My roadster now has 7 years 95.000 km on the clock, so i was thinking about getting new shocks.
Two weeks ago, during a brake fluid change, i finally managed to get a good look at my rear springs, which a suspected ofbeing broken due to a very nasty "CLUNK" coming from the rear on bad roads. A there it was, a nice, clean, broken rear spring.
So, got myself a set of M springs, a set of Bilstein B6 Sport shocks, all the tools and accessories, and here we go !
It took a friend of mine and me about 5 hours to do the job, but we encountered a series of little problems along the way, the main issue being the fact that none of us knew how to acces the strut mounts in the rear... i managed to found a How-To there -> http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=247840 which proved to be particularly usefull.
So yes, to remove the shock absorber in the rear you have to take the roof storage tray out of the trunk. That took us some time. :violent1:
Another issue was with the tools. In order to remove the strut mount of the front shock absorber, you have to use a 22 size, "hollow" key, in order to introduce in the middle of the key a small 6 sided allen key to keep the mount from rotating with the hex bolt. I had one in store. Which append to be too thick to get inside the socket....
- Got a grinder of some sort ?
- yes, i got that....
So, here i go, grinding my 22 key in order to make thinner by around 1 millimeter. And it worked !
We got everything back in place, and now my car gently sots on it M springs and B6 Sport shocks.
If you know exactly what you are doing, if you have the right tools, i think it's a job that shouldn't take you more than 3 hours. It's a bit exhausting, but really not complicated.
Some photos.
Springs, intact and broken.
The grinded 22 key.
Two weeks ago, during a brake fluid change, i finally managed to get a good look at my rear springs, which a suspected ofbeing broken due to a very nasty "CLUNK" coming from the rear on bad roads. A there it was, a nice, clean, broken rear spring.
So, got myself a set of M springs, a set of Bilstein B6 Sport shocks, all the tools and accessories, and here we go !
It took a friend of mine and me about 5 hours to do the job, but we encountered a series of little problems along the way, the main issue being the fact that none of us knew how to acces the strut mounts in the rear... i managed to found a How-To there -> http://www.bimmerfest.com/forums/showthread.php?t=247840 which proved to be particularly usefull.
So yes, to remove the shock absorber in the rear you have to take the roof storage tray out of the trunk. That took us some time. :violent1:
Another issue was with the tools. In order to remove the strut mount of the front shock absorber, you have to use a 22 size, "hollow" key, in order to introduce in the middle of the key a small 6 sided allen key to keep the mount from rotating with the hex bolt. I had one in store. Which append to be too thick to get inside the socket....
- Got a grinder of some sort ?
- yes, i got that....
So, here i go, grinding my 22 key in order to make thinner by around 1 millimeter. And it worked !
We got everything back in place, and now my car gently sots on it M springs and B6 Sport shocks.
If you know exactly what you are doing, if you have the right tools, i think it's a job that shouldn't take you more than 3 hours. It's a bit exhausting, but really not complicated.
Some photos.
Springs, intact and broken.
The grinded 22 key.
