Is there a DIY on how to fix this ourselves? I'm needing to change mine out too :(

Edwin

 

Remove wheel.
Undo end link.
Unclip brake line, speed sensor wire and brake sensor if equipped.
Undo pinch bolt.
Lower knuckle.
undo three top bolts.
Remove strut.
Undo strut top bolt
Replace strut guide.
reassemble.

The only issue is with a stock strut/spring you may have to get a bit creative to remove one of the sides. On the 02 S I have, it's the driver side that is a pita. Not sure if all years are this way or not.

Once you do this job, you can do your own spring, struts, camber plates etc.

It's much easier than it sounds.

Matt

ps, there's a bit of energy stored in the springs. It's not as much as you think, and you can get the spring off just by resting the bottom on the ground, and using an air-gun to loosen the top bolt, but lean into it so it comes of gentle. If this scares you, then you can get a strut compressor (rent it for a day) and do it the safe and sane way. There are tools for the top strut bolt (slotted socket) that allow you to use an allen wrench to take the top nut off. Search on threads started by k-huevo for the most detialed one on NAM. And it's got photos!

 

Thank you Matt One last question... do I need any special bmw tools? I read somewhere that I needed one to remove the three bolts on top.

EDIT: Whoops... just read the last sentence... I'll seach for it. Is there anyway to remove them without the special tool?

Edwin

 

as the shaft can rotate. So an air wrench will do it fine, as the impacts will work against the inertia of the shaft. But to put it together, the air wrench WILL do it, but some have also screwed up the top of the shaft, and that will lead to shaft breakage.

The tool is cheap, and it's not BMW specific. Look at Keith's how to, and you'll see what it looks like. Most auto parts stores should carry it.

Matt

 

i cracked loose that top nut on the shaft while it was still on the car.
a quick 1/4 turn is good.

 

as you have the friction of all the parts squeezed together to help. The real danger is overtightening with an air wrech when it all goes back together. A real nice helper is the smalles rubber strap wrech from Sears. It can grab the shaft without scoring it.

Matt

 

yah, i was only talking about loosening that nut. it's much easier to
loosen it while the assy is on the car unless you have a jig to hold the
assembly.

i dont use air tools so can't really over tighten it without knowing.

ive never had that nut come loose on any of my cars that ive worked on
where i held the shaft at the top. perhaps using new nuts or loctite
might help.

 

the top three nuts are supposidly single use. They are squeezed so that they are their own locking mechanism. Be that as it may, I've re-used them many a time. One time I bought some when I did another order from CLassic Auto Campus, but it's not a requirement.

There are lots of single use fasteners on our cars. It's cheaper to manufacture, but more expensive to repair.

If you're gonna keep wrenching on your own car, get one of the manuals. I honestly don't know which is better, but they will have all the torque values you need when you put things together, and they're pretty good about pointing out what is a single use nut or bolt, and what is not.

Matt

 

i too re-used those strut mount nuts on my car... it being a low torque
nut, as long as it doesnt come loose on its own i doubt it makes any
difference unless you cycled it like more than 5 times where the
threads start to show wear. dont wanna cross-thread...

some aftermarket dampers/coilovers include new nuts in their kits
which is kinda nice.

 

Is there a solution that allows us to stay in G-stock???? Or does this mean that the Modding begins? I really need an excuse to get an LSD

 

I'll be replacing both sides this weekend since I'm upgrading to Bilstein SP shocks. At 65k miles, there are two cracks inside the rubber.