How-To BMW Paralever Pivot Maintenance & Upgrade

Rubber Chicken Racing Garage's JL Paralever bushing kit is cheap insurance against more costly repairs due to the failure of the OEM Paralever bearings in 1988-2004 BMWs. Honda Moly 60 Paste and Loctite #270 threadlocker are must haves when installing the kit.
As classic 1988-2004 Paralever-equipped BMWs continue to age gracefully while performing their duties, owners should think carefully about preventive maintenance before the need for expensive repairs erupts. Arguably the most common failure of the famed Paralever design involves the pivot bearings where the final drive attaches to the rear of the swingarm.
The fragile OEM needle roller bearings are a well-known weak spot which can be addressed relatively inexpensively before they fail outright and become a safety hazard. A proven aftermarket replacement for the OEM bearing is made by JL Enterprises and distributed primarily by Tom Cutter's Rubber Chicken Racing Garage in Yardley. Pennsylvania, where this installation process was recorded on our 2004 BMW RI 150RT test mule. For layman's purposes, we will, wherever possible, use commonly available tools in place of the specialized factory tools called for in BMW factory repair manuals. However, one must have Honda Moly 60 lubricant paste and Loctite #270 threadlocker on hand for this job.
We begin by removing the rear wheel, and draining the gear fluid from the final drive. We are then ready to remove the final drive assembly itself. With the drive unit supported by the torque arm, heat the adjustable pivot pin on the left side of the final drive with a pinpoint flame from a propane torch to break the high-strength thread locking compound applied at the factory (Figure 1). Note how the flame is aimed directly at the center of the pin's alien keyhole, so as not to damage the surrounding paint on the final drive assembly. Once heated for a few minutes, loosen the pivot pin locknut with a 30mm socket and breaker bar. Then, use a 12mm hex to pull out the adjustable pivot pin itself, as shown in Figure 2. Move to the right side of the final drive, and repeat the prior steps on this non-adjustable pivot pin. Finally, remove the hardware holding the Paralever torque arm to the final drive shown by the arrow in Figure 1

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