430 Flanbloc replacement DYI... anybody?

Hi,
Plenty of videos and such for DYI ball joints... but none for flanblocs. Anyone has any good information on what size sockets or bars you need to push them out? I suppose one needs to remove the circlip and inner part before trying to press out.
Thanks

 

Ok, I did remove the arm and managed to replace them. It is not too hard at all... I will post some instructions and pics tomorrow, including all tools used.
Cheers.

 

ok, here it is:

1. Remove the upper arm from the car: You need a 13mm socket with an extension and a 10mm ( I think?) hex socket to remove the ball joint screw. Hook up the wheel hub with brake disk and such to the strut with a couple of cable ties so they stay up and don't hang onto wires and stuff. Extension cords might work, but wth. I have plenty of cable ties.
2. Start your JBL charge 3 or 4 or 5 bluetooth music player so it's more fun in the garage. I recommend Metallica, work will get done faster than say... Shania Twain. And then you can be the Master.
3. Now that you got that nice aluminum arm get to your bench where you have a vice (you do have one, right? ) and find a 1-7/16 socket (yes, that big) and a 21mm socket.
4. Before you get cracking, remove the circlip with some circlip pliers (in photo below) and a couple of small screwdrivers to slide it out of the inner part of the flanbloc. We will only press the outer part of the bushing out (pleonasm?) . This is the arrangement I had , and I only needed the 2 sockets and the vice to remove it (see photo below).
5. One important thing I did; I heated up the arm (bushing section only) with my trusted heat gun, until I smelled burnt rubber. Sign it had enough. Take it slow and don't get too close to the arm. I am not sure how these arms react to sudden heat, I would not care if it was the steel arm in my 335i, I would heat that up to red.
6. Press them out in the vice, it should not take much effort. Just go slow and make sure the movement is straight, and the sockets lign up, and are parallel and centered to the imaginary line going through the middle of the flanbloc.
7. If you are an alcoholic like me, have a couple beers, ignoring the fact that it is middle of the day..
8. Now ,before pushing the new one in, take a 600 - 800 grit sandpaper, and make sure there is no residue or dirt on the inside of the arm. Take it slow and easy and don't over do it , these aluminum arms scratch and sand very easy. Same on the new flanbloc, make sure it is smooth and has no creases and dents. Mine had a few dents and I made sure surface is smooth and shinny before I tried pressing it in.
9. I used a little bit of grease on the inside of the arm and outside of the bushing before pressing it in. I started with just the vice and the flanbloc and pushed it in until I felt resistance, case when I had to use the big 1-7/16 socket on the side where bush was coming out, as it was already level with the arm. Hope it makes sense.. If not I will take more pics tomorrow. If I don't forget.
10. Once you pressed the outer thing in, just slide in the center piece, put the 2 washers back (Watch for the order, the one with the slit on it goes last, just before the circlip) and then use the circlip pliers to put the circlip back.
11. Honestly, in the last photo, it is all I used (plus a decent size vice) to do it. After I had my arm out of the car, obviously. The bush on the right is the new one, and the left is just the hole. Will be pressed tomorrow.

Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

I am working on the lower arm; totally different, much bigger. I am working on finding some sockets that match that one; will post later once done.

 

Rubber bushing was all cracked at the edge, but they could have worked a bit more. They were not too tight, so arm was moving fine with no excess play. Problem is, the rubber got so hard in time, they were like poly bushings So I think I gained a bit of a more compliant ride with the newer softer rubber.

There is not much to clean... the inside of the shafts were clean and had some kind of lube, so I think somebody in the past did that many moons ago.. So yeah, I pulled them all out and pushed new ones in.

 

Balljoints? No, the rubbers seals are intact on both of them, and there is no play... They also look fairly shinny so I assume they have been changed before. I think they can go at least another 10k miles. Which is years in how much I clock ...

 

Ok, pushing out for the lower arms. The external diameter of the flanbloc is 34mm, so you need something 32-33 max to push it. I found a 24mm socket at autozone which was 31.8mm on the outside, and fit ok. Wish it was a bit bigger, but it worked.
For the receiver, the outside of the flanbloc is 43mm, so anything 44 and above will work. I found a 1 11/16" socket also, which just about sits on the arm (a bit loose for my taste, but it does sit all around) . It looks loose in the pic, but it has hex channels/walls built inside which do grip on the arm (if you don't know what I mean, look at socket inside)
Again, I warmed up the arm a bit, and slowly pushed it in with the vise.


Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

To press in the flanbloc on lower arms, just use something flat against the bushing (it will be on the left of the picture above) and the receiver I showed you for the upper arms on the right side (this guy here is too big, so the other one fits perfectly as support).
I forgot to take a pic, and my hands were freezing... bloody cold today in New England.
Off to drink beer now.

 

You mean like this:


Image Unavailable, Please Login

Funny you said that ; my vise called the quits pushing out number 3 (one of the jaw supports cracked in half) , so I had to pull out my bushing press...Works fine with an impact gun on medium speed; it is moving slowly ...

No kit will have the exact diameter sockets that you need for pushing/receiving (I have 2 kits) , so you still need to purchase the socket I have here most likely.

 

Now if I was to buy a kit, this seems ok with a decent numbers of adapters. You have a 45 and a 46, so you can push out the bigger flanblocs in that receiver, but you still need to buy 3 more ...

https://www.amazon.com/WINTOOLS-Universal-Bearing-Removal-Insertion/dp/B07BH22YCR/ref=sr_1_13_sspa?crid=2I0EAUFFH2FVO&keywords=bushing+press+kit&qid=1671132344&sprefix=%2Caps%2C48&sr=8-13-spons&ufe=app_do%3Aamzn1.fos.fa474cd8-6dfc-4bad-a280-890f5a4e2f90&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyNlNRWEtYSUxNWUxWJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNDU5ODg1TDk0RFBIRzdIOThVJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTA2MDkwMDYySTlKUTZBMzJMVEVWJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfbXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

 

'

They are kind of useless.. you can only press them in with that (which is the easy part), but cannot press out due to the shape of the arm..
There is a cheaper 20ton pressure one for 150 bucks, but it takes space, and its very easy to do in the vise or with a press... Each to it's own though. That will be very useful though if you start changing bearings and such. I am limited for space so I am saying pass.

 

I want to add that if you never changed your ball joints and you have no noises; go ahead and check them out. Remove the seals. If like mine, the balljoints are perfect, no play but the grease inside has dried out in time and becomes the brown goo stuff you see in this picture from aldousvoice.com (ok, mines are not that bad; I'll take some pics) .

They are not bad, still serviceable. They can be washed/ cleaned to mirror like shine, and greased. Provided you do that, they will last a long time I think.

I discovered a hole in one of the rubber seals, and took it out. That brown goo was pretty much dried grease.. I then removed the other side, which had no holes or tears, and sure enough, it was the same.

I am opening now all of them and clean/ grease.
Rubber seals are available at Ricambi by the way, for 25 bucks a pop (you can also re-use some, if you take them out carefully).




Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

So one more update. When you get to the rear lower arms, you will have a bit of a surprise. The Flanblocs have studs stuck into them, with nuts and washers inside the car chassis. I was unable to remove them from the old flanblocs, no matter how much heat I applied.... I was scared to hit too much on the arm in the vise, so I decided to cut the old flanbloc (I will change it anyway) and remove it that way, and order new studs/screws. They are part number 182215 and usually not in stock, fyi...

Image Unavailable, Please Login

 

Update2 : The studs can be removed once you cut the flanbloc, just need to push them carefully out with the vise and hammer them out. I used a M10x1.25 (NOT the original, bought a few from Home Depot ) nut on the thread so I don't damage it. They are VERY hard to punch into the new flanblocs but will go in with a bit of persuasion, and can be reused no problem. Cancelled my order at Eurospares.co.uk.

Hope this helps. With around 1700 bucks give or take, depending on where you buy your parts; and with a bit of elbow grease, you can have a - like new - suspension. Other items I changed before are front shock absorber lower bushings and sway bar bushings (these make a very obnoxious knock if they are worn..)

Cheers.