Just installed an M5 Rear sway bar but couldn't fit torque wrench into final tighten.

[Olly84]

Definitely wasn't a 30 minute job like some have suggested lol.

I ended up not being able to use sockets, but instead needed to use ratcheting wrenches into the tight spaces to get the sway bar end link nuts off. Maybe I just didn't have the right length extensions.

Nuts came off pretty easy after that, but I couldn't fit a torque wrench in there to tighten to spec. I just hand tightened it with a wrench to "really tight".

Any ideas?

PS. Wagon handles a bit better with it, a worthy mod for $125!

[RuskiE39]

Not sure why you're having so much difficulty installing it. When I bought my 540i I swapped over my Eibach rear sway bar and moved the OEM 540 one to the 530. Took less than 30 minutes.

Maybe post a pic?

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

It’s a pain in the a$$ on the wagons. The secret is to have long ratcheting wrenches. When I say long, I have these two foot long ratcheting wrenches made by a company called Mountain. Bought them off the SnapOn truck, lifetime warranty, they were $250, sizes ranging from 10mm to 19mm. I originally had the Matco set, and they sucked, for $500, they should have been nice and smooth, they weren’t, first time I used them, the 12mm was already notchy, and locking up, I made Matco take them back.
No need for a torque wrench, just tighten the nuts up real well.

[Olly84]

It’s a pain in the a$$ on the wagons. The secret is to have long ratcheting wrenches. When I say long, I have these two foot long ratcheting wrenches made by a company called Mountain. Bought them off the SnapOn truck, lifetime warranty, they were $250, sizes ranging from 10mm to 19mm. I originally had the Matco set, and they sucked, for $500, they should have been nice and smooth, they weren’t, first time I used them, the 12mm was already notchy, and locking up, I made Matco take them back.
No need for a torque wrench, just tighten the nuts up real well.

Alright dude, thanks man! yeah I had to go buy some ratcheting wrenches and it made the job go by a lot faster after I stop trying to figure out how to get the sockets in. Took me 1 1/2 hours, not that bad, just caught me by surprise.

RuskiE39, I have the wagon and I think that "turtle shell" looking lower control arm where the integral links go into, is different than the sedans. It's completely solid top to bottom so no way to get a socket through there for leverage. Plus wagon shocks go into at a much steeper angle which also blocks the area.

[geargrinder]

+72 Hooking the wagon links up sucks. Mine busted a couple years back (in retrospect I think I had had a sudden 'winter douchebag avoidance' maneuver where I ran over a small that was hidden in snow and must have jolted the rear suspension at some point) and I was also reminded about how miserable it is to do the link ends. I tried at least 4 different kinds of wrenches under there... thin-long combos, offset combos, s-wrenches, ratchet combos... you just don't get any 'swing' at all so it takes eons to turn them up tight.

[StephenVA]

It’s a pain in the a$$ on the wagons. The secret is to have long ratcheting wrenches. When I say long, I have these two foot long ratcheting wrenches made by a company called Mountain. Bought them off the SnapOn truck, lifetime warranty, they were $250, sizes ranging from 10mm to 19mm. I originally had the Matco set, and they sucked, for $500, they should have been nice and smooth, they weren’t, first time I used them, the 12mm was already notchy, and locking up, I made Matco take them back.
No need for a torque wrench, just tighten the nuts up real well.

damm now I have to buy more tools! Tooltopia has them for under $135

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Damn, toolman took advantage of the Snotmirster! That’s a great price. I gotta check that site out some more.

[StephenVA]

I buy most of my tools from these guys as the pricing is the lowest of most online vendors

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Yeah, I just buy from the SnapOn truck, damn convenient, him coming to you, my tool bill is quite significant, but it’s all good stuff, and I’m ok with that.

[geargrinder]

Yeah, I just buy from the SnapOn truck, damn convenient, him coming to you, my tool bill is quite significant, but it’s all good stuff, and I’m ok with that.

ToolTruck mofos are like drug dealers.

"yeah man you don't even have to go anywhere... just c'mon up in the truck and hang out (boss doesn't even mind! its a free coffee break!)..."
"hey man wait til you see this latest cool thing... its the best... all the cool guys are doin' em.."
"nawww of course you don't have to pay for it... we'll just put it on your tab..."

The best/worst part is them crack-dealing the big-ass $$$$ fancy boxes based on status-implications of yours-vs-Joes-vs-Larrys etc.
That's where they really kill guys. My pro tech buds spend levels of $$$ on their boxes (I mean just the box itself that is...) thats completely insane for their annual income level and benefit-justification.
Old box: Big ass super heavy duty SnapOff/Matco/MAC/Whatever thing that works perfectly and just sits there 24/7 holding all your tools perfectly fine in an organized fashion.
New box: Exactly like the other one except shinier in a new color and maybe with a new stainless top and some dumb-cool feature like the new hidden drawer-lock-slider-trigger deals have better ballbearings or sumchit.
Yep that's definitely worth spending 30-40% of your annual salary on.

Hell most auto-techs don't even ever ROLL the box anywhere. Maybe a bit different for aviation and sometimes heavy eq techs who might actually roll the box around on the regular...

- - - Updated - - -

(BTW Snotty you got it right - if you want one o' them big ass super bling boxes, buy it 2nd hand from some other guy who had to upgrade or is gettin' out... still asspensive but WAAAYYY better than the truck-bill-retail-price)

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Haha! You got it right on the free coffee break on the tool truck. But my SnappOn guy Rob is actually really cool. Not like the loser driving around in the Matco truck. He doesn’t get any action from me anymore. The A-hole was doing shady shiet like drawing our payments out of our bank at 2am, the night before he was scheduled to come show up at the shop, then come to find out, he wasn’t coming by at all, and on a couple occasions, he would do that two weeks in a row. I cut him off, and so did the majority of the shop, the idiot now only deals with three guys, not even worth the time for his stop, yet he still comes by. He pissed me off enough that I payed him off in one big lump, told him to not even look my way when he waddles his stupid fat a$$ into the shop. Lol.
On the new box vs used box debate, sure, you’ll get a better deal on the used box, but dorks like me do like the whole idea about busting the hymen on the virgin box that I got, and spooging every inch of the box with my tool..... ... . s....

[e39hamann]

I wouldn't worry about using a torque wrench on the sway bar, I just installed a Dinan sway bar on my M5 and didn't feel the need to use one.

[marvinstockman]

If you were able to get if off with the same wrenches you put it on with, you should be fine.

What is the required torque spec?

[BimmrMeUpSnotty]

Man, spoken like a forum dood without a clue. I dare you to go do it on a wagon and come back on here and swear that it didn’t make you want to kill the idiot engineer that drew it all up without whatsoever as to conversate with a mechanic....