Special ZHP Bushings?

[lupinsea]

Uh, yeah. . . seems like a bad joke with the ZHP air and all that stuff.

Anyways.

Took the ZHP in to have a tensioner pulley and emission system tune up under CPO warranty. While they were there the mechanic took a look at my front LCA bushings and said they should be replaced "sooner rather than later". Actually very soon.

I suppose at 91.5k miles I've gotten a decent life out of them.

For $600+ tax they said they could replace them. But I figure I can do that myself.

The only question is, does the ZHP use special LCA front bushings? I thought I heard a harder rubber/polymer is used.

So, should I pony up and get the parts from BMW at $300 (incl tax) or go aftermarket with . . . ?

Poking around I found references to the UUC bushings, the Turner stuff, I think there was a Powerflex set out there, too. Plus on Bavauto they had the "HD" bushings for $90 / set pre-pressed into the aluminum housings (I think they were they Meyle). Though with the OE replacement stuff I haven't seen a special "ZHP" designation (or reference specifically to M sport Package/Perf Pak). Nor did anything stand out on realoem.com other than the control arm itself being Performance Package Related . . . no special listing for the bushings there.

Thoughts?


Also, after a LCA bushing replacement, any need for an alignment? Apart from popping the bushing (and maybe arm?) off and on it doesn't look like there's any adjustable linkage or fasteners I have to mess with.