Suspension upgrade, REAR SHOCK please see last post

[kman82]

Please see very last post....




Hi, You may of seen from my other post i'm changing over the front dampers and springs on my 325i cabby.

I'm trying to get my head round how everything goes back together. The old struts weren't a great example for me as they didn't have dust covers and the bump stops had deteriorated.

Have i got the order right here?


I'm using lemforder dust cover and bump stop. Do i still need part 14 to hold it all together?
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do ... g=31&fg=10

EDIT: What's part 12 for?

Thanks

[kman82]

Anyone?

by the way they are Sachs dust cover and bump stop not lemforder.

[m8782538]

looks about right to me, bolt on top and mount to the car.

[kman82]

I've part assembled the struts two different ways to see which looks best. which one looks best?




Does it matter which way round the bump stops goes??? The second photo doesn't leave any of the damper exposed so to me looks best???

[m8782538]

Top one is the correct way, bump stop always at the top, its their to stop excessive damper travel and cause damage. If you have it as the bottom pic you will knacker the bump stop in no time and also the car will not handle at all, will sit too high too.

When the spring is fitted and the whole unit is on the car you won't see any of the damper rod.

[kman82]

Top one is the correct way, bump stop always at the top, its their to stop excessive damper travel and cause damage. If you have it as the bottom pic you will knacker the bump stop in no time and also the car will not handle at all, will sit too high too.

When the spring is fitted and the whole unit is on the car you won't see any of the damper rod.

Thanks mate, I forgot that it will compress more when back on the road. I was thinking that in the top picture it would rattle around.

I also came up with this solution but the bump stop is at the bottom again so i'll scrap that.



I now have another issue too, I have taken the old ARB bushes off to replace with new poly ones but how the hell do you get them in? I have taken off the roll bar and used the wight of the car and a jack to try and force them in but they just distort. Are my brackets rusted beyond usable?

[maf260]

They look pretty rusty to me! You either need to chip away at the surface rust to get the inside profile of the bracket much smoother and tighter against the bush, or just replace with new. They're not expensive and can be bought from ECP etc.

[Duke137]

Those shackles are fooked as they are about £8 for a pair from BMW IIRC so just change them.

I would also change those top mounts aswell to be honest as they look like they have seen some action. Makes sense whilst you have them off the car.

Getting them onto the subframe is a right job, I basically get someone to help me and use clamps or grips to squeeze and a gentle persuading with a hammer to tap them backwards as they try to come out of the subframe, once the bolt is in it is plain sailing.

HTH

[m8782538]

i would change those, false economy clearing the rust as they will require replacement before too much longer anyway, much easier to do it now while doing the bushes.

[Duke137]

Oh and that chamfer recess on the poly bush sits a certain way so make sure they are the correct way round or you'll never get them on

[m8782538]

Oh and that chamfer recess on the poly bush sits a certain way so make sure they are the correct way round or you'll never get them on

Forgot about that myself, lol. yeah can imagine trying for an hour or more trying to get it to fit, turning it around and it pops straight in.

[daimlerman]

ARB bushes are a bugger to fit,whatched a TV programme where the presenter made it look sooooo easy on some heap of Jap 4+4!

Get a pair of new clips,offer the slot into the crossmember,then ease the clip,bush and ARB up into place with a jack,when you are a little short of getting it home,use a long bolt of suitable longer length to wind it home.When you reach this point with the first bush,and you have it 'on the way',nip round to the other side and get that one started as well.Once you have the bushes properly seated,hold the clip in place with a pair of mole grips and swap in the correct length bolt.

[kman82]

Cool thanks guys, new brackets ordered from bmw for tomorrow. only £7, just another day the car's off the road!

btw I have got brand new top mountst to go on, was just doing a dummy run with the old ones first.

[KimH]

I see you opted for the new "Sky Hook" invisible look uprated springs there. Let us know how she handles once back on the road - I might get some too.

[capri_rob]

If you've bought Lemforder top mounts you'll almost certainly find that the dust-cap which covers the big nut on the OEM top mounts doesn't fit ( too small )

They are available in 2 sizes from BMW if you check realoem - you need the bigger ones

[kman82]

If you've bought Lemforder top mounts you'll almost certainly find that the dust-cap which covers the big nut on the OEM top mounts doesn't fit ( too small )

They are available in 2 sizes from BMW if you check realoem - you need the bigger ones

Yeah you're right mate, the BMW dust-caps are too small so i'll have to get some bigger ones ordered from BMW.

Daimlerman, thanks for the tips with the ARB bush, that seemed to work well with the replacement brackets.

I have been working on the back of the car today and managed to get everything together except getting the new drop links onto the roll bar. I have tried using copper grease, neat fairy liquid, a d-clamp, letting them sit in boiling water but i just cant get the buggers on!! I gave BMW my vin number to order them so they should be the right size. Has anyone got any tips to force them on?

Currently I dont have my ARB linked up, will i damage anything if I drive the car around like this until i get it fixed?

thanks for all the help so far.

[daimlerman]

Rear drop links should just push on,have you tried cleaning the ARB ends?

If there's some rust or other crap on the end,the links will be difficult to fit.

Cannot see that you will have any issues with them not fitted,but securing the ARB out of the way with a couple of cable ties may well be a good idea.

Bear in mind that the MoT man will not approve....if it's fitted,it should be working.

[kman82]

hmmm. I thinking of just leaving it until the MOT and getting him to get them on there for me. I did give the end of the roll bar a quick buff with some wet and dry but the end does look a little crusty.

Am i right in thinking that no matter what size Roll bar you have the drop links will fit. i.e. they are universal?

[KimH]

The wheel brace is the same diameter as the rear anti-roll bar on my Touring so....

I laid the drop links on the ground;
Lubed the relevant ends' rubber bushes, and the ends of the Anti-roll bar, and the handle end of the wheel brace with washing up liquid;
Gently pushed the handle end of the wheel brace into the lubed drop link rubber;
Lined it up with the open end of the Anti-Roll bar, and,
slid the Drop Link across using an open ended spanner to spread the load. Simples.

Took me 40 minutes to realise I couldn't put them on any other way, 10 minutes with a cup of tea while I thought laterally, and two minutes per side to do.

Of course, if you have a different size ARB - find another rod of similar diameter to slide the drop links onto first.

Good luck.

[kman82]

you make that sound so simple. I will give it a go though, thanks

I checked the part number of the drop links on realoem and it shows up for pretty much all models of e30 so i presume the drop links and ends of the ARB are all the same diameter. Just have to see if I have the oem wheel brace in the tool kit. It was a little light last time i looked in there!

[hennabm]

When I did mine, I too had similar problems getting the new ones on. I tried the usual things of WD40, washing up liquid etc but none worked.

The way I got mine on in the end was to put the ends in a bowl of boiling water for a while and then use washing up liquid neat onto the ARB. Watch you hands

Best of luck.

[kman82]

I'm going to have another go at this at the weekend so cheers for the tip hennbm, allthough i have tried that already but didn't seem to help. I'm going to buff up the end with some wet and dry first and see if that helps.

On another issue, when i fitted my rear shocks i was expecting to transfer the dust covers from my old shocks over but they seem to be part of an all in one assembly. If I have bought bilstein B4 shocks do i need bilstein dust covers? or will BMW ones fit? or do i need them at all???

cheers

[Aragorn]

I dont think the first photo of the bump stop is right, The stop is going to mash into and destroy the dust jacket, as its larger than the hole.

The very last picture, with the bump stop inside the jacket is the best one, you'll find that if you push the bump stop right up inside the jacket it will clip into the ribs on the top edge of it, which will hold the whole assembly at the top.

[Aragorn]

Also the bump stop seems to me to be upside down in most of the photos.

If you notice, the stop has a rib on its bottom edge in the photos, theres a corresponding rib in the dust jacket, and the stop should be the other way up and inside the jacket engaged into that rib, with the conical area poking out the top.

[kman82]

I actually fitted the bump stop as its shown in the first pic but with the dust cover the other way up and like you say with the bump stop inside the dust cover in the first set of ribs. I'll try and take a photo. It looked right though

bump

On another issue, when i fitted my rear shocks i was expecting to transfer the dust covers from my old shocks over but they seem to be part of an all in one assembly. If I have bought bilstein B4 shocks do i need bilstein dust covers? or will BMW ones fit? or do i need them at all???

cheers

[kman82]

LATEST PROBLEM

When i fitted my rear B4 shocks they did not come with dust protection sleves and after speaking to Euro Car parts today they do not supply Blistein products anymore so cant them from them. Am I ok to buy BMW ones and also will i need item 4 in the following pic...

[capri_rob]

You can use the sleeves ( Item 5 ) from your old shocks - thats what I did when I fitted mine unless you specifically want new ones.

Number 4 is a thick rubber washer - my B4's came with them but the genuine BMW shocks I took off both the bronze turd and the touring did not appear to have these fitted so you're probably OK without.

I've got a spare pair of used sleeves in stock if you need some

[kman82]

My old shocks were some aftermarket crap where the sleeves were part of the shock (actually makes sense) but dont come apart so need new ones. Hoping BMW ones will fit Bilstein.

So part 4 is like a bump stop? think i'll order it just in case. Thanks for the offer of second hand but as every other suspension compenent is new I think i'll get shiney new ones.

thanks for your help

[capri_rob]

BMW ones do fit the Bilstein shocks as I've fitted them to mine.

[kman82]

Cheers. On second thoughts what condition are your sleeves and how much you after for them?

[capri_rob]

I'll dig them out and get back to you.

[capri_rob]

Sorry mate must have binned them - looked through my parts stash this morning and can't find them

[kman82]

no worries, thanks for looking