BMW E46 Clunk Part 2 | Subframe Removal

This video covers the complete removal of the BMW E46 Rear Subframe. This includes removal of: Wheels, Shocks, Heat Shields, Cross Members, Rear Axles, Drive Shaft, Sway Bar, Upper and Lower control Arms, Differential, and Subframe.
Subframe Removal Steps (PDF): bit.ly/291rEoX

[@TacticalMonky]

As a compliment to you, and a lowkey insult towards my E46, this might be my new favorite channel XD got a PDF with step by step instructions, tool sizes, AND TORQUE SPECS?? all in one place??? Subbed for sure!

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Glad you found the channel.... Sorry that you are also experiencing these same issues. Such a great car with this terrible flaw. Cheers!

[@Pabcio]

Geez, so much work just to get this subframe out. Nice video. I learned a lot.

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

It was quite a bit of work, but not to difficult. Just one of those things where you need to be realistic with yourself on how much work and that it is a lengthy project. Thanks for the compliment and have fun with it if you are planning on doing it yourself.

[@vacban404]

its not that hard i pulled it apart less than 4 hrs and mine was rusted shut. looks harder than it is

[@puppyemmely5987]

Well, I got a BMW e46 330d and am planning to do the same job. Watched your videos over and over. Thanks for sharing.

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

It is a lengthy repair, but very rewarding. Good luck and have fun with yours.... Cheers!!!!

[@toto29620]

Just unbolt the exhaust, un-plug the parking brake cable and brake pipe, unbolt the driveshaft, unbolt the shock and drop the entire subframe in one piece. Way easier and faster.

[@hondatrix]

Agree. Especially if you don't have access to a lift.

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

My thought was take it apart in smaller pieces so that it would be easier to handle. With it on jackstands, there is not a lot of room under there. We were not in a hurry and it seemed to work out well. What you described would certainly work as well. Good luck with yours!

[@jpwilliams5264]

I thought I was the only one screaming "move the exhaust". I know how hard it can be with no lift thought.

[@Rusiputki]

He did it correct, I also took my subframe in pieces and it was much easier to loosen big ass bolts while it's all held in place nicely. You don't need 2nd person to help you lower it either, every single component can be picked by hands. The diff is the heaviest part if anybody cares....

[@dillymanilli]

I love the sound of air tools. Great video mate!

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Oh yea! We feel like real mechanics when we breakout the air tools. Have a great day!

[@09mchour]

One of the best, well detailed material here..keep the Chanel rolling we love it 💯

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Thank you Keith!

[@bigash_n54]

You can remove whole rear end in one unit then strip it on floor. Much easier if you haven't got a lift

[@ForidKhan123]

12:12 “🎶Ta-daaaaa!🎶” 😃 Great work guys!

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Laughing my butt off when I replayed that section and realized what you are referencing! Cheers!

[@ForidKhan123]

@@UCanDoIt2Mike Glad I noticed it lol Can’t wait to do that on my car. It’s not stable anymore. Did you guys use Lemförder bushes?

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

@@ForidKhan123 I do not recall the brand of Bushings that we used. I may have mentioned them in the video (not sure). My thoughts on Bushings.... Many people (Not me) are putting in bright colored polyurethane bushings because they look great and think that they will last longer. First of all, once installed, you will not be able to see them. Our car was lowered and you can't see underneath. Secondly, I believe that they are a little stiffer than stock and possibly not provide the same dampening like the original. We went with the OEM style replacements. I am sure that I purchased them off Amazon. I am sure that they were cheaper than the Poly alternative. If they last another 20 years, they will outlast this car. Several people inquired as to why I did not go Poly.... and that pretty much sums it up. What ever decision You make is the right decision for You!!!! Best of luck with your project. Be safe!!!!! Enjoy the process! Mike

[@ForidKhan123]

@@UCanDoIt2Mike Nah poly is not something I’d want. It’d be too stiff. I want it to be comfortable especially for family so it wouldn’t make sense. If I used it solely for track, then poly yes. Each to their own. I literally placed an order for Lemforder bushes. Cheers Mike, you too.

[@loukenthompson2365]

Working on jack stands requires brawn. I’m amazed at your ability to keep your cool while doing it. Just in case you want to know how much you saved yourself, I got a quote for 2200 dollars to do this job as a preventative on my 2000 323i. That’s including the plated but not including the service of the bushes. I don’t like to leave my car with anyone, but I suffer from a neck injury from an auto accident 2/28/20 and may have to just have them do the job. 2000 bucks in labor is a lot!

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Thank you for the feedback. I thought back when we did this that the cost from a shop was about $2500. That is a little much to put into an older car with a pretty low market value. Cheers and the best of luck getting yours figured out and fixed. Mike

[@viperocco]

OMG that's a ton of work!

[@David-yh5po]

Thanks again for the great video.

[@mrmalavey1098]

Awesome series of videos, I decided to follow this video as I didn't want to remove the brake lines and re -bleed. Took me 4 hrs to get the whole lot out, About 30 mins to remove the bushes with a blowtorch and hammer, I spent about an hour prepping for plates, I didn't have any cracks on the body so I stuck the re-enforcement plates on with epoxy because 1. I can't weld 2.i feel epoxy is just as good and gets 100% contact where welds only contacts the edge 3. Something it better than nothing. Will update 2moro when I've got the diff welded, bushes fitted/ subframe reinstalled and car back to a drivable condition. ✌️ Edit (3 days later) Due to a few minor consumables I forgot to get, like gasket sealant/ oil for the diff and a few other bits it took me 3 days to put the whole lot back in ( bloody bank holiday weekends ). Total install time was between 4-5 hours. Following these videos made a daunting job a lot faster and easier. The one thing I would take away from all this is do your research on the replacement parts you buy as the poly bushes I bought (£78 for the subframe and diff bushings) were different profile from the OEM bushes so some fettling was required ( it's a drift car so 🤷‍♂️ ). All in all my car feels a lot firmer now and the thud when shifting from neutral to 1st seems to have gone for the minute 👌 Can't give you guys enough praise for these videos 💪✌️

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Sounds awesome!!!! I like your approach to the epoxy. That should serve you well. Congrats on taking this on!

[@victora7399]

Thank you for posting this. The series is very well put together. My car is having the same issue I suspect 2000 e46 323 (99 production year)

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Yea.... I was a general flaw in the design of that internal bracket. There was a recall, but it expired. 3 little spot welds on that internal bracket was insufficient. Mike

[@montanalowgear8258]

you guys got a long way before the first snag lol my dad and seem to get snagged on the first bolt haha! this is a great series great videos!

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Yea, I typically have your luck as well. When we hit that snag, I then realized how far we had progressed before it happened. Thanks for watching and I an really enjoying your engine swap. While it is not like the one I will be doing the approach has similarities and I am picking up good ideas. Cheers!

[@bevan5937]

Thanks heaps man. This is exactly what I've been looking for

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Good Stuff! Glad you found it useful. Good luck with yours.

[@lpa187]

Awesome job dude. Appreciate spreed sheet with torx specs... Thank you sir

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

You are more than welcome. Just makes sense that two of us shouldn't have to look them up! Have fun with yours!!!

[@ISLAGAM]

beautiful father son work.i loved it

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Thank you! We still look back and talk about how much we enjoyed doing this. Thank you!!!

[@ISLAGAM]

+UCanDoIt2 i watching these videos because i love the car and checking for common problems.

[@donaldperkins6148]

Great video helped me a lot thanks for the video

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Glad you enjoyed it. Cheers!

[@michaelhammer1550]

I wish my dad knew how to do this kind of stuff. My dad either tells me not to fix it or take it to the shop. He hands me tools and gives me advice when I do inevitably end up doing it myself though.

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Well... Hopefully you take on the challenge and learn from it. It is very rewarding to do things yourself. Cheers!!!!!

[@ravisundaram2950]

Great work guys !

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Thank you sir!!!!!

[@aslant9246]

great video

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

I appreciate the feedback. Thanks you Sir!

[@binoynavarro6866]

Amazing video. Thank you so much

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Thank you Sir! Cheers!

[@NEWAGenTChannel]

geez, thanks for the video. I'll definitely ask a friend to come and help.

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Your comment just made me think back to what most of videos and channel is all about. While they appear to be How To videos, they really are geared to illustrate Steps and Effort so that other can decide to tackle. Best of luck with your project and pick a friend that you enjoy spending time with. It takes a while. We were not in a rush and the filming took extra time. I really enjoyed spending the extra time with my son and he/we learned a lot about how this thing works. Love this car!

[@joeysuarez1922]

First thing you should have done is put a battery in the damn smoke alarm

[@KnKchannel]

Great video helped a lot. How long did this take you just to remove everything

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

I think about 10 hours. Now that included a lot of thinking about it, moving cameras, lift limitations of a personal garage, and marveling about how good things were going until we hit the e-brake cable snag. With what I know now, I think I could probably do it in about 4 hours. It was a couple of nights after work. We have a spare car, so we decided to take our time and document. It was time consuming, but not that difficult. Good luck with your project!

[@gsmecanica]

Is it necessary to mark the rear axles? I removed one on my e36 the other day to replace a rear bearing and forgot to follow my mark. Do you think they are balanced from factory? Is that why you marked it?

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Any manual that you follow will advise you to mark it and reinstall in the same orientation. My Opinion - is that all of this equipment is balanced individually at the remote fabrication facilities that it is produced and then assembled without worry about "re-balancing". That only makes sense... right!!!!. So the other answer is that I marked it because all others do and I did not want viewer to slam me for not doing it! You know! It would be more important to "Mark" and Reinstall items if they have a chance to wear and create a relationship that you need to maintain. These Axles and the Drive Shaft are Fixed Mounted. Just my opinion. I think your fine. Cheers and congrats on taking this on. Very rewarding.

[@gsmecanica]

Yeah, I agree. Thanks mate, nice vids! I will tackle the bushings on my e36 during this year. Probably later on, it is too hot here in Buenos Aires now ;)

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Smiling BIG that this reached Buenos Aires!!!!!! Cheers to you mate!

[@brandonprettyman269]

this happened to my e46 fixed in 2 hours didn't take any of this out go in from up top in trunk cut square hole in trunk metal to get access to were mount has broke in body and reinforce it with thicker metal and weld away then undercoat and weld yor square piece you cut out of trunk back in done very easy save you time and you don't have to take anything out except the one bolt down bottom were your subframe is bolted to broken body mount that you will be welding from top side

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

So you basically re-attached the three broken spot welds? The idea of the reinforcement plates is to distribute the load in this area. I understand what you have done. Hope it holds up for you. Thanks for sharing.

[@frozenmongolian3334]

1:01 i agree i have removed my spring whit my big foot too.

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Sometimes you have to use what you got! Cheers

[@julianmcalister3247]

Crap crap crap, I really don’t want to do this, but it’s gonna have to happen. Thanks for the video. Also, if it’s just that rear bushing behind the diff, do you still have to remove the diff? Your probably going to say yes since it will still be in the way pushing the old out and the new in. If so, I guess all these bushing are going to be pushed to the trash.

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Too funny!!!! I actually have seen a guy replace the rear most bushing while the subframe was still in the car. That is a ton of overhead work!!! Cheers!

[@stevegruenwald3822]

Jeez what a job

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

I believe it took use several weeks just tinkering with it. Great experience. Saved tons of money.

[@brandonprettyman269]

it was over 6 years ago and now use car for drift hold very well fixed it in 2 hours you did very good job but all that extra work was non sense all those bushings you replaced were fine I am a body tech for a living and and and I fixed it just as solid as yours turned out from the top only

[@williamcarnero9595]

How did you do the work only from the top? If the bottom is cracked I don't think you can just weld the top

[@RudolphDouma]

Nice video ! But looks a pain to work underneath it like that with such little room to work with. 2 weeks ago i replaced all the bushings preventively of my E46 with the help of our lift made it way easier. Getting the bushings out was a little harder though. But its cool to see how other people manage to do it as well.

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

A lift would definitely make this job a lot easier. Congrats on tackling yours yourself! We found it very rewarding.

[@mattgreen5622]

Can i ask what kind of tool your using that seems to be air pressurized to remove most of the nuts deeper in the car?

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

It is a pneumatic ratchet.

[@mrkevinhoang]

what are the name and specs of the white wheels? hows the fitment? they look pretty cool on your e46

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

They are BMW Style 5 Wheels off my 2001 740iL. They fit without any adjustments. You can see that this E46 is lowered. My son also placed narrower tires and had them stretched to the wheels. They are originally Gray. The White color is PlastiDip removable Paint. Cheers!!!

[@mrkevinhoang]

Wow thanks. I’ve heard style 5s have a low offset so it won’t fit, good to know they fit. 17 in right?

[@alanwilkins7445]

do you have to remove brake lines

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Alan Wilkins No! the rear hub assembly with the disks and brake calipers will remain connected to the Trailing arm. we did use a rope to lift it upwards to help support it. The brake lines were not removed from the rear calipers. Good luck with your project.

[@njikre]

Where did he order bushings and reinforcement kit for 140$? Im doing the same thing but i can only find bushings and that is only bushings for 300 + $..

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

njikre The Reinforcement Kit form Turner Motorsports is $140. The Bushings kit was extra and purchased off Amazon. I don’t remember the cost.

[@njikre]

Alright, thanks for the answer! :D Amazing video :)

[@bronbakh9512]

great video :) whats the songname in this video?

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Syn Cole - Feel Good

[@paulgoh2352]

what's the average cost for this fix in garage shop?

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

Somewhere in the $2500-$3000 range

[@routerpete1674]

Not as easy as it sounds. I think I'll take mine in. :-)

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

This was not an easy task! Cheers!

[@nunyabidness6508]

so how much does this cost to have done

[@UCanDoIt2Mike]

I believe we spent somewhere between $300-$350 on parts. The majority of this repair is Labor and If you can do it yourself, you save a bundle. I believe I saw references between $2000 and $2500 for a shop to do this. Thanks for the great question!

[@nunyabidness6508]

UCanDoIt2 no way i wish

[@albamels]

For a part thats typical to go bad bmw did a shity job of putting cheap part and also a ton of work just to get to it, these guys have alot of patience great video, but very disappointed with how much problems these e46 have i have a 2005 e46 330xi and same issues so shows bmw did nothing to re enforce these issues..