Rear Coils

[Kirby]

Now you have first hand experience when it comes time to replace those TABs with M3 tabs!!!!

Fronts:

- Bentley says to completely remove the rotor/caliper assembly from the wheel plate. You do not have to do that BUT you must be very careful not to damage the joints. The problem is that the rotor/caliper/wheel plate is heavy and letting it flop down will damage the ball joints.
- I suggest the following sequence: loosen (don't remove) the two bolts that hold the strut to the wheel plate. They are very tight, if I remember correctly they have Loctite on them, and you are supposed to reassemble with Loctite.
- Loosen the upper nuts
- Plan on a way to support the hub assembly. I used a combination of blocks on the bottom and wire from the top.
- Remove the bolts/nuts completely and pull the strut out.

Now you can work on the strut:

- Try to keep dirt out of the upper bearing as you work on the strut.
- As you know you need a spring compressor. If you use the "long screw" type, grease the threads of the long screw to make it turn a bit easier.
- Mount the strut in a vise or other secure location. I use a Workmate type work table.
- Once you start compressing, NEVER EVER put your face/head any where near or over the end of the strut. If something lets go, it would be ugly.
- After the strut is compressed sufficiently, loosen the top nut. The top nut that secures the piston shaft to the upper plate is usually a pain to loosen, because it is fairly tight and the piston shaft spins when you try to loosen the nut. The trick is to use an air impact wrench and blip it a few times. The quick blips spin the nut before the shaft can turn. Again, be safe, the compressed spring is packing some energy.
- Assembly is pretty much the reverse. I had some a couple of trial and error issues with the new springs and compressor placement. After I compressed the new springs, I had the clamps in the wrong place and I could not remove the tool. If you use the more expensive clam shell compressor, you may not have this problem.
- When you tighten the top nut, you might be tempted to hold the shaft with a vise grip. Do not damage the piston (grip marks, etc.) or it will tear up the piston seal. Koni warns to NOT use an air wrench to tighten the nut.
- The dust cap that goes over the shaft at the upper plate will not fit - the adjustment tip sticks up to high. I solved this by gently heating the center of the cap with a butane lighter and pressing a socket extension on the inside to slowly stretch the dome. I can't figure out why Koni didn't include a new dust cap. I have seen a lot of people just leave the cap off, but the bearings don't like dust and dirt.

Good luck!!!

 

[frolf]

ok i have sort of skimmed this thread. but if you are pulling out springs without compressing them you are risking a lot of damage to more than your suspension.


sean you should just buy new pads from tms, they were $24 shipped i think, just think, the pads were $15-20. but i guess if we just swapped or something, if your 10mm's are out of the car and you could send them too me.... then i can put them in and send my 15s. otherwise you'll get pics of me sitting next to a car with no rear suspension bolted up waiting for pads.

 

[selavia]

My old ones that were on the car were decent; I wouldn't mind riding on those oldies while I shipped the new ones to you. But I'm beginning to think that its not 10 mm, but rather 5mm; I'm going to measure it later today.


How can you remove the rears with compression. Every spring / coil compressor I have seen / own is way to big to fit in the rear of the e36. Is there a specific brand / tool that will work?

 

[frolf]

i can't remember the brand of the one i use, its a screw type and it fit in there fine.

 

[selavia]

Went to do the fronts last night. Now, from what I've read and what I've seen on other e36s, my car is peculiar. In between the two bottom bolts, is a third screw that looks like it's from behind the hub or rotor. I removed all three bolts (excluding that screw in between the bottom two) and tried to separate the assemly from the hub and it felt absolutely solid. Like there was still a screw in place. So I think I will have to dissassemble the whole system. Ugh!

 

[frolf]

i didn't separate the assembly from the hub because one of the bolts was absolutely frozen and would've cracked, so i lowered the whole deal out of the car, this was really easy but it really helps to have a friend.

Kirby gave some great advice. though most of your problems have been solved i will wager my two cents and support.

-my car took a little more than rolling around to settle in
-get a 4 wheel alignment asap, especially before you scrap any rubber of yours tires
-try going with your current spring pads for a bit just to see what you think, i really think i will be getting 10mm pads eventually, but i definitely don't regret ordering 15mm and driving with them for 9 months
-thinking back, i remember having to put a good amount of pressure on the lower wishbone to get the rear spring in.
-kirby is right about steering clear of the top of the strut while taking that nut off, one of my "half" popped off and it was scary
-be sure that your struts sit upright for a while before you put them in, should've warned you about this before you did your rears, but you want them sitting upright
-make sure you are using a torque wrench to button all this stuff up, and please reassure us that you have been using loctite when needed haha

 

[selavia]

Finally finished the suspension. What a pain in the rear. For the fronts, I ended up having to take the link stabilizer to give the control arm enough play to get the new strut assembly back in. I just need an alignment and it'll be straight.

It's going into the shop this week for body work (warranty work and the hit and run damage), so after I get it back, I'll clean her up, put her on a flat surface and take some pictures.

And frolf, I get what you mean about the spring pads in the rear. I have 5mm and I really don't think I'm going to change them anymore. Once the back and front suspension was replaced and everything 'settled,' the back is not that low. The tire is barely in the wheel well. If anything, I'd put 10mm. But nothing larger. The car sits flat; no incline; that's how it was before the new suspension, and that's how I like it, so I think I'm going to leave it.

And yeah, loctite on all things that require it. I found it odd though, the stabilizer link bolt had loctite on it, but Bentleys does not say to use it. I put it on anyway.

 

[Big Daddy]

Glad you were able to "git er' done"...hehe.

 

[selavia]

Yeah, she's sitting much lower to the earth. And she is done.

I went to an empty, large church parking lot and was taking all sorts of turns and drifts and I could not get her to go sideways at all and she remained flat even when I turned sharply @ over 50mph. Acceleration feels better (doesn't squat as much as it used to); braking is sharper.

I think its a little too stiff for everyday highway driving and I may adjust it to make it softer, but I'll drive it awhile before doing anything.


I'll talk pics of the hit and run damage before its repaired and post those as well (I never did get around to doing that).

 

[B M W]

For future reference, it sounds like you forgot ot disconnect the rear sway bar in the rear. After doing this it takes roughly 30 seconds ot remove rear springs. Rear springs are a 10 minute job each side.

 

[selavia]

Ah... (sheepishly stands in the corner with his dunce cap on)