Spring broken?

[tiglon]

How much was this, please?

they charged me £540, apparently it took them 6 hours?! :.

f**k ME

When questioned, he told me its because it's an M Sport Z4 so the suspension technology is much more complicated than a normal car. I asked him what was complicated about a coil spring and a damper... his response was that "it's a more complex setup, and that's why the handling is so good, imagine what would happen if you put an engine like that in a golf, it would end up in a heap at the side of the road."

Anyway, my new problem is that one corner (the one that had the broken spring) is now higher than the others. Could that be just a case of the spring needing longer to settle, or is something else likely broken?

[Nictrix]

He's full of s**t.
I changed the rear springs on our old 23i and if it wasn't for one of the droplinks snapping it would have been done inside an hour.

[Busterboo]

Mmm. For my 35iS, the replacement OE spring & labour was ... er ... seventy quid.

Feels fine.

[Argyll Andy]

they charged me £540, apparently it took them 6 hours?! :.

f**k ME

When questioned, he told me its because it's an M Sport Z4 so the suspension technology is much more complicated than a normal car. I asked him what was complicated about a coil spring and a damper... his response was that "it's a more complex setup, and that's why the handling is so good, imagine what would happen if you put an engine like that in a golf, it would end up in a heap at the side of the road."

Anyway, my new problem is that one corner (the one that had the broken spring) is now higher than the others. Could that be just a case of the spring needing longer to settle, or is something else likely broken?

I’m going to agree with Nictrix, I’d expect the rears to be done in an hour and the fronts around an hour each max.

Re the corner sitting higher I’m not sure, maybe damaged damper due to the broken spring? If settlement I’d expect them all to need to settle not just one corner. Just a punt but I’m taking it the adaptive stuff doesn’t need some sort of software/coding reset if worked on?

[Zed Baron]

When my rear spring went my local dealer wanted £190 supply and fit, I managed to buy 4 oem ones for £80 off a car with 2k miles on it (wasn't damaged, guy building show car and replaced the suspension). My mechanic fitted the spring for £30, so £50 in all. We tried fitting a heavy duty spring but it was catching at the bottom, that's why the oem ones have the thin pigtail at the bottom and that's where they normally fail.

[B21]

Sounds like they didn’t assemble the new springs correctly…if the springs were ordered as a pack than re-assembly is the most likely cause..unless that damper (on the broken spring) was compromised..I assume at that price they would have checked everything perfectly…

[tiglon]

You'd bloody hope they checked everything properly!

The odd thing is, I've checked the height 4 times today, the first 3 times it was passenger rear that was higher, now its drivers side rear that's higher and passenger rear is fine

[B21]

You'd bloody hope they checked everything properly!

The odd thing is, I've checked the height 4 times today, the first 3 times it was passenger rear that was higher, now its drivers side rear that's higher and passenger rear is fine

In that case it’s likely the springs are binding on the body of or parts of the damper…..

Were the springs explicitly approved for the Electronic Damper version?

[tiglon]

You'd bloody hope they checked everything properly!

The odd thing is, I've checked the height 4 times today, the first 3 times it was passenger rear that was higher, now its drivers side rear that's higher and passenger rear is fine

In that case it’s likely the springs are binding on the body of or parts of the damper…..

Were the springs explicitly approved for the Electronic Damper version?

Specifically advertised as fitting 35is... have I been monumentally stupid here?

[B21]

You'd bloody hope they checked everything properly!

The odd thing is, I've checked the height 4 times today, the first 3 times it was passenger rear that was higher, now its drivers side rear that's higher and passenger rear is fine

In that case it’s likely the springs are binding on the body of or parts of the damper…..

Were the springs explicitly approved for the Electronic Damper version?

Specifically advertised as fitting 35is... have I been monumentally stupid here?

Well looks like the spring is binding at various points…maybe it will settle down with use…..how’s the ride …have you tried various surf and speeds?

[tiglon]

In that case it’s likely the springs are binding on the body of or parts of the damper…..

Were the springs explicitly approved for the Electronic Damper version?

Specifically advertised as fitting 35is... have I been monumentally stupid here?

Well looks like the spring is binding at various points…maybe it will settle down with use…..how’s the ride …have you tried various surf and speeds?

Ride feels good, I've only done 20 miles but that included a couple of very poorly maintained roads that I regularly drive down. One road felt (50-60mph) much smoother with the new springs and the other (20-30mph) was at worst the same as before. No real opportunity to test it properly around bendy bits yet.

[B21]

Well I suggest you drive it for a while and just monitor it…

[Jembo]

... and had a set of Eibach springs fitted ...

How much was this, please?

The springs themselves were £150ish from Autodoc, then I made the mistake of not getting an estimate for the fitting so they charged me £540, apparently it took them 6 hours?!

Pretty sure that in 6 hours I could learn how to do it, go buy the tools, change the springs myself, and have 30 mins spare at the end to make myself a nice sandwich.

£540!!! for fitting, you were ROBBED

In 2018 (& their prices haven’t gone up too much) ETA fitted 4 springs & dampers for £150 on my ///M

I also found a place which sells just rears at a reasonable price as one of my Eibachs has just gone after 7k

[Nictrix]

Sounds like they didn’t assemble the new springs correctly…if the springs were ordered as a pack than re-assembly is the most likely cause..unless that damper (on the broken spring) was compromised..I assume at that price they would have checked everything perfectly…

If its the rear that isnt sitting properly there isnt really any assembly involved.
The spring and damper are seperate from each other.
Basically to fit the rear spring almost all thats needed is to jack the car up, remove the wheel, undo the bottom damper mount and then while levering the wheel hub,disc etc down pull out the spring. To install lever the hub,disc etc down and put the new spring in place.

[tiglon]

Thanks for all the suggestions and help. I've read a bit this morning on other BMW forums and it's maybe nothing unusual, just a case of not being on a 100% flat surface. One other explanation for a 3 series was that the fuel in the tank can sit on one side or the other and cause this.

I'll be in for new front brakes fairly soon so, as suggested, I'll drive it and monitor then ask for a quick check when the brakes are done. Obviously at a different garage...