :-( )

By "gone" you mean they have noticeably play?

If not, and it's just dust covers that are broken?

The dust caps age and become hard and crack apart. These can be easily replaced.

 

[m5bb]

Wishbones are avaible at your local BMW dealer. (quite expensive :-( )

By "gone" you mean they have noticeably play?

If not, and it's just dust covers that are broken?

The dust caps age and become hard and crack apart. These can be easily replaced.

The left wishbone is available from BMW but the right one is not available anywhere that I have found and I have looked.
I even have an order in with Wallothnesch.com. It has been ordered for over a month and they say it will come. I also have an order in with BMW and they have not cancelled the order so we'll see who gets here first.

 

[ABZY]

guys thanks can some one let me know how I replace dust aps and part numbers and process etc - i wont be doing it but good to know if soemone has done it before.

thanks

 

[bavbob]

I speak from the E3 aspect but RealOem shows they are the same part. They are still available at the dealer for about 200 bucks each BUT the guys at LaJolla BMW (Carl Nelson etal) taught me a trick. The E12 wishbone is the same as the E3/E9 other than the bushing #4 in the image. The E12 wishbone is about 100 bucks and you can change the bushings, either OEM or poly, your choice. A lot cheaper overall if you have a press to use. I did this and it worked/fit perfectly.

 

[m5bb]

I speak from the E3 aspect but RealOem shows they are the same part. They are still available at the dealer for about 200 bucks each BUT the guys at LaJolla BMW (Carl Nelson etal) taught me a trick. The E12 wishbone is the same as the E3/E9 other than the bushing #4 in the image. The E12 wishbone is about 100 bucks and you can change the bushings, either OEM or poly, your choice. A lot cheaper overall if you have a press to use. I did this and it worked/fit perfectly.

Good info and will go there if I can't get the right wishbone.
Yes, many parts houses show that the part is available but try to order one?

 

[ABZY]

Brillant bavbob good advice. Mine is a 1971 2800cs and i know the earlier cars wishbone was slightly shorter in size verses later version - what year is your car - any part numbers to hand?

thanks

I already have the bushes i bought before realsing could change the ball joint - so that would work great for me about £65 in UK so versus £220 at Jaymic a bargain!!!

thanks

 

[bavbob]

My Bavaria is a 1972, Real OEM shows your wishbone and mine to be the same:


Part 31121104387 (Wishbone, left) was found on the following vehicles:


E3: Details on E3
E3 2500 Sedan
E3 2800 Sedan
E3 2800Bav Sedan
E3 3.0S Sedan
E3 3.0SBav Sedan
E3 3.0Si Sedan
E9: Details on E9
E9 2800CS Coupe
E9 3.0CS Coupe


I ordered E12 Left wishbone=31121108388, Right wishbone=31121108389
for $96.20 each from the dealer (I use Tomkinson BMW parts, no affiliation, cheapest dealer I have found on the net) and they fit perfectly after the single bushing swap out. Hope this helps.

BTW: My original wishbones were 17 inches= 43.2 cm straight down the shaft

 

[ABZY]

Ok thanks - i think this is worth a try.

One thing though the part numbers make sense to me but the meadurements are slightly different is that due to what bit they measure.

31121104387
WISHBONE, LEFT - L=381MM



31121104388
WISHBONE, RIGHT - L=381MM

I want to make sure my car is not a different size wishbone being a 1971 versus your later model although the parts catalogues etc log the same part number.

thanks

 

[bavbob]

Real OEM has this info for the 2800

Wishbone,

right
L=381MM 08/1968-09/197331121104388$296.82

So this covers your year and the lengths listed as the same for your wishbone and the e12.

 

[John Buchtenkirch]

Brillant bavbob good advice. Mine is a 1971 2800cs and i know the earlier cars wishbone was slightly shorter in size verses later version - what year is your car - any part numbers to hand?

thanks

I already have the bushes i bought before realsing could change the ball joint - so that would work great for me about £65 in UK so versus £220 at Jaymic a bargain!!!

thanks

Can the ball joints really be changed ? I didn’t think they could :confused:. I wish there were slightly shorter wishbones (well, it’s actually a control arm), it would be helpful for front tire to fender clearance problems. ~ John Buchtenkirch

 

[m5bb]

Can the ball joints really be changed ? I didn’t think they could :confused:. I wish there were slightly shorter wishbones (well, it’s actually a control arm), it would be helpful for front tire to fender clearance problems. ~ John Buchtenkirch

I also looked for someone to rebuild the ball joint?
It's pressed in there and closed in the back with a press.
Does anyone know about this?

If you use the E12 wishbone what is different about the bushing you mentioned and where do you get those?
Thanks,
Gary

 

[HB Chris]

A shorter control arm means more positive camber which is already 0.5 degrees. Use a fixed camber plate from Carl to remove that 0.5 to get to zero or slightly negative.

 

[John Buchtenkirch]

A shorter control arm means more positive camber which is already 0.5 degrees. Use a fixed camber plate from Carl to remove that 0.5 to get to zero or slightly negative.

Chris, I agree, if the bottom of the strut is moved inward the top should receive the same treatment, whether it’s done by the camber plates you mentioned or slotting / elongating the existing holes. The good news is there is a pretty good amount of clearance between the strut and the strut tower sheet metal even with stock full sized BMW springs so moving it doesn’t require major sheet metal surgery. ~ John Buchtenkirch

 

[bavbob]

The inner bushing=31122614100 (Rubber Mounting) has a different size center bore than the e12 bushing that is why they need to be swapped. Other than this, the e12 wishbone is identical in every respect. The bushing is readily available on most sites. Dealer list for 15 bucks each. They fit the following
E3: Details on E3
E3 2500 Sedan
E3 2800 Sedan
E3 2800Bav Sedan
E3 3.0S Sedan
E3 3.0SBav Sedan
E3 3.0Si Sedan

E9: Details on E9
E9 2800CS Coupe
E9 3.0CS Coupe

 

[m5bb]

The inner bushing=31122614100 (Rubber Mounting) has a different size center bore than the e12 bushing that is why they need to be swapped. Other than this, the e12 wishbone is identical in every respect. The bushing is readily available on most sites. Dealer list for 15 bucks each. They fit the following
E3: Details on E3
E3 2500 Sedan
E3 2800 Sedan
E3 2800Bav Sedan
E3 3.0S Sedan
E3 3.0SBav Sedan
E3 3.0Si Sedan

E9: Details on E9
E9 2800CS Coupe
E9 3.0CS Coupe

Great info BavBob.
Yes, I can confirm this. You can buy the E12 control arm (wishbone) a number of places and then the bushing listed above. All up around $100 or less each side.
The E12 control arm that I got (Moog) is considerably beefier than the original.

Gary

 

[m5bb]

The inner bushing=31122614100 (Rubber Mounting) has a different size center bore than the e12 bushing that is why they need to be swapped. Other than this, the e12 wishbone is identical in every respect. The bushing is readily available on most sites. Dealer list for 15 bucks each. They fit the following
E3: Details on E3
E3 2500 Sedan
E3 2800 Sedan
E3 2800Bav Sedan
E3 3.0S Sedan
E3 3.0SBav Sedan
E3 3.0Si Sedan

E9: Details on E9
E9 2800CS Coupe
E9 3.0CS Coupe

So Bavbob,

I now have the e12 control arms. (wishbones)
I also have the bushings that you list.
We have destroyed two trying to swap them out in the press.

We are not jack leg mechanics.

Is there something we do not know?

Gary

 

[bavbob]

I have no wisdom on swapping out a bushing other than some soapy water sprayed on, perfect centering and using a flat steel plate to rest the press piston on. The thing finds its own way after it is 3/4 of the way in. Perhaps others can chime in. Alternate is to try a poly bushing which is easier to get in and harder to kill.

Why not PM AZBY, he mentioned in his post on a manifold leak (only few days old) that he did the swap and it worked perfectly.

 

[m5bb]

Heads up on this replacement wishbone/control arm for the E9.

Yes the E12 arm is the same and the Moog ones I got were actually a little beefier than original.

The main bushing on the arm has a steel shaft through it which is where the main support bolt goes and attaches to the subframe.
The hole on the E12 arm is too small for the E9 bolt.
So buy the bushing 31122614100 which has the correct hole size and press it into the E12 arm.

Now way a 33mm bushing is going in a 26mm hole. We tried twice and it split the bushings. Yes, we did all the lube and stuff you would do to make this work.
So we have enlarged the hole in the arm so the bushing will now fit. There is plenty of beef there for this to be safe.

THIS FIX IS NOT JUST A BUSHING CHANGE.

 

[bavbob]

I bought an OEM E12 arm and bushings from the dealer for 95 bucks and I had no issue swapping out the bushing. I learned this info from La Jolla BMW which has focused on these cars for years and has a great reputation. I would blame the parts and not the concept which is solid and has been carried out by others without a problem.