E85 front suspension parts

T

thespannerman

Member
 Oldbury, West Midlands
Went to get the Z out of the garage this morning to find I had a horrible grinding noise coming from the front left hand corner. Car had been standing for a month, and turns out be be a snapped front spring. To get mobile again quickly I picked up a complete strut with spring from a local bmw breaker, fitted ok so now car is useable again, but I think I will do the whole front suspension with new parts. I want to stick to standard setup, no hard or firm setup, so what’s needed:

Springs
Shockers
Top mounts
Reinforcing plates ??
Bump stops
Dust covers

Anything else?

What makes would you go with, and who’s got any deals on right now (apart from Euro as they always have some offer or another on the go)

Cheer
Al
 
thespannerman said:
Went to get the Z out of the garage this morning to find I had a horrible grinding noise coming from the front left hand corner. Car had been standing for a month, and turns out be be a snapped front spring. To get mobile again quickly I picked up a complete strut with spring from a local bmw breaker, fitted ok so now car is useable again, but I think I will do the whole front suspension with new parts. I want to stick to standard setup, no hard or firm setup, so what’s needed:

Springs
Shockers
Top mounts
Reinforcing plates ??
Bump stops
Dust covers

Anything else?

What makes would you go with, and who’s got any deals on right now (apart from Euro as they always have some offer or another on the go)

Cheer
Al
Click to expand...
I usually use Autodoc. Depends how long you want to wait, both for a decent discount and also then allow up to 14 days for delivery.

Springs - Suplex
Shockers - Sachs
Top mounts - Lemforder
Reinforcing plates ?? - never bothered
Bump stops - Febi Bilstein
Dust covers - can only get tacky plastic ones. Re-use your original rubber ones and clean them up with Autoglym bumper gel or similar. Makes them supple again too.
May need new drop links? - Febi Bilstein

Knuckle bolts - get new ones - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184878518948

These are what I use for close to OEM standard replacement. Others will no doubt have other ideas.
 
enuff_zed said:
thespannerman said:
Went to get the Z out of the garage this morning to find I had a horrible grinding noise coming from the front left hand corner. Car had been standing for a month, and turns out be be a snapped front spring. To get mobile again quickly I picked up a complete strut with spring from a local bmw breaker, fitted ok so now car is useable again, but I think I will do the whole front suspension with new parts. I want to stick to standard setup, no hard or firm setup, so what’s needed:

Springs
Shockers
Top mounts
Reinforcing plates ??
Bump stops
Dust covers

Anything else?

What makes would you go with, and who’s got any deals on right now (apart from Euro as they always have some offer or another on the go)

Cheer
Al
Click to expand...
I usually use Autodoc. Depends how long you want to wait, both for a decent discount and also then allow up to 14 days for delivery.

Springs - Suplex
Shockers - Sachs
Top mounts - Lemforder
Reinforcing plates ?? - never bothered
Bump stops - Febi Bilstein
Dust covers - can only get tacky plastic ones. Re-use your original rubber ones and clean them up with Autoglym bumper gel or similar. Makes them supple again too.
May need new drop links? - Febi Bilstein

Knuckle bolts - get new ones - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/184878518948

These are what I use for close to OEM standard replacement. Others will no doubt have other ideas.
Click to expand...

100% what he said

Only thing I would add is powerflex anti roll bar bushes which I do to most of mine for a little more tightness at the front
 
Cheers guys, so I will start my shopping list 👍

Are there some spring caps top and bottom as well (rubber gasket type things to insulate the spring from the strut)

Al
 
thespannerman said:
Cheers guys, so I will start my shopping list 👍

Are there some spring caps top and bottom as well (rubber gasket type things to insulate the spring from the strut)

Al
Click to expand...
you should be able to reuse the existing but:

Check they are in place
Check they aren’t perished

If they are get them from bmw or eBay use real
Oem for codes
 
Its worth noting that CarParts4less on the web is the web only side of Europarts. 4less usually come out cheaper than Europarts site and delivery is preety swift. Autodoc site is useful as that will search on oem part numbers however delivery can take some time.
 
I just did new springs cannot recall which ones but they were m sport suspension ones.

Bilstein b4 shock absorbers and lemforder top mounts.

I didn't bother with any of the other stuff.
 
Guys, it looks like I need the top spring plates (the bit below the top mount) as the one I have just taken apart is almost rusted through. I don’t believe this part comes when you buy a new damper strut, and I can’t seem to find it listed at autodoc or any other sites I have looked at. I can find the top mounts, and the top and bottom rubbers but not the plate.

Advice please

Cheers
Al
 
thespannerman said:
Guys, it looks like I need the top spring plates (the bit below the top mount) as the one I have just taken apart is almost rusted through. I don’t believe this part comes when you buy a new damper strut, and I can’t seem to find it listed at autodoc or any other sites I have looked at. I can find the top mounts, and the top and bottom rubbers but not the plate.

Advice please

Cheers
Al
Click to expand...
I have never had that issue so far anyway.
I'll have a look around for you, but maybe Stuart may have spares?
 
[ref]thespannerman[/ref], found this on ebay

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174796904987?epid=1709515252&hash=item28b2b51a1b:g:TxIAAOSwcMJgwJ0w&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4DMNbSihI9epFWLxafk87Y0riCublkndf8RWh31rjwvecea8jfw87bTDbPDrJ8R0%2B4J2trj%2BUkkQpuP8876qbDBWp25meON6UTpiPnTr6Tm8mVspLdsrSUj2dt09LGwxlhovR51PNGvFU6aGmQxWJgff2z4vWI4oH%2FVJ63TeVhLZpDOzRjAyioi%2FX3%2BNNkHApAnddPGc4%2BA7A5fOHFTNa8iGREdjoCHJiv1aLZirmntn1AXuMbxj4I2uGyQAL55CC1%2FRvXPzIdcCO3hnyE%2FvxcBBRONO3EjsnnAt2dhN1KwC%7Ctkp%3ABFBMqNqr18Rg
 
enuff_zed said:
[ref]thespannerman[/ref], found this on ebay

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/174796904987?epid=1709515252&hash=item28b2b51a1b:g:TxIAAOSwcMJgwJ0w&amdata=enc%3AAQAHAAAA4DMNbSihI9epFWLxafk87Y0riCublkndf8RWh31rjwvecea8jfw87bTDbPDrJ8R0%2B4J2trj%2BUkkQpuP8876qbDBWp25meON6UTpiPnTr6Tm8mVspLdsrSUj2dt09LGwxlhovR51PNGvFU6aGmQxWJgff2z4vWI4oH%2FVJ63TeVhLZpDOzRjAyioi%2FX3%2BNNkHApAnddPGc4%2BA7A5fOHFTNa8iGREdjoCHJiv1aLZirmntn1AXuMbxj4I2uGyQAL55CC1%2FRvXPzIdcCO3hnyE%2FvxcBBRONO3EjsnnAt2dhN1KwC%7Ctkp%3ABFBMqNqr18Rg
Click to expand...
OK, so Stuart types quicker than me :rofl:
 
Ok, I think I have now ordered all the bits I need, thanks chaps

The spring breaking has done me a favour as the upper spring plate is in really bad condition, so a full replacement on both sides is well in order :thumbsup:

Al
 
thespannerman said:
Ok, I think I have now ordered all the bits I need, thanks chaps

The spring breaking has done me a favour as the upper spring plate is in really bad condition, so a full replacement on both sides is well in order :thumbsup:

Al
Click to expand...
Just checking.................. you do now about Realoem and how you can use it to get part numbers? It's my default now: grab the Part Number and stick it into an ebay search.
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/select?product=P&archive=0&series=E85
Start here and populate it with your car details.
 
I went Bilstein B6 (some call them Bilstein HD's) suspension all the way around the car. My rear springs were cracked at the start of the tapering they do near the end of the coil. I bought the M sport Lesjofor springs that have no taper near the end. Took months to get the rear shock absorbers since Bilstein is having massive raw material shortage issues once Covid started. I did the job earlier this year in April. I used the lemforder mounts. One thing im not happy with after the job is for some reason the front end sits a tad high. I had the original stock suspension before the job. Car rides the bumps very nice now, used to cringe after every pothole. z4-2.jpgBilstein.jpgIMG_1677.jpgRear Coil.jpgOriginal Rear Coil.jpgBuild.jpg
 
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