motopokep

Over the 170,000 miles mark on my 2004 E60. Still got original shocks/struts. Car feels bumpy, shakes at high speed braking, makes screeching noises going over uneven pavement. Before I jack it up and take off covers and wheels, what should I be looking for? What should I order? I know the bushings lost the red liquid, I already picked up a new pair for the front. I'm on Parts Geek site in the suspension section, they have both a strut assembly and a shock absorber. I don't see any coils in that section. I just installed a suspension lift on my Jeep Wrangler and learned a bit about suspension...it uses coils and shocks...simple. Still not sure what a strut is, but I see BMW is different.

Also, how do I know my control arms are bad? I've had one replaced by a mechanic 3 years ago as my right side was really shaking at high speed braking....now I gotta figure out if it's my left side control arm that also needs to be replaced. I'm going to do this myself, have the physical means to do this...just no experience with BMW suspensions. ....maybe I should stop being lazy and jack it up.

ODB

Here's a DIY
https://5series.net/forums/diy-do-yo...install-85378/


If replacing the struts, you may as well do the control arms.


bavauto.com has good prices on all this stuff.


good luck!

KyleB

at 170,000k miles, I can't imagine there being something that isn't worn out. If that were my car I'd be replacing everything, especially in the front.

motopokep

Ok, I finally found the time to do this project, trying to figure out what parts I have to order.


How do I know if a control arm is bad? When I do hard braking, I do feel the front shaking quite bad, not sure which side though. I found 3 types of control arms on partsgeek. Front forward, front rearward (both are cheaper type, in the $40 range each), and then there is just the Control Arm, for $185...do I replace all 3 for each side, or just replace the main one? I wouldn't want to replace something that doesn't need to be.


I'd like to replace the springs too, my ride is sitting very low so I'm guessing they've compressed over the years. I've found Bilstein shock absorbers for only $121 for each side front, ...but that page also have strut assemblies, Sachs, for $185... I still don't understand the difference between a shock and a strut....looking at pictures, they look like the same thing to me....which one do I get, a shock or a strut?


I don't see any coil springs sold separately on partgeek, but I do see complete Bilstein suspension kits going for over $1,000 and over $2,000...that's confusing the hell out of me...why so expensive, if I can buy a 4 shocks for roughly $500, plus add the springs, which can't bee too expensive... Maybe I need to look at a different site...but I don't want to get anything fancy and expensive, at 176,000 miles on the car, I'm not looking for sports performance, just reliability and economy.


Any direction/advice on which parts to get would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

Bimster530i

Springs don't compress much over time, but they do fatigue and break. That would make the car sit lower. Also, if you aren't the original owner you may have lowering springs and not know it.

The least expensive way to go with control arms is to just replace the bushings...if the arms aren't bent and you have a suitable press available to do the work.

All shocks and bushings at a minimum. Maybe more. I'd recommend having an experienced mechanic look at it and give a quote. The ball joints may not come loose with normal tools. I had to slot one of mine with a double sawzall blade.

banglenot

OP: And check the tie rod ends. One of them breaks and you'll be testing the strength of a roadside tree.

Yeah, it's probably a good time for a pro to give a readout so you'll know the bad news all around.

KyleB

If you're at 170,000 miles and you have never done anything in the front of the car, I can highly suggest that EVERYTHING is worn out and should be replaced.

If that were my car, I'd replace all control arms, tie rods, sway bar links, struts, and upper strut mounts. I'll bet you'd notice an absolute night and day difference.

motopokep

That's prolly a good idea for a bmw enthusiast looking for performance, but I don't want to replace anything that's not broken. How does a metal control arm go bad? At the connections? How do I check if its bad? I assume same goes for tie rods and sway bar links. Why would the strut mount need to be replaced and how do I know it's bad?


Also, can someone explain the difference between a shock and a strut? I'm looking at pictures and I don't see a difference. I see shock absorbers and strut assemblies sold separately, which one do I need? I've installed a suspension lift kit on my Jeep, I just had shocks that I put inside of the springs. Is the E60 assembly different? I'd imagine I need to buy the shocks...but what are struts?


Also, I don't see the spring coils sold a lot, only for lower purposes or sport performance...so I take it I really don't need to replace them? How to tell if they're bad?

KyleB

yes. either at the bushing end where it bolts into the subframe, or the ball joint end where it attaches to the spindle. at 170,000, I can promise you that at least one of those ends is completely shot, and more likely both. Ball joints on BMWs simply do not go 170,000 miles and exhibit no wear.

What you do is completely up to you, but I'm pretty confident that anyone with comprehensive BMW know-how that has been driving/maintaining these cars for a decent amount of time would tell you that any BMW with 170,000 miles on it is well overdue for a complete suspension overhaul, unless components have already been replaced. In your case, other than one control arm it sounds like everything is original to the car, which is now 11 years old.

Not meant as a 'slam', but if you plan on keeping the car long term now is when you're likely going to have to start spending some money on it or part ways with it.

best of luck, cheers.

Bimster530i

Struts have a flange that carries the spring. Shocks don't. They are the same otherwise. Any kit listed for your model should come with the right versions.

The best reason to refresh all your suspension parts at the same time is that many of the bolts need to come apart to replace any individual component. So, why duplicate all that labor several times? At this age the rubber in the bushings is all oxidized and cracking, the seals in the dampers are shot, the ball joints are loose...the real question is whether the car is worth it to you or not. If it's not, there are certainly less expensive options for transportation. If you want your E60 for a great driving experience do the suspension and it will drive like a new car.