Great stuff.
Hi There Perelet,
thanks so much for your very good illustration and hard work on this 850 suspension...
I have done ( a friend mechanic ;-) ) the replacement of the shocks Bilsteins, lower springs and strut mounts.
as he is putting everything together, he told me he could not install the bumper stops, because it was not fitting on the new struts...
He completed the installation and I have driven the car for 5k miles or so...
but I have 1 deal of noise on the right side front tire (which looks like is something plastic flapping/hitting the tire when I turn the car to the left)...
I can not see and touch anything that is loose...
and sometime at 40 miles a hour, the car (the steering wheel) starts to shakes like crazy.... but it goes away at 45 and the car is as straight as an arrow....
what you think could be?
bumper stops or wheel bearings
is just nuts...
I see you had the bumper stoppers, but I could not see if you used it.... have you?
Thanks for your advice
The bump stops are internal on the Bilsteins. No need to use the OEM on the top (they shouldn't fit).
What "thumbs up" really means
Just finished up the front suspension using tips from this thread. I have never "decompressed" the spring on a front strut the way described in this thread. It worked great. While I had everything out, I repainted the struts and detailed everything. The Bilsteins were inserted. For those that want to file away the information, the top strut nut - that big Bilstein nut that screws down onto the strut housing - is torqued to 95lbs using the Bilstein tool. Bilstein also recommends antiseize grease on the threads.
CSi #18 - Car & Driver Magazine 1994 actual test car
-- Hellrot/Black-Gray (1 of 1 NA CSi color combination)
BMWCCA E31 Chapter International Clubs Liaison
North America Representative, 8er.or Board of Directors
Actually - the recommendations came straight out of the Bilstein instructions (Yes - I know - I am one of those guys who actually reads all that fine print!). In torqueing down that large nut, when torqued to 95ft-lbs it is pretty tight. Tonight when I get home I will see if I kept the instructions and include a copy here. I did use the high strength (red) thread lock on the 3 new bolts on the bottom of the strut housing.
CSi #18 - Car & Driver Magazine 1994 actual test car
-- Hellrot/Black-Gray (1 of 1 NA CSi color combination)
BMWCCA E31 Chapter International Clubs Liaison
North America Representative, 8er.or Board of Directors
I just finished a front-end rebuild and noticed the bump stops on my shocks were turning to powder. I ordered a new set (31331140140) which are #9 in the attached link.
https://www.realoem.com/bmw/enUS/sho...diagId=31_0455
I'm no expert mechanic, but the new bump stops seem way too long. I see exactly where they seat in the shock shaft, but they are too long at the top and don't leave enough thread on the shaft to accommodate all the components (#3, #8, #1, #5) plus tighten the #6 nut. Are these new bump stops meant to be cut to size? I think I would have to cut 1.5" of the top. Much appreciated.
Sean
Where are all the pix from this post . I could use them, doing this in the next couple weeks.
CB42366 - 1991 850i 6-speed. Brilliantrot & Black Nappa Leather
CD00144 - 1994 850CSi. Hellrot & Black Nappa Leather
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This is a question for anyone who did a front end refresh. After you replaced all your components (upper and lower control arms, sway bar links and bushings, tie rod ends, etc.), did you notice your steering was noticeably stiffer afterwards? I haven't been driving my car much lately, so I may have forgotten what it feels like behind the wheel of an E31. However it seems to take a bit more effort to turn the wheel. I definitely have power steering, it just doesn't seem to be as easy as I remember.
Sean
I noticed more response, not stiffer (more power needed to turn steering wheel)
I swear, my cars are like a girlfriend.
Sometimes its a rough ride, sometimes its smooth motorin'.
Sometimes she doesnt like how i treat her and sometimes i dont like how she behaves.
BUT at the end of the day, she loves it when I am inside her.
I've been asking around and have been told this is normal since all the ball joints and bushings are new. Makes sense. The ball joints on my old control arms, tie rods, and sway bar links took very little effort to move. The new ones are very tight. Much more resistance for the power steering system to overcome.
Sean
Last edited by Sniff38; 04-20-2017 at 03:54 PM.
Same here. Anyone know how we get them back?
I was told over time the new components would loosen up and the steering would become lighter. I actually like the way my steering feels right now . . . sort of feels like the 997 I once owned. I guess the reason I posted the question is it was such a noticeable change from before. I wasn't at all expecting it so it caught me by surprise.
Sean
Pics got lost from some of my threads due linking problems
I created achieve version of this thread with pics here:
http://perelet.com/cars/bmw/11.html
Please PM me with links to other threads that lost pcs, I'll achieve them over time.
Perelet - THANK YOU, very well done. Saved in my 'whenever needed' file!!
Gary
Gary Knox
'97 BMW 840 Ci
'03 MB SL55 AMG
'07 Mini Cooper S hatchback
'09 Aston Martin DB9 Volante
'13 Audi A8
'90 MB 560 SEC and '94 Porsche 928 GTS recently departed but long enjoyed
50 or so others over the past 70 years of driving
i know this is a very old thread , but you dont instal the factory bump stops when using bilsien inserts as the inserts have bulit in bump stops, intalling extra external ones will result in the car using the bump stop instead of the spring = rock hard ride no suspension travel and stiff steering !
Hi - original post converted to pdf - have fun!!!
33 - Rear Suspension Rebuild Illustrated small.pdf
Hi, dropping the rear subframe this weekend to replace all bushings. One quick question, is it possible to replace the ball joint only on the rear control arm?
I'm in the middle of this at the moment. Eccentric bolts will likely fail, so Wolf (Wokke) has these, BMW don't sell them and RealOEM lists the wrong sizes (which should be 11 mm and 13 mm). The upper wishbones, cross members (spring carriers) and the control arm can all be refurbished by Wolf (https://wokke.de/).
In the UK I use Phoenix Motorsport for the same stuff except the eccentric bolts which came from Wolf. For comparison, the UK price is £300 per side for the cross members and £320 per side for the upper wishbones. I blurb on about it all here:
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