Am I the only one with an E30 that has the fuel tank interfering with the trailing arm bolt?

The inner race of an old, shot rear wheel bearing is stuck in the trailing arm bearing housing, and after every attempt to press or bang them out has been frustrated, I finally decided to remove the trailing arm completely and take it to a machine shop.

Other than the mounting bolts being in a very tight location for a ratchet, I managed to get almost completely through the time consuming task. Completely lowered, the coil spring isn't under much tension and doesn't need to be compressed. The hardest part was just prying it off the lower mount.

But here's the frustration kicker: the outboard trailing arm mounting bolt doesn't clear the inlet tube to the fuel tank. I thought it was just the hose that was in the way, but after pulling the hose off, there's still the metal nipple block full travel of the bolt. I don't see how to remove it without attacking the inlet which I don't want to do, and certainly not with a cutter or lowering the subframe an inch or two.

Am I the only one with an E30 that has the fuel tank interfering with the trailing arm bolt? I haven't seen any mention of this anywhere.

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[Kerry at Pelican Parts]

No, dropping the subframe is the common work-around. On many German cars the nuts and bolts are not always easy to access.

- Kerry