DRIFTTEC E46 Offset Monoball Trailing Arm Bearing Installation Guide

: June 1, 2024
: DRIFTTEC

Table of Contents

Overview
Disclaimer& Safety
Preparation
Removal
Installation
Troubleshooting
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E46 Offset Moonball Trailing Arm Bearing
Installation Guide

DRIFTTEC E46 Offset Monoball Trailing Arm Bearing

E36 & E46 Offset Monoball
Trailing Arm Bearing Install Guide

Overview

DRIFTTEC E46 Offset Monoball Trailing Arm Bearing -
Overview

Disclaimer& Safety

This bearing kit is intended for off road use in controlled environments.
This kit is intended to be installed by a qualified mechanic. If you or your mechanic have any questions, please contact info@drifttec.co
DriftTec LLC is not liable for personal, property, legal, or financial damages from the use or misuse of any product we sell.
The purchaser is solely responsible for the safety and performance of these products.

Preparation

You will need a trailing arm bearing press set to remove the old bushings and install the new bearing cups.
There are a few options:
BMW OEM type tool – Works with both e36& e46 Universal style tool – While it is a very tight fit, it does work with e46. For e36, the outer bearing flange needs to be bent in or cut out before it can be pressed out. DRIFTTEC E46
Offset Monoball Trailing Arm Bearing - Preparation

Removal

Remove the trailing arm bracket from the chassis.
Remove the trailing arm bracket from the trailing arm.
Press the old bushings out, being sure to push the bushing towards the outside of the car. DRIFTTEC E46 Offset Monoball Trailing Arm Bearing -
Removal Note: You may need to have both rear wheels in the air and shocks removed to get enough clearance to fit press tools.
Using a wire brush or something similar, lightly clean the trailing arm mating surfaces.

Installation

Insert the bearing cup partially from the outside in.

Press the bearing cup into the trailing arm until the flange makes firm contact with the trailing arm. DRIFTTEC E46 Offset Monoball Trailing Arm
Bearing - Removal2 Apply a light amount of the supplied grease under the bolt heads and on the threads of the 8x fasteners.

Install the cap from the inner side of the car to the bearing cup. DRIFTTEC
E46 Offset Monoball Trailing Arm Bearing - Removal3 Hand tighten the 8x fasteners between the bearing cup and the cap. DRIFTTEC E46 Offset Monoball Trailing Arm Bearing - Hand
tighten

Note: When hand tightened, you may notice a gap between the cap and the trailing arm or the cap and the inner bearing. This is by design, follow the torque procedure. DRIFTTEC E46 Offset Monoball Trailing Arm Bearing -
Removal4

Note: It is critical that the fasteners are greased and the torque procedure is followed
Torque the 8x fasteners using the following procedure:

Using a star pattern (outlined below), torque the fasteners to 2 Nm (18 inlb)
Using a star pattern (outlined below), torque the fasteners to 4 Nm (35 inlb)
a. Repeat until no fastener turns when torque (4 Nm / 35 inlb) is applied. This usually takes about 3 repeated star pattern sequences.

Note: There should now be no gap between the bearing cap and trailing arm or the bearing cap and inner bearing.Apply a light amount of the supplied grease to the inner bearing housing surfaces and outer spacer surfaces. Push the misalignment spacers into their corresponding seals. Leave about 2mm from the end face of the spacers and the end of the seals (see below).
Pay attention to the orientation of the seals and spacers. The bellowed portion of the seal should be towards the smaller diameter on the spacer. DRIFTTEC E46 Offset Monoball Trailing Arm Bearing -
portion

Each bearing assembly should have 1 small and 1 large misalignment spacer and seal assemblies. The smaller misalignment spacer goes towards the side that you would like more toe adjustment bias.
Example: Small spacer towards the inside of the car for more toe in. Small spacer towards the outside of the car for more toe out. DRIFTTEC E46 Offset
Monoball Trailing Arm Bearing - towards Install the spacers and seals with care to start the seal in the bearing cups before pushing the spacer into the monoball bearing. Make sure the seal is completely seated by pushing down on the seal around all edges. DRIFTTEC E46 Offset Monoball Trailing Arm Bearing -
monoball

Note: There is a small divot on the misalignment spacers to keep them in place while the trailing arm bracket is installed. DRIFTTEC E46 Offset
Monoball Trailing Arm Bearing - towards1 Install the trailing arm bracket to the trailing arm. Torque the bolt and nut to 110 Nm (81 ftlb) DRIFTTEC E46 Offset Monoball Trailing Arm
Bearing - bracket At ride height, ensure the bearing is parallel with the trailing arm bracket edge. The trailing arm bracket may be rotated to move these edges parallel.Ensure there is no contact between the trailing arm bracket and trailing arm/bearing through the suspension travel range.
Repeat the installation procedure on the opposite side of the car.

Troubleshooting

Symptom	Possible Cause	Solution
Bearing is hard to move by hand	n/a	This is normal. Bearing preload is

checked before
shipping.
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Other issues? We’re here to help!
If there are any questions that can not be solved by the above table, contact us at info@drifttec.co with a brief description along with your contact information.