lightfytr

Okay so I installed my lowering springs today. Needless to say I am sore and amazed at how big a job it was. I dont regret it because I saved a bunch of money but it was HARD. The fronts werent too bad but the backs were a beast. I didnt know what else to loosen/remove other than the shock mounts and having to wiggle and put pressure on the hub to remove the shock was a nightmare. I finally called a buddy when I was trying to get the shock mount re-connected to the hub (someone has to hold the hub down with all your body weight while pulling on the wheel well). The passenger side is the worst, we waisted so much time on that side but we finally did it. It looks great but I couldnt go drive it because one of the shock mount screws came up missing...

I will post pics tomorrow its in the garage and hard to get a good pic right now.

Oh, and I was cursing the DIY gods when the wind sent my rear wheel rolling and it plopped on the face putting some sand size scratched around the edge of the wheel... Not a happy camper.

If anyone is gonna DIY, it would be so much easier to remove other parts of the rear hub assembly/control arms. Also, I used a ratchet strap to compress the entire hub/shock in the front so I could get it out of the wheel well.

Overall it was much harder than I thought it would be but still happy. Hopefully the paint shop will repaint my mtech kit this week.

franco5

Congrats man. I have the H&R box (with springs) in my basement and am Jones'ing to get them put on NOW.... Can't wait to see the pics!

baggedlvintegra

Yeah the first time doing it can be tricky even with a DIY, but after you do it once it is a walk in the park. You learn the little tricks that make it SO much easier. The rear IS A MUST TO HAVE SOMEBODY HELP, like you said push on the hub while you pull on the shock, simple with 2 people. The front is extremely easy, I can take it from wheel on the ground drivable to taken apart with new spring installed and back drivable in about 20 mins a side now that Ive done it several times. Cant wait to see the pics of yours! I just ordered H&R Sports as well and our cars are basically IDENTICAL minus wheels so Im eager to see the stance yours has. Congrats on all the recent upgrades

e6t.lab.rat

I feel (felt - lol) your pain. Imagine, I did mine all by my lonesome and my body ached for days. To this day I have no idea how I got the rear passenger shock out with that gas filler tube in the way but somehow I managed to do it. Good job but, sorry about the wheel.

baggedlvintegra

I guess I am fortunate / previously unfortunate because I came to my E60 from a huge lifted Dodge Diesel which took me 2 days straight by myself from 8:30 AM till about midnight/1AM to finish doing the lift. The couple hours of these tiny E60 parts for the suspension felt like a vacation lol

TheRacerBoss

Guys,
Take pictures man! Especially with something that needs more skill than brains (lol)
While I still debate on what kind of suspension and springs, I surely want to do it myself, the front sounds not a big job at all from what I read but doing the rear is starting to freak me out now.

There needs to be a DIY on this one, come on guys

jgt

Interesting to see other people's experience with the shock removal and install...
For me the rear coilovers were the easiest part of the install. For the passenger side with the gas filler tube I remember removing some bolts/screws that were securing the tube and some black box down so I could move it around. Not sure what it was maybe some sort of charcoal canister?
Anyway after I did that removing the rear shock was a piece of cake.
The fronts on the other hand were a REAL bitch. I guess all the road salt and sand we get around here accumulated around the pinch collar which froze it shut.

lightfytr

TheRacerBoss, I used this DIY https://5series.net/forums/topic/853...1#entry1005275 and found that it helped a lot. If I had just removed more pieces the whole thing would have been easier. I just didnt know which parts were the right ones to remove to allow the hub to fall freely. And I was nervous about moving the fuel filler tube as well. Again, knowing how to do it right would have made it much easier. I commend all you guys who take pics along the way, I was so friggin dirty and frustrated at different points.

The front wasnt easy at all for me, just easier than the rears. In my opinion it is definitely a 2 person job unless you are removing a lot more screws than I did. If I had to do it again it would go much quicker!

UPDATE: Drove to work this morning and everything felt great. I noticed a sportier/stiffer ride, which I like.

Cwest

I've also took on the task in installing stock sport shock over the week and failed after 3hrs of front passenger side. I then reassemble the car back and gave up man the fronts were a bitch couldn't imagine the rears

lightfytr

Cwest, what part was it you couldnt get past? I found that by using a ratchet strap wrapped from the top of the shock around to the control arms I could compress the shocks allowing me to pull it out of the wheel well...