E46 Rear Trailing Arm Bushing Replacement

Replacing the rear trailing arm bushings on a 2003 BMW 325xi. This video should apply to all E46 sedans.

[@eazy__m3]

man,, thanks a lot for this video. i watched many bmw specific videos and they didnt clearly explain how to use the most common rental kit!!! they all either had the hard to get european rtab tool or used a drill which i somehow messed up. i wasn't sure if this tool would work but i appreciate you showing the entire process clearly. the kit is now split in half and cost me 260$ to rent at autozone 3 years later.

[@mekaneck311]

Glad it helped you!

[@idln5598]

How do you take off the whole trailing arm

[@Bond-uh6yj]

I have a simple question im hoping you can help me with. Is the 2000 318i e46 basically the same set up? Never done one before but willing to give it a go. Thankyou for your step by step informative video it's a huge help! From South Australia 👍

[@mekaneck311]

Looks like it is to me. You can confirm the parts used on realoem.com; I had to guess at some details on your model but I think this is the appropriate diagram: www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=AL32-EUR-01-2000-E46-BMW-318i&diagId=33_0840 Mine is here, for comparison, and although mine is AWD the procedure for this trailing arm bushing replacement would be the same: www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/showparts?id=EU33-USA---E46-BMW-325xi&diagId=33_0840

[@Bond-uh6yj]

Yes appears to be the same & thankyou for the OEM link, nice to see courtesy still exists in 2022🙂

[@engineer_josh1111]

hi mate i think mine might be failing when i accelerate through the gears everytime i reput throttle back on it feels like the back end is twisting ? do you think the trailing arm bushes are the cause ?

[@mekaneck311]

Certainly could be. You need to get your car up on a lift (or on jack stands) and start pushing/pulling/prying on components to see what moves. But yeah I'd start with the trailing arms and see how much play they have.

[@engineer_josh1111]

@@mekaneck311 thanks for the reply will give it a go :)

[@ayeeidkmusic]

Is preload necessary for polyurethane bushing?

[@mekaneck311]

No it's not. Preload on the OEM rubber bushings is necessary because the inner and outer part of the bushing are attached and if you rotate them too far the bushing will tear. For the polyurethane bushings, there are two separate pieces that rotate, like a hinge. It's not possible to preload them.

[@ayeeidkmusic]

@@mekaneck311 awesome! Looks like I’ll go with poly bushing to same time and trouble getting the preload right. Thank for quick reply! Subbed and look forward to seeing content from ya

[@georgesmbyd6603]

How much time u think it took you?

[@mekaneck311]

Probably 3-4 hours but I was filming it myself too.