L plate tourer suspension help needed

Post Tue Sep 12, 2006 2:29 pm

Please help we have an L reg tourer here in work but we are having trouble locating shock absorbers for the front. GSF car parts are telling us due to the age of the E30 it has E36 front shocks possibly. Can this be so ?? Any help is appreciated !

Post Tue Sep 12, 2006 2:44 pm

bullshit

what size struts does this car have 45mm or 51mm, i don't know myself

find that out and go from there, i would. And don't phone that GSF branch again!

Post Tue Sep 12, 2006 2:47 pm

Eh? How many wheel bolts does it have?! E36 shocks'd have to be the whole strut surely...? Doesn't sound likely to me...

Post Tue Sep 12, 2006 2:47 pm

didnt all tourers have the 51mm strut

Post Tue Sep 12, 2006 2:49 pm

i don't know if the 4 pots did? they all had rear disks though even the 316's

Post Tue Sep 12, 2006 2:55 pm

fuzzy wrote:didnt all tourers have the 51mm strut

thats what i thort

Post Tue Sep 12, 2006 4:07 pm

This car has 45mm struts, they are a bunch of inbred's me thinks ! They've now sent me a complete E36 front end setup to try. It's a customers car who knows i've me from round here and my bmw's an I'm going to look a right tit soon enough ! I thought it was bullshit but he made it sound so convincing that I maybe thought it was possible. It is a 316 and it does have the rear discs, I was suprised. The trouble I'm having with such a simple thing and the main dealer doesn't want to know either !

Post Tue Sep 12, 2006 4:10 pm

go to euros mate

Post Tue Sep 12, 2006 10:40 pm

ETK shows 51mm struts when checked with my L reg Vin no. ECP still stock them according to the website. HTH.

Post Tue Sep 12, 2006 11:09 pm

i have had this problem before as there parts catalogues and computers think that when the e30 saloon stopped production so did every other variant and cant believe you have a k or l reg e30. same trouble when i go for the mot the new computer struggles and they have previously logged me in as a e36 cabby just to do the test glad i dont have one of the few m reg cars

Post Wed Sep 13, 2006 12:51 am

All tourings should have 51mm struts. If they are the smaller ones, someone's been fitting inferior parts.

Post Wed Sep 13, 2006 6:22 am

gazza wrote:i have had this problem before as there parts catalogues and computers think that when the e30 saloon stopped production so did every other variant and cant believe you have a k or l reg e30. same trouble when i go for the mot the new computer struggles and they have previously logged me in as a e36 cabby just to do the test glad i dont have one of the few m reg cars

According to the system ECP use, my October 1990 320i Touring is an E36! I've started looking up the part numbers on their website and quoting them when I order. Since then I've had no problems at all.
I had the mis-fortune to have to call the RAC out when I broke down away from home recently. They must use the same vehicle recognition system for diagnosis, because the bloke insisted my car's an E36 and got quite shitty with me when I told him it isn't.
Stuart.