tires and wheels What Am I Looking At Here? (Suspension & Wheel Questions)

[mikesmith]

Finally had a chance to pull the wheels off to see what's going on in here. 

 

(fronts)

 

Looks like some 20mm spacers / lug->hubcentric adapters? Are those studs, or lug bolts that were cut off (I guess I need to pull the spacers before I can find out)?

 

Which calipers are these?

 

 

What struts are these (or how do I tell)? (shock/spring seems to be Bilstein HD + H&R Sport) They look like they had sleeves for coilovers welded on at one point, then original spring perches re-attached?

 

 

Should I be seeing safety wire here, or are those bolts in the cavity above the joint? And what sort of carnage do you need to bend the corner of the control arm like that?

 

 

I'm guessing the green slime here is bad...

 

 

Is it just me, or does this tie rod look bent to you?

 

Edited June 20, 2013 by mikesmith

[mikesmith]

(rears)

 

The lug holes in these wheels don't look good.

 

 

Not good at all.

 

 

I'm sure this metal is meant to be part of the wheel...

 

 

The brake adjuster looks OK, at least.

 

 

And the CV boots, apart from the paint peeling off them.

 

 

Edited June 20, 2013 by mikesmith

[oldskoolvws]

Well no BMW 2002 professional here but I am familiar with the products:

 

- The Spacers: remove, insert into trash. The studs have been compromised. Or press in new studs.

     ++ If you want to keep the spacers, use loktite red, torque to specs. Drive for a few days or about 20 - 35 miles. Retorque. Check torque every six months.

 

- The struts / springs: Curious to know if this was an H&R cup kit. If it was, shame on whom ever did that to them. Not sure though because those are sport springs, I think the cup used race or custom weighted springs. I just looked at H & R's site, their kits are not threaded. You'll need to do some research to see what you working with. Numbers or stickers help.

     ++ Depending on quality of shock, you may be able to disassemble and have any competent machine shop remove and replace the grooves.

 

- The bolts: This is typical. Those are your ball joints. Not sure on 2002 specs but many have bolts or studs on the ball joint. This is okay unless the ball joint is worn.

 

- The green slime: This is the byproduct of either a broken ball joint seal or of it oozing out of the joint points. Either calls for replacement.

 

- Bent tie-rod: It may or not be, again no 2002 pro. However a vehicle can still be aligned with a bent tie rod as long as it is not to drastic. With that angle of the picture, I would call it good.

 

- The wheels: By your pictures, it looks like the wheels are what is called shank or mag type. This means the lugs actually go inside the inside diameter of the wheel to hold it in place. I'm guessing the lug nuts you have are acorn or conical meaning they do not go into the wheel. The results is what your picture idicates, the wheel spins under hard braking or acceleration within the diameter of the machined holes of the wheels less the studs. VERY DANGEROUS.

 

- Brake adjusters: Should be thouroughly cleaned or replaced and protected with a rubber boot cover.

 

The wheels definately need to be addressed. The absolute best case scenario would be to remove the spacer and re-install the wheel with the correct lugs if they are not too worn.

 

OSVW

Edited June 20, 2013 by oldskoolvws

[mikesmith]

The wheels are Enkei 92's (the recent re-issue) and they are meant to be used with tapered lug nuts (which is what's on there). I have to wonder if they were pre-butchered and the PO got them cheap.

[oldskoolvws]

Well then, possible the PO had the lugs go loose in motion or dropped the car to the ground on the wheels fast with no lugs....theorizing of course

[TobyB]

That's a very... special... strut, indeedy!  Is the perch threaded, or just stuffed over the sleeve?  If it's threaded... well, wow, new

one on me.  Not a bad idea... I guess...  it's certainly strong enough... that couldn't have been trivial to thread.  <flabbergasted>

 

Those are most likely Volvo 240 calipers.

 

That wheel came loose- does it have grind marks on the backside where the lug bolts weren't cut down quite far enough?

Or were the wrong taper nuts on it?

 

In front, they should be cut- down thread- in studs, in back, they'll be shouldered bolts.

 

That ball joint's done.  I'd replace the arm- that's a curb whack, not a deal- breaker, but since you're there, why not?  They're 

not too expensive new.

 

The 3 bolts that get the safety wire are one 'layer' higher in the assembly.  You'll find them when you

try to change the ball joint.  Start with the penetrating oil now...

 

and yes, that's a bent tie rod.  Find someone with a used one, just for peace of mind.

 

hth

 

t

Edited June 20, 2013 by TobyB

[lilmo]

You should see safety wire in the "green slime" pic.  

 

 

[mikesmith]

That's a very... special... strut, indeedy!  Is the perch threaded, or just stuffed over the sleeve?  If it's threaded... well, wow, new

one on me.  Not a bad idea... I guess...  it's certainly strong enough... that couldn't have been trivial to thread.  <flabbergasted>

 

That wheel came loose- does it have grind marks on the backside where the lug bolts weren't cut down quite far enough?

Or were the wrong taper nuts on it?

 

In front, they should be cut- down thread- in studs, in back, they'll be shouldered bolts.

 

That ball joint's done.  I'd replace the arm- that's a curb whack, not a deal- breaker, but since you're there, why not?  They're 

not too expensive new.

 

The 3 bolts that get the safety wire are one 'layer' higher in the assembly.  You'll find them when you

try to change the ball joint.  Start with the penetrating oil now...

 

I didn't stick the camera into the strut above the perch; I'll add that to the list for next time.

 

There's no sign of grinding - actually on the back side of the wheel there's no meat in the hub over the bolts - almost like the wheel designer anticipated this application. The nuts look like a standard 60° taper (which the wheels supposedly want), so I guess they just weren't torqued right (though it sure looks like the lugs have stretched).

 

By 'shouldered bolts' do you mean press-in studs like these?

 

http://www.iemotorsport.com/bmw/2002-wheels/12x65arppressin.html

 

Not looking forward to trying to get them out. 

 

Lilmo, thanks. One more way the PO screwed me over, I guess. The RealOEM diagram seems to imply that those three should be bolts threaded in from the bottom; any idea why I am seeing nuts there?

 

 = Mike

[lilmo]

Those look to be the correct bolts, which are drilled for the safety wire. Based on your other pics, someone replaced the ball joints but didn't bother to install the safety wire. I think there is a good tutorial on ball joint replacement on the FAQ.

Edited June 21, 2013 by lilmo

[mikesmith]

Got it, thanks. The PO allegedly removed the coilover setup on the car due to a leaking strut just before selling, which would I guess explain the frankenwelding job on the perches.

 

Given some of the other joy (e.g. brake booster disconnected) I've found, I guess I shouldn't be surprised.

[jgerock]

Your wheel mounting methods look a little dangerous.  I guess the front spacers were required to clear those calipers.

 

As mentioned above, please inspect and replace the bad components and add safety wire to the (3) special strut mounting bolts.  Soak the heck out of those bolts before attempting to remove any of them.  You may need to apply some heat to get them loose.

 

 

[mikesmith]

That's not "my" wheel mounting technique.  The spacers were required because the PO wanted to mount an 8" wheel with a 25mm offset.

 

Thanks for the super-clear safety wire pic. Off the top of your head, is that 0.032 wire, or is there a reason to use a different gauge?

[jgerock]

That's not "my" wheel mounting technique.  The spacers were required because the PO wanted to mount an 8" wheel with a 25mm offset.

 

Thanks for the super-clear safety wire pic. Off the top of your head, is that 0.032 wire, or is there a reason to use a different gauge?

OK= PO mounting (now is yours).

 

Wire purchased from Eastwood and is too thick.  Very difficult to thread into these holes. 

[lilmo]

I just went down the the local BMW motorcycle dealer and they were nice enough to cut me a couple feet, so not sure what the diameter of the wire was.  I've heard of folks using red loctite and skipping the wire, so you may be in for a battle when you go to remove those bolts.  Got torch?

[mikesmith]

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I have or can get most of the tools of brutality, and after dropping the hood on a fingernail today I'm remembering most of the words my father taught me long ago in a garage far, far away.

 

Looks like about $30 for a decent safety wire tool and enough wire for my needs via Amazon, so that part is easy.