[meek07]

I stored my 435 all winter and started driving it May 21. At highway speeds I immediately noticed that the car has a hard pull to the right and the steering wheel sits at an angle even when I compensate the wheel to actually make the car go straight.

I took it in for an alignment and BMWs inspection report states that the front left strut is off position and leaking and the control arm bushing is worn/loose. Also the front left tire has negative camber and the inner tread is 3/32 compared to 5/32 on the right tire. They recommend I replace the strut and the control arm bushing. And also suggest replacing both front struts as is recommenced with MacPherson struts.

I tell the dealership where I got it from. They have me take it to a shop they deal with. They find that the strut is pushed up into the spindle and has bent a shoulder it rests on. So I took it to Vehicle Safety Inspection and they basically resafety the car and tell me nothing is obviously damaged by looking at it on the hoist.

Me and my dad are going to take a look ourselves this weekend and replace whatever necessary but I have a few questions:

Is it possible to get away with only replacing the control arm bushing and then doing an alignment?

If the strut does need replacing, is it necessary to do both? The car only has 57k km on it.

[brigade24]

where are you in Cnd?

The worn control arm bushing will def cause alignment/steering issues you are describing. If you are in Ontario, a leaking strut will not pass a safety if they are doing the certification by the book.

[Nexus313]

Do you have a copy of the alignment sheet spec? BMW allows 0.5 difference between L/R front camber as allowable.