Rear shock replacement

[jLace]

I had an indy replace my fronts but could not get the rears out.

What's the secret?

[e39dream]

new suspension half installed huh? You should be ok but that's just a guess- be careful on wet roads until you get it all right.

[SHWELL]

What he said...... May we ask why this setup?

[kaptom540]

i would think you would have a serious rake look .. when are you installing the rear? probable wouldn't drive with the set up for a long time

[Gumbi4u]

Looks like someone doesn't have the right tools or ran out of daylight.

[Gumbi4u]

I had an indy replace my fronts but could not get the rears out.

What's the secret?

No secret. Your indy sucks moose balls. You have to take out the rear deck and unscrew them. Unscrew the bottom mounts and they should fall right out.

[Gumbi4u]

We have a shortage of Moose in Dallas, so I doubt he was doing that instead of doing my rears. He said he looked up the labor in the book and it was 10 hours for rears only. 6 hrs. for the front. He said he did the fronts in 4 and they are fine.

The car is on it's way to my house now so I'll know more in an hour.

Good god. We did my whole car in about 3 hours tops!

[jLace]

Thanks Ken, then maybe there's hope. The way it sounded it would have been a 600.00 rear shock install and I'm not prepared for that right now. I can't afford to tear up my car either.

[e39dream]

no shame in admitting you've been beaten by the e39 rear suspension- it is a bitch if you don't know what you are doing. I can do the rears now after I used the 540i parts car to experiment on. As gumbi said, some interior bits get pulled and other than that it really is pretty simple.

[bimmerfiver]

Inside:
Remove rear seat lower and upper
Remove rear deck
Remove speakers
Remove the three shock mount nuts (either 10 or 13mm I forget).

Outside:
Disconnect sway bar link
Loosen lower shock bolt (16 or 18mm I forget)

Then have someone stand on the hub of the rotor forcing it downwards while another person easily guides the entire shock/spring assembly down and out.

Repeat on other side.

[Fiziks]

Start looking for a new indy.

[bimmertam911]

I got mine replaced front/rear for $300

[Gopher2k]

I got mine replaced front/rear for $300

+1 but I tipped a bit. Your indy sounds a little suspect.

[BlackSapphire]

It's not a shock 'bearing' per se. It's an upper strut mount and yes, you probably should replace them. Might I ask what Indy you are using?

[Jason5driver]

You should have a BMW specialist/ tech do the work.

Plus, you should replace all the shock mounts, spring pads, and rubber bump stops.

Reference BeisanSystems.com/procedures

[bimmerZ5]

He said something about a shock bearing. It's something that is only on the front. I don't have a clue what those are but my car "clinks" now and he said that is why.

probably meant strut mount bearing. about $30 each for the entire mount with new bearings.

as for the rear struts, i just did that this past weekend. taking apart the interior isn't really a big deal in my opinion, just takes time. the hardest part was trying to get the strut out because the suspension arms are under tension and push up. you HAVE to remove the wheel liner, and you HAVE to loosen the fuel filler and carbon canister in order to make enough clearance. Even then, it's going to be tight and you want to be careful not to hit anything with the studs on the strut mounts. when i did this, we did it the hard way, with me stepping on the suspension and my buddy trying to find a way to pull the strut out. a tip i got later was to use a block of wood wedged between the suspension arms to hold it open; that is probably very good advice. i'm just a DIYer, and rather inexperienced at that... so if I could figure it out, I would question the competency of your professional indy mechanic too.

[herc97]

Inside:
Remove rear seat lower and upper
Remove rear deck
Remove speakers
Remove the three shock mount nuts (either 10 or 13mm I forget).

Outside:
Disconnect sway bar link
Loosen lower shock bolt (16 or 18mm I forget)

Then have someone stand on the hub of the rotor forcing it downwards while another person easily guides the entire shock/spring assembly down and out.

Repeat on other side.

got damn thats why i love this forum they get right down to the point !

[bimmerfiver]

It's here. Shock bearings are out, couldn't tell that he said on normal suspension but they will have to be replaced now with the sports. So, in other words, everything that was done today was for nothing and the fronts have to come back out. The car doesn't feel safe or solid or tight. I went backwards.

Fail. Dude, your life is on the line. Get a good mechanic or do it yourself. I don't know what's going on here, but it's all bad.

[Philboski]

I would say find a new indy. Changing struts on any car is a relatively simple task for a mechanic. If they can't do it on yours, what does that say about them?

My guy spent an hour and a half on the fronts, and had real trouble with the rears, so they took him 3 hours. He normally takes an hour for that job.

[capn shawn]

If you want the depressingly long list of things to do to get shocks on the rear of an E39... go to my previous thread and go down to post #13: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...light=bilstein

[Paintballistic]

If you want the depressingly long list of things to do to get shocks on the rear of an E39... go to my previous thread and go down to post #13: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum...light=bilstein

no specialty tools needed?

[jLace]

Here's the wheel gap on the front with the OE sports on it. Not exactly, tucked and slammed.

[jLace]

I just called another indy. $760.00, he said almost 8 hours.

[Paintballistic]

that is a bs price. not to mention any good shop can do a bmw suspension change.

[kaptom540]

Looks right .. do you have the searious rake look with the non sport rears ? when are you doing the rears .. wheels looks great!