Worn out suspension

D

domsz4

Veteran
Are there any obvious symptoms of worn out suspension?

I’ve got 235/35/19s on the front and I could swear I’m getting worse rubbing and scuttle shake. But I drive in a lot of country A and B roads which arnt great so hard to say.

Pretty sure it’s the original factory fit so. I real surprise after 125k

I’m guessing I need to buy the “with m sport tech” versions over standard as I’m pretty sure a vin check says I have msport suspension
 
You'll basically drive a new car if you replace all what's necassary in the suspension after all those years :driving:
Do not hesitate!
Rubbing issue will not be solved, as front ET is probaby too aggressive. Not to mention that front wheel arch liner shape over a side marker area is a pain in the arse. It is all about that part :|
E89 wheel arch design is so simpler and no rubbing whatsoever.
 
[ref]domsz4[/ref], as above, if that's your original suspension you've had it on nearly three times its decent working life!
Even a standard OEM replacement will seem like night and day, but of course you have lots of other options too.
Get the full set of stuff, top mounts, bump stops, shocks, arb bushes, drop links and definitely new knuckle bolts for the front end.
Steer clear of Meyle rear top mounts as they knock.
Check the springs but unless broken they should be ok.
Are you doing the work yourself? If so have you done anything like it before? Happy to advise if you need it.
You should be looking at around £420-£450 for everything. Labour costs at a garage may well double that.
Not sure where you are located, but if you're near Norfolk (me), or Lincoln (bigwinn), you'd get all the help you needed.
 
Its easy to tell if the rears have been changed as the foam around the top will have been cut to get to the nuts. Mine had been replaced with genuine BMW/Sachs ones but they were totally shot.
 
Cheers

I know I’ll never get past some rubbing but is a handy indicator… it seemed to wear one little bit early doors then stop.

So daft questions when your looking at the many many sites that sell the parts which fo you go for the ones that say “with m tech suspensions” or with standard. Pretty sure from a vin lookup I’ve got the msport suspension

Would you also change the springs? Read a few bits that say these essentially don’t wear out just snap

When you say everything what do you mean?

.
 
domsz4 said:
Cheers

I know I’ll never get past some rubbing but is a handy indicator… it seemed to wear one little bit early doors then stop.

So daft questions when your looking at the many many sites that sell the parts which fo you go for the ones that say “with m tech suspensions” or with standard. Pretty sure from a vin lookup I’ve got the msport suspension
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I've used Autodoc many times, buying Sachs shocks. regardless of the spec it seems to be the same shock for both? Apart from the springs, everything else should be standard. Double check your anti-roll bar diameters though as there are a couple of different sizes. Get under the car and see which open-ended spanner fits snuggly over the bar.
It may be that if you get into other manufacturers of shocks there are different specs. Only used Sachs so can't comment.

If you stick your VIN into Realoem you should be able to pull up the correct Part Numbers to cross-ref.
 
You don't tell us what your car is. If its an early 3.0i E85 then it'll have Msport suspension so you want to go for "cars with sports suspension" M technology is for M cars.
 
Auto.doc, on the phone app, not via the website.

Need to be patient, comes from Germany, they have a Uk office address somewhere so no import taxes.

The discount on their app varies every day, maximum I’ve seen is 41%. However, I left some stuff in my basket for about a week and got an extra 10% discount promo code email yesterday. Combined with a 36% web app discount this was a very healthy discount on some goodies for my E89 yesterday :thumbsup:
 
Rockhopper said:
You don't tell us what your car is. If its an early 3.0i E85 then it'll have Msport suspension so you want to go for "cars with sports suspension" M technology is for M cars.
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That’s really usefull

I’ll do all this myself probably doesn’t look overly complicated and I’m pretty handy with the spanner’s.
 
domsz4 said:
Rockhopper said:
You don't tell us what your car is. If its an early 3.0i E85 then it'll have Msport suspension so you want to go for "cars with sports suspension" M technology is for M cars.
Click to expand...

That’s really usefull

I’ll do all this myself probably doesn’t look overly complicated and I’m pretty handy with the spanner’s.
Click to expand...
Save a packet!
Word of advice, soak the front lower knuckle bolts well beforehand as they could be extremely tight. Last one I did I still sheared one and it is then much simpler to source a replacement hub as drilling out high tensile steel bolts is NOT fun.
Also worth investing in an M12x1.5 tap to run through that bolt hole before you reassemble it all. Again from experience, if you don't it is possible for the bolt to get stupidly tight before it is fully in place, then your strut won't be held tight.
 
domsz4 said:
Would you do the rears at the same time?
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The cost I quoted was for all four corners.
If all the suspension is old and you only do the front then the car will want to wag it's tail all the time.
Rears are easy as no spring compressors needed.

Unless you meant the bolts?? I must admit I reuse them as they locate the shock but don't have the 'stretch' through them that the fronts have to clamp the strut in tight.
I'd guess they are not too expensive though, so for piece of mind swap them too.
 
Yes, I soaked the bottom bolts in plus gas for a few days beforehand and also bought new ones to go back in. The rears were nowhere near as rusty and came off easily. No need to replace bolts there.
 
Yeah I thought it would be wise to do the lot. I’m getting quoted around £600 for B6 which match the part numbers of what I have on. The B4 from bilstein match the non M sport … typical
 
domsz4 said:
Yeah I thought it would be wise to do the lot. I’m getting quoted around £600 for B6 which match the part numbers of what I have on. The B4 from bilstein match the non M sport … typical
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It appears plenty of people on here have fitted B4's to M Sport cars (including me). B6's will give a harder ride.
 
I did that, B4’s with Suplex springs (sports ones). Rides lovely now. B6’s possibly match the slightly firmer shocks that the Msport cars came with but I’m more than happy with my B4’s.
 
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