suspension help bilstein/stock springs

[cos M3/4]

I am currently experiencing a lot of bottoming out/bump stop impacts on the front passenger side of my Bilstein/stock spring set up. The suspension has been on the car for 1.5 years.


I need the boards help. I think the 22mm nut at the top of the strut has somehow rotated up. I visually checked the bolt by removing the cap on top of the strut housing inside the engine bay. It looks like the nut is threaded with 1 thread open above the nut. This is the same distance as the driver side.

Can someone with the same Bilstein/Stock spring set up please confirm that this is the amount of thread above the strut housing nut?

In the E36 M3 the exposed nut is offset toward the firewall so I can not just tighten the nut. I will have to uninstall the strut completely, rent a spring compressor, and attempt to tighten, and of course need a new alignment.
I am trying to avoid this for the moment.

Please confirm by visually checking the tread distance on your ride.

Also, symptomatic to this problem, occasionally I will hear a loud thunk from the front passenger area under the car. This occurs randomly at any of these actions... cruising on smooth surfaces, during acceleration, braking.


TIA.

[Bernanke]

i have new bislteins with stock springs, I will let u know how it handles. realistically though I will get springs b/c the wheel gap is flat out ugly.

[cos M3/4]

Thanks!

All this request will take is opening the hood and removing the cap on top of the strut for a visual.

^^^

[cos M3/4]

anyone?

[mgambini]

I just checked my 99M3 Bilsteins and I have about 1 thread also, so that seems right. When I installed mine, I took them apart first and cut down the internal bumpstops by half. There were a number of threads on this forum about having to do that to prevent bottoming. I have no bottoming and am very pleased with my Bilsteins. Mine are the old type by the way--new ones may not require cutting the bumpstops.
MikeG