E36 Front suspension maintence: Must read!

[Bluebimma]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...3D10%26ps%3D63

I know there are a few of you on here needing to do some front suspension work but just cant justify spending so much money at one time, so i found a good solution to this problem. This kit will tighten up the front end and get rid of and slop and clunking of these specific parts....not associated with the strut assembly obviously. I purchased a set on the December 8, 2009 and recieved the package on December 10, 2009 with free shipping.

Kit is for:
LEFT CONTROL ARM WITH BALL JOINT (OE REFERENCE NUMBER 31121140957...List 117.00)

RIGHT CONTROL ARM WITH BALL JOINT (OE REFERENCE NUMBER 31121140958...List 117.00)

LEFT BMW TIE ROD ASSEMBLY COMPLETE (OE REFERENCE NUMBER 32111139315.. List 93.25)

RIGHT BMW TIE ROD ASSEMBLY COMPLETE (OE REFERENCE NUMBER 32111139316..List 93.25)

CONTROL ARM BUSHING KIT (OE REFERENCE NUMBER 31129059288...List 25.00)

FRONT LEFT SWAY BAR LINK 31351095764

FRONT RIGHT SWAY BAR LINK 31351095764

Seems as though these parts are made by a company by the name of Karlyn, which is german parts made in America i guess.

Karlyn's Profile
Karlyn Industries is a family owned business that was started by Mr. Hans Bierdumpfel in 1971. Hans was born and trained in Germany as an Engineer and emigrated to the U.S. in 1949. He held leading Engineering positions with such esteemed companies as Sonotone Corporation, formerly of Elmsford/Cold Springs, N.Y. and Wells Manufacturing, of Northvale N.J. before founding Karlyn Industries 33 years ago. The company started producing the first U.S. made VW Beetle Ball Joints and Tie Rod Ends, in Mount Vernon, N.Y. As a domestic manufacturer of Volkswagen suspension items, Karlyn created a customer base here in the United States that has been loyal for over thirty years. Today, Karlyn Industries has branched out into suspension items for Audi, BMW, Mercedes Benz, Volvo, Saab and Honda, plus a High Performance line of Spark Plug Ignition Cable Sets for Asian, European & Domestic applications.

Karlyn Industries is recognized as a leading manufacturer of Ignition Cable Sets for the automotive aftermarket and as an Original Equipment Supplier. The company manufactures and packages wire sets under different labels, including their own brand-name, "S.T.I." (Spark Transfer International). Karlyn's Engineering/Research Department is headed by Mr. Karl Bierdumpfel, a graduate engineer from Stevens Institute of Technology, in Hoboken, N.J. Karl listened to the market which begged for a high-quality ignition cable set line that was also cost effective. While other wire set assemblers were becoming totally automated at the expense of high quality detail, Karlyn Industries increased the hand work portion of its operation to allow for the intricacies that are desired on certain ignition cable sets. This resulted in a mass appeal of Karlyn/STI ignition wire sets which is why they are the fastest growing wire set line today. In 2004, Mr. Karl Bierdumpfel assumed the role as President of Karlyn Industries Inc.

O.E. Type Connectors
Silicone over Silicone High Performance Cable
Tailored fit lengths
Precision Assembly
100% Testing
Fast Delivery
and Dedicated service to our customers,
has been Karlyn/STI's Ignition wire set line trademark

Karlyn is able to provide superior quality products that are competitively priced because of its close affiliation with several German companies.

One company in particular is BREMI, of Germany. Karlyn Industries and BREMI have established a successful working relationship that spans over 25 years, and they are very proud to be the only authorized representative of BREMI parts in the U.S.A. BREMI is an original equipment manufacturer on Ignition products for leading car manufacturers like AUDI, BMW, VOLKSWAGEN and a supplier to the automotive aftermarket. Karlyn carries a complete line of BREMI Distributor Caps, Rotors and Ignition Parts for U.S. distribution from its warehouse in Tuxedo NY.

The future of Karlyn Industries looks bright. With the addition of our new research & development building in Southfields N.Y. we are poised for continued growth with guaranteed quality products and dedicated customer service.

These parts look VERY good and spot on with their OE counterparts. I cant say that i have a complaint except for the fact that the control arms outer ball joints are the old school design rather than the updated versions that are solid and quite beefy. O well. If i were to put a mileage quote on these, 50k-75k would be my guess, as thats close to when OE ball joints start getting loose or torn. BTW, the bushings are SOLID CENTERED like the m3, non-offset (for changing caster with corresponding strut assembly and strut hat.

[projekt EPiK]

glad to see you post that, i think i had asked in another post about that exact same ad.

[wolferj-RIP]

Tony;

Great to get your opinion and information on this kind of deal... So many of us are leery of ebay stuff (so much crap!), it's great to find a good deal on parts that seem worthy.

I don't need this stuff now, but it's great of you to share information for all members!

Thanks!

[Bluebimma]

OMG, it was a horrid install. Nothing lined up, nothing fit without a big hammer, i had to machine the sway endlinks to fit, and the alignment wont be correct because the arms arent even straight......




JUST KIDDDDDDING

Easiest and simpliest install ive done in a long time. I went in at 2:30PM and left at 7:00pm after doing this full kit, a thermostat, coolant flush, plugs and boots, wheel balancing, and an alignment. Everything mated and matched up perfectly. The arms have an update of less webs, for durabilty, ball joints are OE spec, not solids (big whoop), control arm bushings went in like they were made to fit...o wait, they were made to fit, endlinks went on perfectly, and the alignment is SPOT on.

I also installed my ACS strut bar to mate up with the xbrace and ///M Suspension alignment and it feels very good.

Ive driven and only owned meyle parts and must say, too much hype IMO. The PO of my Moreagrun ti installed them 2000 miles before i bought the car, ive driven it another 40k, and both outers were shot....the solid joints. Tie rods were OE and one was getting loose. The LCABS were OE and torn after those 40k as well. Honestly, i see no point in installing these other, so called, much better quality parts when they will wear just as much as OE.

If you want to install these parts, ill stand behind them and only time will tell how long they last. For 175$ shipped, its a good buy to get off worn out and dangerous parts. My ti had been neglected and the lcabs werent even attached, they just bounced in there, the drivers side arm had a very slight bend to it, and both outers were showing some marginal play. All is better now, for me.

[Bluebimma]

[tiFreak]

cool, I'll probably look into doing this, my control arm bushings are shot, might as well make it so I only have to take it all apart once

[mohaughn]

First note, I have absolutely no experience with these parts, just giving some general advice.

A quick search turns up multiple threads on volvo/bmw/subi sites where people have figured out that most of these parts are actually made in Taiwan. I can't speak directly for the parts that you received, but other people noted that JMSTAR was stamped on the control arms. JMSTAR is a taiwanese manufacturer. Just because the distributor is in the US, doesn't mean the parts were made here.

There are also threads on other BMW sites where people were complaining that swaybar end-links failed within a year and had other problems.. Bimmerfest.com has a few threads with people talking about these products.

Bottom line, I would avoid any rock bottom, budget priced suspension components. I've seen what happens when a cheap control arm fails, and it is not pretty. The higher priced Meyle and Loemfoerder control arms all have hardened steel components at any critical areas to avoid failures. This is something that was recently changed as a lot of older Meyle control arms had failures. The new ones made since January '09 have a 4 year warranty, the older ones don't.. Control arms and ball joints is not somewhere where I would try to save money.

Hopefully, I'm wrong, these are US made componenents, and they work well for you and are a cheaper alternative for others to consider.

[Bluebimma]

The sway bar endlinks are karyln, just as the tie rods, which are of good quality, also reviewed AND sold by Pelicanparts.com.

The arms arent taiwanese, theyre Lemfoerder and are of superior quality and an OEM replacement part.

The control arm bushings are of the same quality of my OE BMW M3 control arm bushings, so i dont care nor do i know who made those.

Skepticism is healthy, but bashing parts just because theyre bought at a good deal is ridiculous. If you havent noticed, a lot of companies have switched their location of production to asia due to cost of production and labor. On that note, Bosch is a company who has done this, yet they are an OE supplier for many high end cars as well as our mediocre bmws.

As far as endlinks failing within a year, id love to see the posts on those and how they actually failed.

Ball joint failure is common on every car because theyre CONSTANTLY in use. Lifting the car up and doing a front end shake down is very simple and will tell you if parts are wearing out. Having a part fail without warning is note to raise the red flag, but until actual proof of the parts purchased and from the same companies is provided, theres no reason to test parts that everyone is skeptical about buying because people want to post how its too good to be true.

[cali_guy_559]

Just installed my meyle control arms, bushings and tie-rods. Though they cost me almost $400, I am still very happy with the results. Its like driving an even better car. My tie-rods were shot to hell and neglected for quite a while, so I was starting to get a lot of play on the left side. Now everything just feels so much tighter and more responsive.

[Bluebimma]

That's great and all, but what does that have to do with this package?

[cali_guy_559]

Well, two things. First, it sucks that this wasen't posted until two days after I installed my parts. Second, though this package is cheaper, spending money on meyle parts is not a waste of money. I was pretty much expressing that even though the meyle cost more, there is no downfall in spending the extra cash. Anything else you need me to clarify?

[yoda]

I bought this same package deal from eBay... the control arm bushings are Meyle.
I have been waiting to install all the parts because I have never done it before... and I was looking for a DIY on all components, particularly the Tie Rods!

[lysergicsurfer]

I bought this package too, and I am very pleased with the results. I called a friend to assist me in installing the bushings in the lollypop housing, since I do not have any kind of tool get them in. As soon as I brought them out he said he would rather run over his hands with a car than try to install the OEM solid bushings on another bmw without the right tools. He went inside his house and brought out an unopened box of powerflex flex bushings. They were 300% easier to instal in the housings, and also on the control arm itself. I didn't have to pay anything for them since he had extras, but I would recommend them to anyone doing this at home, they will save you alot of hard work. The control arms have been on for about two months with no problems, I am very satisfied. I finally was able to instal the tie rods last week because I could not find that 32mm thin wrench. Yoda it is very straight forward, do not be discouraged because I could not find a DIY either. Pull the boot back, try and pry the ball joint off with a pickle fork(dont hit on the bolt). At the end of the tierod next to the rack you can see there is about 8mm of space for a 32mm thin wrench. You will see the lock nut bent over right here, just bend it inline with the rest of the nut. I used a air hammer to chisel it straight...(idk be creative) I heard bike stores have the thin wrench, and every store I went to had them out of stock. I found some large adjustable pliers that were made thin for tight areas, and turn the tie rod easily. Unscrew the entire rod off the rack. Everything I read said to put the old rod next to the new one for both sides, make them the identical length and you should have an alignment good enough for the trip to the alignment shop. This however did not work for me, as I could physically see the tires were way off. I took a tape measure, yard stick, laser level, string, and some geometry skills. I was able to dial in the alignment as best I could to a slight toe in and as perfect tolerances on both sides. Took the car for a spin after torquing everything down, was easy at first, but got up to 100 on a empty highway, felt like an e36 did when I first drove one 10 years ago. No longer did I have any bumpsteer or shutter. It didn't pull to either side, and tracked as straight as the road would be. I plan to get an alignment soon, but I will be getting new tires in a month or so anyway, so im waiting until I have them mounted. Hope this helps..

[Bluebimma]

3k miles, still tight and together...

[AlphaVortex]

Just bought this package off eBay. I will try and figure out who made each of the parts. Hopefully I get lucky!