I finally figured out your 2x4. Since you're only jacking up one side of the car, the sway bar wants to lift the wheel that's in the air. If you jack up both sides of the car and do one strut at a time, it might be easier as the wheel won't drop much when you remove the nuts on top of the strut. Or... put the jack under the strut with slight pressure, remove the nuts, then lower the jack to drop the strut away from the cap... My other observation is that with the mud guards out of the way it would be a good time to go rust hunting. E39's in the northeast have a real issue with that, so it would be a great time to clean up any rust and treat it. Thanks again for the great videos!
One of the most critical procedures to removing the drivers side shock is how to deal with the expansion tank. You showed Very well how to do that. I finally found a worthy tutorial!! Thank You!!
Great video. Clear video so we can see everything and you narrate great too. Thanks for all your hard work. It makes a job so much easier when you see it done properly once beforehand.
this video is very well done and comprehensive in almost every aspect. For anyone attempting the job in this manner, I've got to point out that keeping the hub in the exact position to align with the new shock is tough. The 9 1/2" two by four wedged in snuggly for me, but the pressure still compressed the space by about 1/2". Also, the video does not show how you have to align the top and bottom of the shock tower so everything will line up when you install the new shock. So much is right here, I'm not trying to be critical. Just want to pass along some additional info that I think is important.
I just wanted to stop by to say thank you. Today I feel I became a man, by changing the rear springs of my BMW 523i e39 with the great help of this video. Your dedication in what you do is amazing, by explaining everything in detail and not skipping anything. Once again thank you and God bless you.
HALLELUJAH! THANK YOU! I was talked into doing these and thought " 2 bolts lickity split , done in about an hour. Good thing you did this to show us " regular shock dudes" theres a whole lot more involved. Thanks again.
Great video. Clear, concise, and easy to follow. Not looking forward to doing this job, but with this additional tool to assist, it will be easier. Cheers!
Man!!! Your videos are AWESOME! & Very Helpful. Thanks for taking the time-out to share your Knowledge & Talents, to be a Blessing to Others. Very Unselfish of You. Thanks again & GOD Bless!
BIMMER ZEIT Hey...Byrd again! Followed all steps up til getting da strut back installed. I got the top aligned & secured, but can't get the bottom bolt installed, due to strut extension not aligning-up w/ mount.
This is why I used the 2x4 cut to a specific length to force the arm down so it aligns. You may need to tap the wood in more to wedge the arm down and open. Other comments below have said they used the BMW jack instead of the wood block for leverage.
Not sure why you'd reassemble the rear struts without the spring pads. Also, these are good factory shocks, just because they have miles don't assume they're blown. I replaced my M sport shocks at 140k miles and they really didn't need it, all four still had good damping. Just wanted Bilsteins.
How many miles did you get out of the original struts? What year is your e39? I like your vids, very thorough and good explanation. Thumbs up. As feed back to any one watching this, I would highly recommend replacing the polyurethane bump stops and the plastic dust/dirty covers when replacing the struts. They may look good but they will fall apart soon because of age and wear. Usually, they wear out before the strut does. My wife's e91 bump stops are blown out, same on my e30. I had my e30 replaced with Billstein (and the bumpstops too - already falling apart.) and love them.......Nothing against Sachs they are oem and if you want oem keep them. Bilstein in my opinion are better design and perform better. In some offerings, there is Bilstein "touring" which is just slightly firmer than stock and still gives a nice comfort ride, I have them on my e30. Thanks for sharing.
Thanks! The car has 140,000 miles on it and the shocks are original. I bet they have been blown since 100k though, most OEM shocks don't last more than that. This is a 2001 530i Sport Package.
Thanks......My e39 is a garage princess, only 78k. I wish I had the 3.0, only have the 2.5 but it is a 5 speed manual, with sport package (M). I love your rims. I will keep this in mind. My wife had 99 e39 Touring, we only had to replace the front struts at around 140k. The back probably should have been replaced but they did not totally wear out and it still rode good. Sold that car with 235k still running strong. Have you replaced the drive shaft yet? That was the other big ticket item (besides cooling system).....some where between 130k-170k. The universal joint goes and the whole shaft has to be replaced because they are pressed in. You can buy new for about $700 or remanfactured for $400. The remans usually allow to just replace the universal joint, if it should ever go again.
I bought with 58k and I have had it 8 years and only put 20k on it. I hope I can keep it forever....The drive shaft will start to make noise and vibrate. Once that starts to happen, you want to min. driving it and get it replaced. Along with my e30- want to keep it too. Your e30 is nice. Mine is beat really bad. I had the driveshaft replaced in the e30 too.
Excellent video. Just a thought, though, aren't you supposed to tighten the strut nut under load, in other words, after you lower the car to the ground? I noticed you did it before installing the new strut. I'm not saying that you did it wrong, it seems like by doing it the way you did you would be "setting" the strut to operate at a load that might be different than normal.
Also, would it be possible to do it all without removing the plastic lining and setting the lines and tank aside? Maybe by compressing the spring while still there?
Pedro Gadea if you are changing the suspension arms and anti roll bar links then yes ..removing all those mean you can swing the hub way down and pull the strut out without removing the trim and pipes. be carefull of brake pipes and the sensor wires etc but its easy to do. i did mine last weekend and didnt remove any trim apart from the plastic capsules on the bottom of the subframe mounts .
Would also suggest to your audience that a better approach for the rears is rather than removing the fender liners and bending fragile pipes and tubes, just remove the rear upper control arm and drop the shock out. This also removes possibility of scratching the fender. It's a lot of work either way, I've done it both ways.