Front Shock Replacement
Question:
I'm going to replace my factory shocks with Bilstein HD units. When replacing the front shocks, do you really have to go through removing everything from the front suspension per the factory book, or can you just slide the strut up and out of the suspension assy after removing the pinch bolt (i.e. drop the suspension below the level of the strut)? I'm trying to determine if this is something that I can do in my garage, or need to take it to someone who works on BMW's for a living? I have a friend who has the tools to compress the springs, so that is a no-brainer - just removing the struts from the front end of this 530xi sportwagon. Thanks windnsea |
On my E60 525I its easy
I simply removed the pinch bolt and expanded it with a cold chiesel Then I loosened the bolts on the bushes for the two contol arms Undo the top shock nuts and it will drop low enough to remove the shock. But in refitting ensure you have the shock under stress before tightning the bush bolts again |
You can certainly do it yourself.. I just flipped over my suspension last week.. I didn't change the struts but it could have easily come out.
I took off the sway bar end link... and make sure you take off the headlight leveler on the passenger side. I just undid the brake pad wear sensors from the box and the strut, it has enough slack to rotate everything out and free. |
HD shocks
Make sure you put the shocks in right. They are labeled left and right.
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Originally Posted by rice_rocket88
(Post 1562137)
.. and make sure you take off the headlight leveler on the passenger side. .
Where is the headlight leveling gizmo? |
E4-WM5-Y132A01- EINBAUANLEITUNG/
MOUNTING INSTRUCTION erstellt am: 04.02.1999 E4-WM5-Y132A01_4 Seite 1 von 2 geändert am: 25.03.04 Tabelle Anzugsmomente - list of torques Gewinde M8 M 10 M 12 M 14 M 16 Thread Anzugsmoment Nm 13 25 45 72 110 10 19 34 54 83 Torque Nm Torque ft lb ZUM LÖSEN UND ANZIEHEN DER MUTTERN DARF KEIN SCHLAGSCHRAUBENDREHER VERWENDET WERDEN DAS BEFESTIGUNGSGEWINDE WIRD SONST ZERSTÖRT. SELBSTSICHERNDE MUTTERN DÜRFEN NUR EINMAL VERWENDET WERDEN! FOR THE REMOVAL AND INSTALLATION OF NUTS, IMPACT TOOLS MUST NOT BE USED BECAUSE THIS WOULD DAMAGE THE MOUNT THREADS. SELF- LOCKING NUTS MUST ONLY BE USED ONCE! Federbeine/ Dämpfer die in Gummiaufhängungen gelagert sind, dürfen erst angezogen werden, wenn das Fahrzeug wieder auf dem Boden steht. Andere Befestigungen (z. B. Schellen) müssen vor dem Herablassen des Fahrzeugs angezogen werden. All rubber- mounted strut/ damper attachments must not be fully tightened until AFTER the suspension system is loaded (wheels on the ground). Other mounting fasteners (for example brackets) must be securely tigh-tened BEFORE load is placed on the suspension system. ALLE DARSTELLUNGEN SIND SCHEMATISCH! KEINE DARSTELLUNG DIVERSER HALTER O. Ä. AM FEDERBEIN! ALL DIAGRAMS ARE GENERALIZED AND NOT TO SCALE! BRACKETS, ETC. SPECIFIC TO STRUT ARE NOT SHOWN! BMW E39/ E60/ E63 BMW E39 touring 22 Nm/ 16 ft lb 72 Nm/ 54 ft lb Befestigungsbolzen 100 Nm; muß mit LOCTITE gesichert werden/ mounting bolt 75 ft lb; must be secured by LOCTITE E4-WM5-Y132A01- EINBAUANLEITUNG/ MOUNTING INSTRUCTION erstellt am: 04.02.1999 E4-WM5-Y132A01_4 Seite 2 von 2 geändert am: 25.03.04 1. BILSTEIN- Stossdämpfer mit Original- Feder 2. BILSTEIN- Stossdämpfer mit BILSTEIN- Feder 3. Original- Stossdämpfer mit BILSTEIN- Feder 1. BILSTEIN shock absorber with original spring 2. BILSTEIN shock absorber with BILSTEIN spring 3. Original shock absorber with BILSTEIN spring Ausbau Das Fahrzeug auf eine radfreie Hebebühne stellen, anheben und Räder demontieren. Bei Fahrzeugen mit Xenon- Licht ist vor dem Ausbau der Federbeine, der Sensor für die Leuchtweitenregulierung auszubauen. Die Schräglenker sind beim Ausbau stets mit geeignetem Hilfswerkzeug abzustützen! Die untere Befestigung lösen und entfernen. Die obere Befestigungsmutter am Stützlager entfernen. Nicht die Kolbenstangen- Mutter lösen! Den Stoßdämpfer komplett ausbauen und in einem geeigneten Spannbock spannen. Die Feder mit einem Spanngerät so weit vorspannen, bis das Stützlager frei ist. Mutter, Original- Anbauteile und Original- Feder demontieren. Hierbei ist zu prüfen, welche Original- Anbauteile durch Bilstein- Anbauteile ( Lieferumfang ) ersetzt werden. Einbau BILSTEIN und/ oder Original- Anbauteile, sowie die neue BILSTEIN- Feder in umgekehrter Reihenfolge, analog zum Ausbau, auf BILSTEIN- Stoßdämpfer montieren. Vor dem Entspannen der Feder ist darauf zu achten, daß die Federenden korrekt in den Ausschnitten des oberen und unteren Federtellers anliegen! Die Einbaulage der Federn ist an der Bedruckung ablesbar. Die Federbezeichnung muß in Einbaulage lesbar sein. Den komplettierten BILSTEIN- Stoßdämpfer in umgekehrter Reihenfolge analog zum Ausbau wieder montieren. Removal Place vehicle on a chassis hoist, lift it and remove wheels. Vehicles equipped with xenon headlight the sensor for the headlamp levelling controller must removed bevor. The lower control arm must be supported by suitable means! Remove bottom mount. Remove top fixing nutsfrom support bearing. Do not remove center nut at this time! Remove complete shockabsorber and clamp it in an appropriate strut vise. Using a suitable spring compressor,compress suspension spring until tension on support bearing is released. Release center nut and remove original mounting parts and coil spring. Please refer to diagram to identify which parts will be replaced with BILSTEIN- supplied components. Install Assemble BILSTEIN and/ or original mounting parts, as well as the new BILSTEIN spring on the BILSTEIN shockabsorber in reverse sequence of removal. Before releasing the spring, care is to be taken to ensure that the spring rest in the cutouts of top and bottom spring plate! The correct mounting position of the suspension springs can be determined by the printing on the springs; install them with the print upright. Fit assembled BILSTEIN shockabsorber to the vehicle in reverse sequence of removal. ThyssenKrupp Bilstein Suspension GmbH August-Bilstein-Str. 4, 58256 Ennepetal Postfach 11 51, 58240 Ennepetal Telefon: (0 23 33) 791-0, Telefax: (0 23 33) 7 91- 4900 Hotline: 01805- 600- 860; Internet: ThyssenKrupp Bilstein GmbH |
Originally Posted by norsecarnut
(Post 1562294)
I read this somewhere else. Does anyone know why? I could understand not starting up the car with the sensor getting crazy input but nobody is going to start up the car during a strut replacement.
Where is the headlight leveling gizmo? Sure.. because if you don't take it off you will break it.. simple as that. It's a little plastic arm that's attached to another plastic arm.. that's on your control arm. When you move it to pull the strut out.. it doesn't bend that way. :rolleyes: |
Got the new Bilstein HD's in -- actually quite easy. Had to unbolt the headlight adj arm off the rt control arm, the sway bar links, and the steering ball joints. Took off the caliper and associated fasteners from the strut and the hub, and you can push down enough to get the job done and the strut out.
I decided to replace the lower control arms and then had a full alignment after it was all reassembled. Car rides great and feels fantastic. A bit more firmer than stock, but I'm going to drop the tire pressure to the recommended unburdened pressure to compensate. |
Did you do both the front and the back? Where did you get them?
Thanks, Greg |
currently Billstein says the rear HD will fit but all resellers say it won't .
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Originally Posted by norsecarnut
(Post 1563153)
currently Billstein says the rear HD will fit but all resellers say it won't .
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No, the notes always refer to the EDC which is not on any US market E61. Springs are springs in the rear, air, steel, still just sitting there at same height so HD rear ought to fit fine. It would probably even "fit" on an E60 with EDC but then the car would have a warning about the system not working because the rear EDC wouldn't be hooked up anymore.
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Originally Posted by norsecarnut
(Post 1563183)
No, the notes always refer to the EDC which is not on any US market E61. Springs are springs in the rear, air, steel, still just sitting there at same height so HD rear ought to fit fine. It would probably even "fit" on an E60 with EDC but then the car would have a warning about the system not working because the rear EDC wouldn't be hooked up anymore.
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E61 rear does not have "struts". It's separate spring and damper design. You cannot buy a rear Bilstein strut anyway, as there is no such thing for E61 regardless of KW, sport, etc.
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Originally Posted by norsecarnut
(Post 1563199)
E61 rear does not have "struts". It's separate spring and damper design. You cannot buy a rear Bilstein strut anyway, as there is no such thing for E61 regardless of KW, sport, etc.
Then you talked about springs an.... oooooh yeah I totally misread. I misread and thought somehow went from Bilstein HD struts to Bilstein HD springs hence my confusion. :lol: Reading comprehension > me. |
AnywayZ, I'm hoping we can all find out if the HD rear dampers will not only bolt in to the factory positions without trouble and also if they then "work" as desired. My car is actually getting a little bouncy now at 111,000 miles, just like a Crown Victoria ;)
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My GF the other says when walking by an earlier model 328 wagon in that nice blood red "oooh, that's nice" and I'm thinking WTF, it's a base 328 wagon totally stock.... it was the color that did it for her.
I had already been thinking the deep bmw red in matte would be soooo slick on the E61... I'll need to look up that color, not sure if it's Monza |
Originally Posted by norsecarnut
(Post 1563220)
My GF the other says when walking by an earlier model 328 wagon in that nice blood red "oooh, that's nice" and I'm thinking WTF, it's a base 328 wagon totally stock.... it was the color that did it for her.
I had already been thinking the deep bmw red in matte would be soooo slick on the E61... I'll need to look up that color, not sure if it's Monza |
That's lovely but not it. Oh, it's Imola Red that I was thinking of. That wine color above is very classy though, probably better suited to a 5 wagon in terms of aesthetic style.
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Greetings,
The Bilsteins look like a possibility for my wagon. Also wonder if there's a vendor out there that might do a reasonable group buy for the KW-VR3. I might consider them if they could be sourced for slightly under 2k. Elsewise, now looks like the Bilsteins are the only other option. I've got RD sways, front and rears set to middle hole. I'm still running original 17s that came with the car. RDs helped control somewhat but still not where I'd like it to be. |
The Bilsteins that I put on the back of my 530xi Touring work fantastically! They are definitely about 25% more firm than the stock BMW rear shocks that I took off. The BMW rear shocks which go with the air bag springs are gas shocks, but are compressible quite easily compared to the new Bilsteins. Hence, they provide a few more pounds of rear lift, which is dealt with by them and not the rear air bag springs during normal jounce and rebound operations. The car really feels quite capable now of throwing itself around corners more aggressively than before; not like my E34 M5 can, but better than my '71 E3 Alpina!
I shopped on Ebay for quite a while until I found them at a steal of a price. $31 each for the rear shocks (including shipping) and $100 each for the front struts (including shipping). I also added 1/2 inch hubcentric wheel spacers to the back to add an inch of track to the rear of the car. The stance is great, and putting the tires out another 1/2 inch takes a few % of the increased stiffness out of the rear (new) shocks! |
windnsea,
What Bilstein part #'s did you put front and back? According to realoem.com the rear shocks are BMW part # 33526786525. fcpeuro.com has these BMW shocks for $205. According to findpart.org the rear BMW shock is equivalent to Bilstein 19-230894. shockwarehouse has that Bilstein shocks for $105. shockwarehouse also has Bilstein Touring struts for the front for $108 each. Part numbers are 22-230867 (left) and 22-230874 (right) according to bilsteinus.com. I can find several references to folks in UK running the touring shocks that are happy with them. I'm not looking to lower the case. I just want to restore the original ride condition. My front struts are leaking at 93k miles. |
I did both and have had them on for about a year. Purchased from Turner Motor Sport
Part # 35-141792 left front (1) Part # 35-141808 right front (1) Part # 24-120708 rear (2) Went with H & R sport springs Part # 29146-2 Firm ride great handling. Good luck |
Originally Posted by downszs
(Post 1563605)
I did both and have had them on for about a year. Purchased from Turner Motor Sport
Part # 35-141792 left front (1) Part # 35-141808 right front (1) Part # 24-120708 rear (2) Went with H & R sport springs Part # 29146-2 Firm ride great handling. Good luck |
Originally Posted by windnsea
(Post 1563353)
I also added 1/2 inch hubcentric wheel spacers to the back to add an inch of track to the rear of the car. The stance is great, and putting the tires out another 1/2 inch takes a few % of the increased stiffness out of the rear (new) shocks! Usually spacers are described in mm, not inches, did you get 20mm, 25 (1"), or 30mm ? Any photos - and what width and offset wheel if you do? |
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