Rear shock absorber replacement DIY
 

This is a diy for replacing rear shock absorbers on a bmw eE61. This is a 2006 530D without the storage pack. Why is that important? Well, you have to remove the luggage compartment floor first to get to the top of the shock absorber. I replaced the shocks with Bilstein B6 with part number 24-120708.

Sorry about some of the pics rotated. I am using dropbox and they are not rotated there.

Well, here goes:

Loosen the spring on the gas dampers for the luggage floor with a small screwdriver and release the dampers top and bottom.
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Use a bit and a plier to release the four screws for the luggage floor, and after you have done that, take out the lower luggage compartment floor, by releasing the two plugs at the back end. I forgot to take a picture of this.
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Loosen the plugs here:
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and here:
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Unscrew the two plastic screws for the console here
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and here:
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You need to wiggle the console out and you will now have access to the top of the shock absorber. You need an allen key and an 18 mm spanner to loosen this. I have no picture of the lower part of the shock, but that is rather self explanatory. You have to jack the car up if you havent done that already, there is no need to take off the wheel, You need an 18 mm spanner to release the one bolt that holds it and lower the shock absorber down.
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Reuse the old parts from the old shock. Put the bump stop and the dust shield on:
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and then the lower part of the passthrough rubber(I have no other word for it, but it is actually some kind of polystyren) with washer and small metal tube:
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Now put the new shock in place from below and fix it with the lower bolt. Put on the upper part of the passthrough rubber and the big washer. Bilstein delivers a new 19 mm lock nut, so bring out your 19 mm spanner and tighten it. You will need an allen key to hold it while tightening also here.



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On the other side there is a two part console, but the procedure is the same. Loosen it and wiggle it out.

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To get all the things back together, just do it in the opposite direction.