Well, as noted above, I ended up breaking one of the black clips that hold the air spring and connector together. I fortunately have a pretty mechanically minded friend who did most of the work w/ me just handing a hand here and there and he finagled the piece back on somehow. I'd recommend buying a pair of the clips just in case. Either than that, the whole process for swapping out the parts was just under an hour for those completely unfamiliar.
Thanks again for the awesomely done writeup! I wish I had the shocks handy too but that's for another time I guess.
'99 5.28iT [build date 01/99]
'88 3.25i Convertible [build date 11/87] - SOLD
I have a 06/1999 prod 528i wagon and the driver side sags at night. So took it to my local indy and along with an oil leak they quoted me $7200 to fix. After some shock I am definitely a DIY now! Anyway, took a look at the part # as mlue suggested and found that my driver and passenger side have two non-sequential numbers which I thought mighty strange. So I went to eEuroparts.com and sure enough I have on the driver side part # 3712109581 (which is the sport suspension) and on the passenger side part # 37121094614 (which is not sport suspension). WTF, why would my vehicle have that and when I go to replace will it mess with the computer if I replace the passenger side with the correct part # 3712109582?
Finally, my ride is very harsh and I know I have to replace bushings, control arms, etc (might just do everything). Anyone think that me riding on new air springs with old bushings for a few months will be bad for the new parts? Reason I'm asking is b/c I just moved from FL to TX and am in an apt complex and don't know if I can replace the parts in the parking lot without getting hassled by the leasing company about working on the car in the parking lot...
You're not the first to have mismatched airsprings, two other guys who contacted me with the same issue, they changed back to the correct part and it didn't mess anything up, the compter simply stops the air pump when the proper height is reached. If you run the regular airspring with the lower sport suspension setup the regular airspring wil prolly sag and wear out earlier, so check to see what setup you have.
Riding around with new airsprings and old bushings won't do any harm, I'm in the same boat or getting there. Changing the airsprings is just a bit more work than changing a flat if anyone comes around tell 'em you have a flat tire.
Last edited by MLue1; 09-07-2011 at 01:58 AM. Reason: comment
Anyone got a link to a pictorial or writeup on how to change the airsuspension pump on a e39 530D touring? Some pictures will be good before I start working on it
Well the wife and daughter just got home and said the car was super rough in the back. I went out and all I hear is an air leak. The rear is lowered now and the pump keeps trying to fill the bag or bags. With a flashlight it's still too dark to see tonight. Disconnected the battery and will look in the morning. Besides the bags (which I'm sure is the problem) is there anything else I should look for as far as the leak?
Check the lines and fittings too, if you can't spot the leak on one of the bags. Is it both sides or just one?
No current BMWs.
1994 Roadmaster Wagon
1974 Alfa Romeo Berlina
Check the lines and fittings too, if you can't spot the leak on one of the bags. Is it both sides or just one?
No current BMWs.
1994 Roadmaster Wagon
1974 Alfa Romeo Berlina
The bag I replaced about 2 years ago is leaking! WTF? OEM part too. Does anyone know the warranty on these parts? Bought from getbmwparts.com
hmmm...not sure about warranty, but I'm thinking I just replaced mine < 3yrs ago so check to see if you have my issue of mismatched airsprings...Hopefully that's the cause and they won't need to be replaced as quickly this time!
Thx sf! Just ordered and received my springs along with new set caps since my increase heat button for driver side disintegrated and a new center holder (the slider part broke).
Last edited by daders; 10-26-2011 at 10:34 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
Just did the air springs on my '99 540iT tonight and it was really easy thanks to this writeup. Much easier than most suspension work I've done before. I was pretty sure that my air springs were leaking due to the error message on the console and the low stance of the car, particularly on the left side. I could hear the pump blowing air (glad I don't have to replace that!) but wasn't 100% sure it was the bag that was leaking until I got it out of the car. Now I am sure. It is badly cracked and fraying!
I'm very glad you had me check the part numbers in the car carefully before ordering.
If you have a wagon, the access process is slightly different....
My car is a 1999 528it Sport Touring Wagon.
- Lower your rear seats and remove the floor panel directly behind the rear seats. There is one 10mm bolt in the middle rear panel and you must remove the chrome tie down straps. Use a curved pick to remove the plastic cover after lifting up the chrome ring. You will then see two hex bolts that need to be removed. Non-wagons do not have tie downs, just three 10mm bolts.
- Once the cover is removed you can use a flashlight to see the part number of the spring. Sport springs are: 37-12-1-095-81 left , and 82 for right. Check closely whether you have sport or regular springs.
The picture with the rubber ball demonstrates how to hold the air spring in place if you are installing it by yourself. Place the ball in and install clips from above, remove ball, raise control arm to seat and install nut on bottom.
Last edited by Chazmo528; 01-08-2012 at 01:01 PM. Reason: add text
Thank you for these most excellent instructions!
I replaced the right Air Spring today. It took me around an hour (with many visits to the ipad to double check instructions) and I am NOT a very experienced mechanic. As others have mentioned, the most difficult part was removing the little plastic covers for the chrome tie-downs...
I do have one question: The 13mm bolt on the bottom of the air spring seemed to hit a hard stop when I screwed it in. I could finger tighten it all the way, but once it hit this stop, there was no tightening it anymore with the wrench either (I only applied mild force due to the warnings listed about over-tightening). Did anyone else experience this? After the bolt was tight, I was still able to wiggle the bottom of the air spring a little. Not a lot, but enough to where it definitely wasn't held down tight by the bolt. Is this normal? I assume once the air spring inflates, everything becomes nice and tight and that the bolt really only is there to prevent the air spring from bouncing out of its "holder"?
Thanks,
\ Henrik
Yes the bolt just retains and prevents the spring from coming out of the holder, after tightening it can move around a bit.
I've replaced the air springs and the rear carrier bushings (aka subframe bushings).
Here is a reference pic for the black plastic encapsulated locking clip in the brass housing, which affixes to the top of the air springs. After releasing the air pressure, be VERY careful pinching these black plastic tabs together to release the brass junction from the air spring.
They can and do break.
I broke one and had to purchase a new air reservoir (tank) with hose and junction attached and install from underneath after removing an axle half-shaft and unbolting the differential and other stuff that was in the way.
Cheers.
Love the timing of this post! Got to attack the same challenge this week. Great write up.
E39 M5, E39 SC Touring, F10
"Beating My Wallet" but loving it!
You can't just buy the black plastic clip from the dealer.
To buy a black plastic clip in the brass junction, you need to purchase the attached black plastic air hose and reservoir. The Hack Mechanic columnist in Roundel and I tried to trace the MFg. back through BMW and source just the clip ... no luck.
#14 is the small brass screw in connection (for colored air hoses), not the brass junction and clip.
#4 is the Black plastic air pipe from the reservoir to the tank and brass junction. I was not able to purchases separately as dealer said was not available.
To get the the black plastic clip in the brass junction under # 14 in the picture ... you need to purchase a complete #5. (all pre-assembled).
If you try to install #4 with attached brass junction from another air reservoir (wrecking yard) ... it will leak. Already went down that road trying to save money. The connection of #4 to the reservoir tank and brass junction is heat formed / shrunk plastic. Didn't reseal when connected to in-car reservoir.
Go ahead and give it a try ... perhaps you'll have more success than we did.
Last edited by jase007; 03-13-2012 at 10:02 AM.
good write up on suspension for touring
Thanks for the great writeup. Basically if you can change a tire, it doesn't take much more effort to do this.
I found it easiest to install the top of the new air spring first by basically bear hugging the rear door jamb with one hand on the shock and the other sliding the clips on.
The only real issue I had was after I installed the first air spring, the only way I could get the compressor to come on was to start the car. For the second air spring, the compressor kicked on as soon as I reconnected the battery. I'm not sure what the criteria are for the compressor to come on (open door, key turned, etc.), but at first I thought I had somehow broken something else, but all seems well for now.
Is it just looks like or new springs are longer ? old one without folding rubber looks like it is the same length as new one with folded rubber?
My SLS light has not reset 1 week after full suspension overhaul. I have heard the pump run, and it is normal height. I will probably need to get it scanned.
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