Replacement Front Struts Torque Specs?

[EViS]

I'm about to replace the old front struts with a new pair of Bilstein's and Suplex springs. Could someone confirm the torque specs for the following as I'm not 100% confident I've read the correct torques in TIS:

- the large bolt which clamps the bottom of the strut (81Nm - this seems very low to me?),
- the nut on top of the new Bilstein piston which holds the spring and strut mount in place (64Nm?) and how do you torque this up as the piston turns with the nut?
- the three nuts connecting the strut mount (34Nm?)
- the nut connecting the suspension sway bar drop link (I couldn't find this in TIS).

Many thank in advance .

[ben g]

RFT seems to work perfectly fine on mine the top strut nuts don't need to be massively tight.

[patriot66]

I'm about to replace the old front struts with a new pair of Bilstein's and Suplex springs. Could someone confirm the torque specs for the following as I'm not 100% confident I've read the correct torques in TIS:

- the large bolt which clamps the bottom of the strut (81Nm - this seems very low to me?),
- the nut on top of the new Bilstein piston which holds the spring and strut mount in place (64Nm?) and how do you torque this up as the piston turns with the nut?
- the three nuts connecting the strut mount (34Nm?)
- the nut connecting the suspension sway bar drop link (I couldn't find this in TIS).

Many thank in advance .

All those torques are correct. The drop link torque is 58 Nm. The only way to properly torque the strut top nut is with an open sided socket and Allen key, like this

BMW_Strut_Nut_Tighten_tool_04.jpg (58.35 KiB) Viewed 3539 times

I just buzzed mine up with my air impact wrench

[EViS]

RFT seems to work perfectly fine on mine the top strut nuts don't need to be massively tight.

RFT?

[EViS]

One other question, can the knuckle take a bit of tapping with a hammer and prying apart to remove the strut? Being aluminium I'm not sure just how fragile it is.

[GuidoK]

The knuckle is cast iron.

If your strut is stuck, use lots of penetrant, and a very thin chisel on the back to tap it apart slightly.
But usually they're not that stuck. The pinchbolt can be stuck though. It's advised to change that bolt and check the threads (maybe use a m12x1.5 thread chaser tap).

Be sure to support the lower control arm/knuckle/bracke assembly (with a jack or so). It's heavy and will fall down, ripping your brake hose/piping.

[Mister T]

RFT seems to work perfectly fine on mine the top strut nuts don't need to be massively tight.

RFT?

Yeah, RFT is a bit far for me, just below FT will usually do

[Nictrix]

RFT seems to work perfectly fine on mine the top strut nuts don't need to be massively tight.

RFT?

Yeah, RFT is a bit far for me, just below FT will usually do

As long as its not TFT

[Mind Bomb]

Would the rear shocks have the same Torque Specs as above?

[patriot66]

Would the rear shocks have the same Torque Specs as above?

No. Enter your car details in here
https://www.newtis.info/tisv2/a/en/

[Mind Bomb]

perfect! thankyou!

[agrimes1989]

Bottom bolt is definitely just FT

[Jakg]

All those torques are correct. The drop link torque is 58 Nm. The only way to properly torque the strut top nut is with an open sided socket and Allen key, like this BMW_Strut_Nut_Tighten_tool_04.jpg I just buzzed mine up with my air impact wrench

If you buzz it up with an impact gun as long as there's some pressure from below it'll probably tighten without counterholding enough to get it started. You can then torque it up properly.

Alternatively, you can use a spark plug socket and poke the allen key through the top to counterhold, and use a spanner on the flats of the socket on the outside to tighten it. Again once you've got it started, then you can torque it.