Please Help Me Install Shocks/Springs?

[FrustratedMunky]

Hey guys,

I have no work on Saturday, July 23. I was wondering if anyone, or if any people want to help me out with installing my shocks and springs? If you need food, drinks, whatever, cash, it's all good, it'll be better than going to a mechanic for it. Let me know if you guys can help me out!

Also, I need a garage or somewhere as well to work on it... Unfortunately, I only have a outdoor "car hold" in East Van. Garage would probably be better since the weather is so messed up lately.

I can get a spring compressor and the basic tools, I don't know what exactly is needed.

Anyways, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

Chad

PS. As of now, I have no work. Sometimes, work can be a ***** and call me in so I don't know if this will be 100% for sure.

[Drake]

Roughly where in Vancouver are you?

[FrustratedMunky]

35th and Knight

[e30_m3]

i won't be back until the 24th, so if you don't end up doing it on saturday i can do it sometime during the week

[FrustratedMunky]

Okay, if I don't get enough of a response for Saturday, I'll let you know. Thanks :)

Also, are all shocks/springs jobs pretty much the same for all cars? IE. Honda to BMW? My cousin's friend did his Civic and he said he could do it for me for cheap, but I don't know if it's exactly the same job for japanese imports.

How long should I expect to take for a first timer, two people if I do the job with my dad (has pretty good experience with auto mechanics)?

[Drake]

Okay, if I don't get enough of a response for Saturday, I'll let you know. Thanks :)

Also, are all shocks/springs jobs pretty much the same for all cars? IE. Honda to BMW? My cousin's friend did his Civic and he said he could do it for me for cheap, but I don't know if it's exactly the same job for japanese imports.

How long should I expect to take for a first timer, two people if I do the job with my dad (has pretty good experience with auto mechanics)?

BAck'll take about an hour
Front about 4 times that

[FrustratedMunky]

Yeah, I was reading the step-by-step article on E30tech.com. I think my dad and I can handle the rears, but the fronts look like a real pain in the ass :(

[Drake]

Not too bad except for removing the tie rods and Control arms. There's a tool you can get at Princess Auto (and probably other places), that'll make it a cinch. It looks like a big plier with 2 prongs on one side and one on the other. I don't know how else to explain it. Can't seem to find a pic of it either. We spent at least an hour trying to pop these things out. Then went and got the tool, took about 3 minutes.

Also a pain is removing the nut on the tie rod, as the whole bolt will wanna spin. Just jack under the tie rod and this should help. I think it says that in the instructions online though.

A tip that isn't in the articles. An hour or so before you begin, spray some PB Blaster on the nuts and everything that'll be loosening. Also use some steel wool to remove any rust on the ends of the bolts stifcking out past the nuts. This'll both save the nuts and make your job of removing the nuts a heck of a lot easier.

Good luck

[FrustratedMunky]

Ah okay, thanks. I think I may give the rears a go, and drive it down to my mechanic or to my cousin's friend for the fronts if no one is available here. Thanks for the help :)

Honda and BMW springs/shocks jobs, are they pretty much the same?

[kowalski]

Not too bad except for removing the tie rods and Control arms. There's a tool you can get at Princess Auto (and probably other places), that'll make it a cinch. It looks like a big plier with 2 prongs on one side and one on the other. I don't know how else to explain it. Can't seem to find a pic of it either. We spent at least an hour trying to pop these things out. Then went and got the tool, took about 3 minutes.

Also a pain is removing the nut on the tie rod, as the whole bolt will wanna spin. Just jack under the tie rod and this should help. I think it says that in the instructions online though.

A tip that isn't in the articles. An hour or so before you begin, spray some PB Blaster on the nuts and everything that'll be loosening. Also use some steel wool to remove any rust on the ends of the bolts stifcking out past the nuts. This'll both save the nuts and make your job of removing the nuts a heck of a lot easier.

Good luck


are you talking about a pickle fork? if you use one of those you have to bee really gentle with the ball joint boots unless you want to replace those as well... usualy if you hit the head of the bolt with a hammer or the side of the controll arm the ball joint should just fall out. if your just doing springs and shocks why are you taking this all off? if you undo the front shock mount and get a spring compressor you can avoid all that work and do the fronts in about 45 min a side at a relaxing pace. if you have all the tools at your house i can help out... as i prefer not to take my tools places and i have no space to work on cars at my house except on the driveway.

[FrustratedMunky]

Woah, you just have to undo the front shock mount and compress the spring? Sounds a little easy to me :S LOL. I'll let you know, thanks! I have all the tools needed... I think... except for the spring compressor, which I can rent.

[Drake]

No I'm not referring to a picle fork. Here's what I'm talking about
http://www.international-auto.com/images/originals/tie_rod_remover.jpg

We banged away forever trying to get it all off, and this did it in a couple minutes.

As to just compressing the springs on the front, I'm pretty sure you need to take it all off, as you're doing both springs and shocks. We tried just compressing, but it wouldn't fit under the wheel well. Needed to remove CA/Tie Rod and drop the assembly. With this tool the job will be short, assuming nothing goes too wrong.

[edwinelisia]

i have tie rod remover if you need, i can lend it to ya ^ ^
just done my spring and shocks last week with many clunking sound that i cant determined where they from.
and i have tools as well if you need. springs compressor , pipe wrench etc.
my tie rod remover looks different from the pics.

[kowalski]

hmm, i got my springs and shocks out without removing the assembly.. probably was a little more finicky to put back in but still shorter in time. thats a nifty little thing there and at princess auto it was probably only like 5$:D

[FrustratedMunky]

Thanks for the help, guys.

I'll probably try and tackle the rears this Saturday with my dad, and see if I can somehow get the fronts done at a later date, whether it be by taking it to a mechanic, doing it myself or asking if some of you can help me out :)

That device sounds pretty handy. I can't really put things together in my head as to how I'm supposed to use it, but once I get underneath, I'll understand.

I'll keep you guys posted.

When installing bilsteins, no lube is used, correct? I read somewhere that it wears the shock faster. There must be some small sheet of instructions in the package anyways, but I haven't opened it up.

[Mike 91 318ic]

pick up a bentley manual, it shows you step by step.

M

[FrustratedMunky]

Yep, I got the haynes (not as good, but does the job). I'm probably going to follow the step by step on E30tech.

[Bimmer_Racer]

other sites if you're still wondering how to do it.

http://www.pelicanparts.com/BMW/techarticles/E30-Front_Suspen/E30-Front_Suspen.htm
http://www.bmwe30.net/cgi-bin/datacgi/database.cgi?file=articles&report=view&ID=00139&Section=05 - fron suspension tricks.
http://zoso.no-ip.org/318i-frontsuspension.html another front suspension site.

hope you found a good way to do it. oh and that tie rod tool that Drake was talking about (and showed) is quite essential even if you just rent it. pickle forks will tear the rubber boot around the tie rod, causing all the grease to come out, make a mess, in relatively short distance, they will fail. the other way that you can get them out is spray the tierod bolt with penetrating oil, put the nut back on the bottom a few threads (so that the bolt is just sitting below the top of the nut) and use a dead-blow hammer (sand-filled rubber mallet) to pound that sucker loose. the nut is merely there to protect your threads on the bolt and keeps the end of the bolt from mushrooming. i've used both methods, and can tell you that both work, but you're more likely to lose skin pounding the bolt with a hammer, and the tool does the job much faster... your call though.

Good luck.

Dan