E30 Zone

Hi guys, how easy is it to change the rear springs on my cab? apparently its very easy! is there any diagrams??

Block up the rear of the car on stands, take off the wheels, and put a trolley jack under the hubs, jacked up enough to just start compressing the suspension.
Undo the bottom damper bolt , let the jack down, and the springs should be removable by hand. Fit new spring, raise the jack again just enough so that you can reattach the damper.
Don't tighten the damper bolts untill the car is back on it's wheels on the ground.

As the guru Brian said.

The only problem with mine was I couldn't squeeze the new spring in. I had to undo the ARB link.

Apart from that mate, it's not too bad!

I found that just removing the damper bolt wasn't enough to remove the springs, I had to remove the rear anti-roll bar link to allow the trailing arm to drop low enough.

:yeahthat:

Even with the ARB link removed, the swing arm will not move down enough to install a standard 325i touring rear spring.
Tried to compress the spring using a breaker bar across the rear frame and top rubber pad, no joy... only managed to damage the 20-year old underseal rust proofing material

Looks like the only way is to remove the side plates and drop the rear beam one side at a time.

Try a single spring compresser on the part of the spring that you can see.I found that this will pull the spring part way down,then you can insert your bar to pop the spring out.

mark_i wrote:Even with the ARB link removed, the swing arm will not move down enough to install a standard 325i touring rear spring.
Tried to compress the spring using a breaker bar across the rear frame and top rubber pad,

Compressing a spring like this, even a small amount, is a VERY dangerous activity. The energy stored in even a lightly compressed spring is considerable!
I've fitted them by compressing them slightly with a proper compressor, and tying a couple of pieces of thin rope around the coils to keep them that little bit compressed.

Even on my car with sport rear springs i had to use compressors! If the suspension is standard and especially on a touring you ll need them!

dannyboy759 wrote:Even on my car with sport rear springs i had to use compressors! If the suspension is standard and especially on a touring you ll need them!

Same here - With eibach lowered springs on my cab.
I just used one compressor lightly and it did the trick easily - it is not the marathon exercise that one does for the front spring!! (that can need 4 compressors)

BTW - do not rely on tyraps to hold a spring, they don't.

I just used one compressor lightly

Thats the way to do it, dont think you can get two in if my memory serves me correctly, just dont do it up too much, just enough to pull the srping down and to one side