PROJECT Z3

Rear subframe bushes

PART THREE: WE GET TO
GRIPS WITH THE Z3S WAYWARD REAR END
WORDS AND PICTURES Paul Wager

Ive driven more than my fair share

of ropey old BMWs with worn rear
axle bushes... but none quite as bad
as our project Z3. The Z3 didnt get
the clever Z-axle debuted in the E36
3-Series and made do with a design
inherited from the older E30 3-Series,
supporting the entire axle subframe
on two big rubber bushes located on
studs protruding from the bodyshell
and when these bushes start to fail,
the handling falls off dramatically.
Clearly something needed to
be done and a set of replacement
bushes was the answer, but on the
Z3 the job is nothing like as easy
as on the E30. On the E30, the

bush locating studs can be tapped

upwards into the interior of the car,
but on the Z3 (and E36 Compact)
the studs are screwed into the
shell from below. This means that
you need to lower the entire axle
assembly sufficiently to clear the
studs and unbolt them to get the
working clearance.
Its fair to say that they do what
it says on the tin: these uprated
bushes have transformed project
Z3 and at last were beginning to
see some truth in my comment last
month that theres a nice car hiding
in there somewhere. The horrible
rear-steer feel is long gone and
under hard cornering the standard
Z3s squirming behaviour is much
reduced too.

01
First step is to drop
the exhaust. You
could do this by
separating the centre
joint but James
has learned from
experience that a
crusty old exhaust is
likely to give trouble
if you try and get it
apart here. As we had
the car on a proper
workshop lift we were
able to unbolt it at the
downpipe and take it
off complete.

MARCH 2011 | WWW.TOTAL-BMW-MAG.CO.UK

PRELOAD
When refitting the propshaft, the
centre bearing should be given a
degree of preload. Tighten up the
bracket in its natural position until
it can just be moved, and then tap
it towards the front of the car by
just a couple of millimetres before
tightening it fully.

TORQUE FIGURES
Lower axle bush nut: ........140 Nm
Allen bolts on bush
lower plate: ........................ 30 Nm
Lower damper mount: ...... 77 Nm
Differential mount: ............ 77 Nm

REDISH MOTORSPORT
We profiled Redish Motorsport last year shortly after the firm was established and
theyre fast gaining a solid reputation for preparing BMWs of all kinds to trackday
and full race spec. The workshop is always full of E30s and E36 M3s, while theres
also a long-term E21 project and more than a few E46s on hand too. Our Z3 was
a bit humdrum compared to their regular work, but if you want someone who
knows their way around making BMWs handle properly, find them at www.redishmotorsport.com or 01179 781 883. And if youre not located in Bristol, then check
out their we pay your fuel offer for customers travelling to them.

02
Youll usually have to
unbolt this exhaust
support bracket but
on our project Z3
there was no need: it
had rusted away long
ago! Then unbolt the
silver hear shield.

67

PROJECT Z3

03
You dont need to
remove the propshaft
completely, simply
disconnect it from
the differential to
allow the axle to
be lowered. Use a
long bar through the
universal joint to stop
the propshaft from
turning and then use
a pair of big grips to
loosen the clamp on
the sliding splined
coupling.

05
Youre now ready to
tackle things at the rear
end. Before getting too
deep into dismantling
things though, youll
need to make sure you
can free off the allen
bolts holding the axle
bush lower plate to
the bodyshell. In our
case we had to use a
blowtorch and plenty
of WD40 and its a
good idea to hammer
the allen bit into the
bolt head to make sure
theres no chance of it
rounding out.

07
Disconnect the
anti-roll bar drop
links from the axle
subframe. While
youre at it, unclip
the handbrake cables
too. Unplug the
speed sensor from
the differential and
separate the ABS
sensor wires.

68

04
With the propshaft
joint loosened,
remove the centre
bearing and the
propshaft can be
lowered to rest on the
crossmember out of
the way.

06
Assuming youve
managed to get the
lower plate free,
your next task is to
remove the lower
damper bolts.
Support the hub
assembly while you
do this.

08
The flexible brake
pipes are only just
long enough to
allow the axle to
be lowered by the
required 20 cm. We
decided to unbolt the
brackets where the
flexi pipes meet the
rigid lines and with
enough care, the rigid
lines can be eased
sufficiently to allow
the axle to come
down.

TOTAL BMW | MARCH 2011

PROJECT Z3

09
Removing the plastic
arch liners from both
rear wheelarches
is essential to allow
enough clearance to
remove the bushes.

11
Last thing to remove
is the bolt through
the differential
mount.

13
The axle then needs
to come down just far
enough to clear the
locating studs in the
bodywork: 20 cm to
be precise.

MARCH 2011 | WWW.TOTAL-BMW-MAG.CO.UK

10
Its at this point that
we bring in Jamess
axle cradle, which
is identical to the
special cradle used
by BMW dealers. It
sits on a transmission
jack and bolts into
the lower damper
mounts at either side,
while supporting the
axle under the diff
and the trailing arms.
Crucially it allows the
entire axle subframe
to be lowered safely
and evenly,

12
Youre now ready
to lower the axle.
With the assembly
supported on the
cradle, the nuts can
be removed from
the bottom of the
suspension bushes
on each side which
are all thats now
holding it in place.

14
With the axle out
of the way, the
locating studs can
be unbolted from the
bodyshell, which will
give you the space
you need to extract
the old bushes.

69

PROJECT Z3

15
To extract the bush
neatly, youll need a
special tool - even
with the right kit we
had to use plenty of
heat to get the bushes
moving. If you cut the
bushes, dont cut into
the housing. Borrow
or hire the proper tool
- TBMW advertiser
Phoenix Motorsport
hires out several
special BMW tools.
Find details at
www.phoenix
motorsport.co.uk
or 01276 27711.

17
These are the
replacement
Powerflex bushes
which are really
worth fitting
considering the
work it takes to get
this far. Not only are
these polyurethane
bushes firmer than
the original ones and
so will sharpen up
the Zs handling, but
theyll last forever.

19
With the Powerflex
bushes fitted on both
sides, the mounting
studs can be refitted
and the axle can be
raised again.

70

16
Here you can see
how the special tool
works. The threaded
central shaft is turned
to pull the bush
downwards, while
the serrated legs grip
the tube in the axle
subframe.

18
The Powerflex
bushes have another
important advantage
too: they can be fitted
by hand without
needing a special tool.
Theyre in two parts:
the bigger lower bush
which goes inside
the axle tube and an
upper piece which
sits above the axle.
The metal tube runs
through the centre of
the bush.

20
Youll need to
correctly torque up
the M14 nut on the
bush locating studs to
140 Nm. All you need
to do now is replace
all the parts you
removed earlier.

TOTAL BMW | MARCH 2011