Non-BMW Stuff on a BMW Forum

Boris3

see last post here. Revshift replies on same issue

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/forum/e30-technical-forums/suspension-unsprung/brakes-subframe-arms/253855-revshift-rtab-issues

gilber33

Boris3 said:

see last post here. Revshift replies on same issue

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/forum/e30-technical-forums/suspension-unsprung/brakes-subframe-arms/253855-revshift-rtab-issues

That person has the opposite issue. Their sleeve is too short.

I can try installing them again with their method. But even when the bushings were fully seated, and the sleeve installed, the sleeve stuck out one side 1/16" or so. I had to use a mallet to pound the trailing arms into the subframe brackets because the sleeve was that much wider than the bracket.

Boris3

Just out of curiosity if you assemble the pieces without installing them in the trailing arm, like the garagistic picture above, does the sleeve fit flush?

Boris3

Reason I ask is that the trailing arms bend. It would help to rule out if the issue is the arms or the revshift setup. No dog in this fight. I've got the Garagistic reenforced subframe and bushings in my car.

gilber33

Boris3 said:

Just out of curiosity if you assemble the pieces without installing them in the trailing arm, like the garagistic picture above, does the sleeve fit flush?

I'll try tonight. When I took them out of the packaging I noticed that with the bushings "installed" on the bench - not in the traling arm - the sleeve protruded out quite a bit. I thought it was weird but assumed that's how it was supposed to be.

straight6pwr

so the bushings fit fine, but you've pulled one side out (and created that gap) to match it to the length of the metal sleeve?

does the length of the metal sleeve match the gap between the subframe brackets?

gilber33

straight6pwr said:

so the bushings fit fine, but you've pulled one side out (and created that gap) to match it to the length of the metal sleeve?

Bushings fit into the arm fine. I installed both bushings flush. Pressed in the sleeve and it sticks out one side pretty significantly. The gap is shown between the arm and the lip of the bushing because they must have shifted around during install. I didn't intentionally create that gap there. I had installed the arms with the bushings flush against the arms and the gap at one side (as shown in my pic below). But the act of pounding them in must have created the gap where it is.

straight6pwr said:

does the length of the metal sleeve match the gap between the subframe brackets?

Not at all. I needed to use a mallet to pound the trailing arms into the brackets. Here's a rough sketch to show the difference between the bushing and the bracket.

Edit: I finally got a hold of someone at Revshift and they said that the small gap is to be expected. He said that their bushings and sleeve have a small amount of "play" in them to ensure they fit for variations in the size of the subframe brackets due to age of the car and inconsistencies in production of the car. He said that once everything is put together; springs, shocks, swaybars, etc., that little bit of gap will not affect anything. He did say he has had customers trim down the sleeve to fit their car better, but that you need to be careful doing that because you do not want to be tightening the subframe brackets against the bushings since the bushings need to rotate on the sleeve, and the not the control arm rotating on the bushings.

Still a little skeptical. Part of me wants to toss in OEM rubber bushings and call it a day.

The Full Banana

Looks like they've designed them to enhance snap oversteer for additional ditch trajectory.

Jdesign

Just shave it down a hair and be done with it. you will find out later if it matters or not when you are winching the car from a ditch.

gilber33

I'm taking them out and trimming the sleeves.

jc43089

Maybe measure the length of the sleeves on the original bushings and trim these to match?

gilber33

jc43089 said:

Maybe measure the length of the sleeves on the original bushings and trim these to match?

That is a really good idea had I not thrown the old ones away after I melted them.

gilber33

Bushings flush on the arm and the sleeve flush on one side. This is how much it sticks out.

Sleeves trimmed and test fitted. I have new poly grease coming from amazon to lube it all up.

straight6pwr

that looks better!

gilber33

Passenger footwell done.

Found these two little rust holes under the rear seat. Anyone know what’s right there? Both sides have a small hole in the exact same place.

I found this other rust hole. Any suggestions on fixing this one? Removing the battery cable to make access would be easy, but the rest of the hoses are fuel vent lines, correct? And they look like they would be rather difficult to move out of the way.

And needs a couple more coats, but the carpets are getting there. They look stripey because after each coat I have been brushing it in. It’s dry this morning and looks significantly better.

Also had some beer going while I was working tonight.

straight6pwr

not 100% sure, but the brackets for the two rear gas tank mounting bolts might be hung under those square sections. I've never had the gas tank out of an e30, so I do not know for sure.

this under chassis picture leads me to believe they are, and the three rust spots you're seeing on them are the spot welds that hold that bracket on.

gilber33

I believe you are correct. I looked at my posts earlier of under the car and those brackets seem to line up when comparing them to the grommets where wires pass through the floor. I was going to just do a topical patch with seam sealer, but I need to pull all the tank vent lines to fix that hole in the wheel well, so it might just make sense to pull the tank out and properly fix those two spots. They’ll be easy ones to fix.