1989 535iA 150K

Well after taking a look under the car for the first time I am convinced the previous owner did not deserve this car. the entire suspension/steering needed repair. So far I have replaced the Thrust arms, control arms, sway bar links(fr/rr) and tie rods.

Now I have noticed the tranny mounts looks like they have not been changed since the car left the showroom! I am changing those asap....

My question is, can the tranny mounts be changed without removing the exhaust?

Also, I need to upgrade the springs/shocks and I have settled on Sachs Performance kit. Does anyone else here have these on?

I have a 90' 535 and have changed both the tranny mounts and just installed the Sachs suspension kit.

I was able to change the transmission mounts without removing the exhaust, but mine is a manual and it looks like you have an automatic, so the room to work with might be a little different. To change my mounts I supported the transmission with a jack, removed the mounts and transmission crossmember. To get to the bolts on top of the transmission I had to get one of those gearwrench wrenches with a flexible head, but a $10 wrench beats having to remove the exhaust.

For the Sachs suspension kit determine what size nut the shocks currently installed on your car has. If its 19mm the strut inserts included in the kit have the 22mm size nut and you will need to get the later production strut bearings to accommodate the 22mm shaft of the new inserts. Additionally you will need to drill out or buy the other pieces used to mount the strut up front.

huh? the struts up front are inserts, not an entire replacement? i do not want to drill anything so what other pieces will I need? oh and as for the nut size, you are talking about the three on top in the engine bay or the one in the centre?

When I'm talking about nut size I am referring to the center nut. I'm calling the front struts inserts because they are separate from the front wheel hub. Go here for more info in suspension install. http://www.bmwe34.net/e34main/maintenance/suspension/front_shocks.htm

The parts that need to be resized are #9 in this picture
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=HD13&mospid=47408&btnr=31_0144&hg=31&fg=10

Then #5 and #3 in this picture need to be resized.
http://www.realoem.com/bmw/showparts.do?model=HD13&mospid=47408&btnr=31_0128&hg=31&fg=10

Hope this helps!

oh I see they are drop ins, sort of like my oil filter.....thanks dude. I have to get new bump stops, strut mounts, upper and lower spring pads anyway so i'll just get the right size to fit the new shocks.

For the correct part numbers just look up a 535 at www.realoem.com that was produced after 7/1990.