RTABs - possible to replace without entire removal of subframe?

[estoguy]

Hey guys,

Due to my not tightening my RTABs enough a couple years ago, they've worn out.

Last time I was doing a bunch of other work (basically all rear bushings and the inner brakelines) and dropped the whole subframe.

Since I'm just doing the RTABs... I'm wondering if there is ANY way I can do this job without pulling the subframe out entirely (as in just dropping it enough to get the bushings out without undoing brake lines, etc)? Thanks for any advice in advance!

[E30 Wagen]

I believe there's a special tool that dealers used to pull the bushings without having to remove the subframe. I think it was the same idea as this: https://www.bimmerforums.com/forum/s...ental-purchase

[CalE30]

I was just trying to do this as well since when I put in poly bushings I didn't use the right lubricant so now I have the dreaded squeaking. A problem I ran into was that when trying to remove the bolt for the right RTAB on the passenger side the bolt would not come free since it was hitting the fuel fill hose. I removed the hose, spilled gas everywhere, and then still was not able to remove it due to the metal piece that the fuel fill hose slides over. That being said I have read something somewhere where a guy said he did it this way but honestly I'm not sure if it's worth the trouble. I'm in the process of just pulling the whole subframe down again.

[estoguy]

Well, I did get it done. It turned into a bit of a bear of a job for a couple reasons. One issue was the fuel filler hose, but once out of the way, not a big issue. I found that the outer bushings and worn really badly against the bolt actually wearing down the threads, so bolts needed replacing as well. It definitely took longer than I thought, but I still think it was better than dropping the subframe. It's tight working with the trailing arms still attached to the inner brake lines, but it was doable. I used the homemade tool from the E30Zone wiki (which I had used before) and it worked fairly well again.