E30 Suspension Overhaul HELP!!

[E30NJ]

I have a '87 325is in bronzit ;) that I truly love and is in desperate need of shocks and other bushings and such. One of the axles and bearings have been replaced not long ago. What are some things such as gaskets and bushings for suspension aside from shocks and springs?
Thanks!
-Dan
(OO=[][]=OO)

[Ether-D]

Front: Control arms, control arm bushings (CAB), sway bar links, tie rods (ends), strut mounts.
Rear: subframe bushings, trailing arm bushings, sway bar links, shock mounts.

There will be more. Others will chime in.

Welcome to R3V.

[mr.vang]

do not forget the motor mount bushing, transmission mount busing, flex disc, center support bearing and differential bushing.

[acolella76]

In short: replace anything that is rubber or moves

[E30NJ]

thanks for the help. I need new control arms?

[acolella76]

You can have a shop press in new ball joints. But it would probably be easier to just buy a new arm.

[mtech325]

Here is what I advise you buy aside from shocks and springs:

1. Control arm bushings (e30/e36 m3 offset is ideal since they're solid rubber and not a webbed design)
2. new strut and rear shock mounts-->fairly cheap and will probably an improvement over 25 year old ones!
3. New control arms-->Here is where I'm sure you'll run into debate, but from my experience there is a benefit to the Meyle HD design because they have a allen/hex key cutout for the ball joints should you need to pull the arm later, but Lemforder are just as good since they're OEM and cost usually within 10 bucks or so of the Meyle HD (up to you)
4. Subframe and trailing arm bushings-->For a street car stick with rubber, but if you don't mind rattles, squeaks and harshness poly is always an option, but rubber in my book is worth the pain in the ass to get it installed and you will have a nice and taut rear end.
5. Diff bushing wouldn't be a bad idea if you have the rear cover off, but not mandatory
6. Tie-rods will also be a nice touch to tighten up the steering too.

As you can see this is one of those "while you're in there jobs," but knowing how the car SHOULD have felt when it was new will help give you a baseline of how to proceed to modify it.

Hopefully this helps.

--Joey

[Cletonius]

While you're in there inspect all fuel and brake lines. I replaced all the rubber lines as well as most of the hard line because they were aging poorly. I was probably a panic stop away from no brakes. I also had to replace some fuel lines.

[E30NJ]

thanks for the help guys, where do you think I could get the cheapest price on all these bushings?

[mtech325]

Check fcp euro, blunttech, autohausaz, or Pelican. It really depends on how much you want to pay for shipping and how long you're willing to wait for these parts. I use Pelican, it costs a bit more, but their warehouse is only 20 minutes from my house and gets there within a day using ground shipping. At the end of the day it's kind of a wash. See what's local to you!