Replacement and repair of front control arm pins in BMW
BMW driver question
Are the pins on the BMW 3 E46 replaceable and can they be reconditioned at BM Cars?
The problem was on a 1999 BMW 320d E46 with a diesel engine, but it can happen on other models as well.
BMW 3 E46 | By Matthias93 [GFDL or CC BY-SA 3.0]
Response from BM Cars service
The BMW 3 E46 uses aluminum control arms as standard, where the pins cannot be pressed in. At the manufacturing stage, the control arm is heat treated, so the strength of the embedded pin is assured. Attempting to replace a pin in a control arm usually ends in its significant weakening or damage.
In the aftermarket, there are specially prepared Meyle HD front control arms in which the pin can be replaced (pressed in). These are specially reinforced. In your case, it would be necessary to first replace the regular control arms with Meyle HD and only in the next stage replace the pins themselves.
You are welcome to use the services of BM Cars.
Example control arm and Meyle HD pins | © MEYLE AG
Other tips related to the topic at BMW
BMW 3 E46 | By André Karwath aka Aka [CC BY-SA 2.5}
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Suspension system using BMW i3 as an example | By LunchboxLarry[CC BY-SA 2.0]
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