Another fine German bushing going bad ,,,,if you have been around German car for a long time,,,,you would understand about their suspension bushings going bad after a period of time,,,,this is the rear differential bushing on a F10 or F2 they are the same,,,,,you can see how the bushing is cracked.
This is a picture of the rear subframe,,,here I am pulling the bushing out of the rear subframe with a special tool.
And this is me pulling the bushing out the other side,,,you have to drop the exhaust system and lower the rear differential to get this bushing out,,,once you pull the old bushing out,,,then we use the same tool and push the new bushing back into the rear subframe,,,,these bushing are a common thing to crack,,,there are no signs while driving that the bushing is cracked.
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Recent Comments
bmwtechnician 
Geeeez
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How much would an independent shop charge to replace?
The DEALER good guy price was $750.
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I don’t know what a independent would charge,,,that is up to that business,,,,,I can tell you it pays 4.8 hours
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Thanks for the info,
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Have you ever found the two nuts on the rear diff ears (and exhaust hangers) to loosen themselves? Just bought a used 550GT and they were both almost off the bolt loose.
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No I haven’t seen them loose,,,are you sure someone hasn’t been under the car doing any repairs.
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So looking at this it seems that you drop the exhaust and then unbolt the diff just lowering it enough to get the tool in place. Is that it or do you need to drop the drive shaft and pull axles etc.?
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Yes you drop the exhaust and just unbolt the rear diff and lower it,,,,the rear diff isn’t going anywhere with the axles still connected to the diff,,,,,you should have just enough room to replace the bushing,,,,do not disconnect the driveshaft.
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Thanks, I have to replace the rear bushing soon on my 2011 550i.
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I just noticed just one crack on the F10 535i. Don’t notice any signs or symptoms aside from the crack. Should I leave it or wait until more sections crack?
It sounds like dealers don’t recommend replacment until 2 or more ribs have cracked.
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I would wait until the other side cracks,,,,the cracks should go all the way though the bushing then replace.
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Have you video to cange
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No I don’t
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Where can I buy the tool to press out and in the bushing??Thanks??any tool number??
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Sorry I use BMW factory tools,,,,I understand KTC tools make a tool for the job Bmw2259 is the part number,,,,I hope this helps
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BMW2259 is for the 2 front bushings of the rear diff. The job you describe here needs the BMW2260, or the single bushing on the rear of the diff.
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I got mine online for about $120 just be sure it is the one for the correct bushing as per the diagram. The part number on my kit is BMA1568 from German Specialty Tools but there are different vendors. It’s very tight to do in the car and if you have the rear steering like mine, it requires moving that. I believe that required a E16 or 18 inverted torx socket if I recall and a lot of different tools to get in where I needed to a turn at a time.
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Thanks for the helpful info. I’m thinking about installing an Msport exhaust and wondering if removing the stock mufflers would provide enough “give” to complete the bashing replacement without dropping the entire exhaust system. Any thoughts?
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If you install a M-Sport muffler you will be cutting the old muffler out,,,,then you can just loosen the exhaust bracket and hanger and let the pipe hand down and replace the bushing
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I managed to get mine done by dropping the exhaust without removing it. It’s a pain but it worked for me. Of course mine is a 550i so a 535i might be different.
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Thanks so much for this! Your posts are incredibly helpful. I’m going to buy the BMW2259 tool, but on some diagrams it mentions that its for the rear differential bushing, and on some it says that its for the 2 front bushings (33316792873). Can you confirm if the tool can be used for the 2 front bushings as well? ALSO, is there a special tool needed to change the rear subframe bushings? I’d like to do everything all at once. Thanks so much!
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No that tool is only for the rear differential mount bushing tool,,,it will not due the front thrust arm bushing,,,,now you said you want to replace the rear subframe bushing,,,, there is no reason to do that unless the rear subframe has been hit and damaged.
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Thank you. I noticed that the rear giubo on the driveshaft is also fully cracked. Since the exhaust will need to be dropped for both jobs, in what order should I replace the the giubo and the rear diff bushing? Giubo first and diff bushing second? Or diff bushing first and giubo second?
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You could do it in any order you feel comfortable with,,,,myself I would start with the gumbo disc first and rear diff bushing second.
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Just wanted to say “thank you” for your help! I ordered the special tool for the rear diff bushing and it came out like butter. I also replaced the rear giubo with ease after finishing the rear diff bushing.
Do you have any tips on tackling the engine mounts? Is simply removing the top bolt from the mounts enough to sneak them out from the subframe? Or should I also unbolt the support brackets? I see that the driver side is also tight with the oil cooler lines in the way. Thank you!
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Question which engine do you have in your car?
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Oops, left that important detail out. It’s an F10 535i xDrive with N55. Thank you.
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Lol,,,that’s ok
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Also, how much can I safely raise the engine? Thank you.
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Ok you might be able to raise the engine about 1inch,,,that passengers side isn’t to bad,,,,the driver side is the problem,,,what you can do is raise the engine a little and also lower down the subframe,,,the drivers side you might have to loosen the motor mount bracket so it will have some play and give you more room to slide in the new motor mount
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You state there is no indication that the diff bushing is cracked other than inspection. I have a 2011 550i and under hard acceleration from stop and during hard shifts at full throttle i get a single hard clunk from rear. My diff bushing is cracked in several places. Does that indicate the clunk from hard shifting especially from hard take off launch is because of broken diff bushing?
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The rear diff bushing cracks really easily,,,,do those crack go all the way though the bushing,,,if they go completely though the bushing then that might be your problem.
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If I’m replacing the rear differential bushing.. how do I purchase two or one? I have a F10.
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Not “how”. Do I purchase one or two differential bushings ?
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You only purchase 1 rear differential bushing,,,,there is only 1 rear bushing,,,,,you don’t need the 2 front differential bushing they never go bad only the rear differential bushing
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