Since some questions came up recently about the Koni Yellow shocks and struts and this was my project last week, I figured I would take some photos along the way and post them here for reference.
As a start the car has to be raised off the ground. Since I was replacing the brakes and the brake lines at the same time as I was working on the suspension I placed the car on jack stands. You could just raise the front, support it with jack stands, and replace the suspension before you move to the back wheels. Just raising the left or right side at the front won’t work as you will need to move the steering during the removal and installation process.
Elevate the front a bit; jack goes under; lift; support and remove wheels.
Now the fun part:
In order to remove the front suspension you will need to support the side you are working on with a jack where the front control arm meets the wheel hub.
Next, remove the brake line and the sensor wire from the strut housing guides:
Remove the self locking nut from the sway bar end link that attaches to the strut housing. Remove the self locking nut from the camber correcting bolt (highest arrow on photo) and the two bottom bolts that attach the front shock/strut housing to the wheel hub. Now you can grab the brake disk with one hand and by rocking it back and forth you should be able to slide out the camber correcting bolt.
Now that the wheel hub is loose it will need to be supported.
Once you have the bottom of the strut freed up, remove the three self locking nuts on the strut tower while holding the strut assembly by the spring not to fall and cause damage.
Strut is out:
Now the strut disassembly:
Compress the spring with the appropriate tool and remove the nut from the top of the assembly. Start removing parts.
At this point you will need to turn the strut housing up side down and find the middle of the housing. Center punch on your mark and drill a small hole in the middle of the housing. Please wear eye protection as the pressurized gas will escape when the hole is made.
Drain out the oil from the strut housing (moving the shaft up and down a few times pumps out the oil) and tape off the new hole.
Rotate the strut housing back around and measure 25mm (approximately 1 inch) from the top of the housing and mark it. This is where you will need to cut in order to remove the guts.
Rotate the housing as you make cuts not to have to cut through the shaft. Here is what the housing looks like after the cut, some grinding and de-burring:
Rotate the housing back around one more time. You will need to drill a 14mm hole at the bottom of the housing where you originally drilled the hole to drain out the oil. My largest drill bit was a 1/2 inch one and I just reamed out a little more of the metal to ensure that the bolt that came in the Koni kit will fit. After some primer and paint on both ends:
After the paint has dried the reassembly can start. Slide-in the strut insert. The insert has a tight fit with the housing and I had to slam the bottom of the strut housing against the vise to get the insert to move down where it needed to be. Do not hammer or hit the insert!!!
The insert in its final position:
Insert the bolt at the bottom of the housing that came with the kit and torque to 55 ft.lbs.
Install the rubber boot that came in the kit.
Slide on the white plastic washer that came in the kit. Reassemble spring, pads, bump stop, dust collar, spring hat, and strut mounts. (I replaced most of the parts with new ones.) Quote from Das Borgen:"May I suggest taking the time to grease up your strut bearing with bearing grease while they're apart
may I suggest taking the time to grease up your strut bearing with bearing grease while they're apart"
The strut housing goes back in the car the same way it came out. The self locking nuts are designed for one time use ONLY. Replace them with new ones. I have also replaced the camber correcting bolt and the bottom bolts that attach the strut housing to the wheel hub in order to avoid unpleasant surprises in the future.
The strut installed:
The adjustment tool for the Koni struts won't fit due to clearance issues, but there are other tools one can use.
Last edited by N248; 03-22-2011 at 08:47 PM.
great write up. I made a similar write up for the DIY section. good job though, you're pics are a little clearer than mine.
'98 M3 5spd - '03 540it 6spd M-Sport
great DIY
goes well with this video I always refer to people when they ask how to do it
[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzNZCnUYtzo[/ame]
Thanks.
Yes it is a very good video, I am just not a fan of lets step on the spring and take an impact wrench to the strut assembly. There is a more elegant way to working on a car...
Last edited by N248; 03-22-2011 at 01:37 PM.
^
fair enough
may I suggest taking the time to grease up your strut bearing with bearing grease while they're apart
-Rich-
Nice job! I just linked this DIY in the E36 M3 Suspension Guide.
Das,
That was the old strut bearing which got thrown away, but you are correct I forgot to mention packing the bearing for re-assembly. Nice catch. I read through the post three times before I submitted it and still missed it. I bet I forgot something else as well...
Joenationwide,
Thanks.
QtheGenius,
Sorry, I somehow missed your DIY guide.
Last edited by N248; 03-22-2011 at 02:54 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
Dang those northern vendors are harsh! Bottom of the strut housing is getting rough.
Nice DIY!
GREAT DIY! Should be Stickied!
Just to be picky
2.5mm is not an inch, LOL..
95 M3/2 S52 OBD1
Aim - DontRevMe
1 inch = 25.4 millimeters
Wow those struts remind me of when I lived in Ohio.
I love Koni's, they used to be so expensive years ago that only someone with deep pockets could afford them. Pricing now is reasonable.
What setting did you put your struts at and why?
Curious as to how much dampening you set up.
Nice job...
2.5mm is not an inch, LOL..
LOL. Writing these things is harder than I thought. I was thinking 2.5cm = 25mm, but since I can't read my wife's mind… I guess I can’t expect you guys to read mine either.
good writeup - thats exactly what it took - seeing how I just did it a week ago or so too.
I found the sachs replacement front strut housings had a bump that made installing the drop-in a lot more effort (and filing that far down is a PITA.)
your front housings are awfully rusted, - I would have brushed that off and hit the bottoms with a bit of primer to stop the cancer.
personally i'm a big fan of the air gun to remove the spring - it's SO much easier than renting the spring compressor, using them, & returning them.
Tongboy,
Thanks for the comments. I am not sure that there is much help for my strut housings. If I am not able to source replacements they will have to come off for a complete cleaning and re-paint, but I am hopping to just replace them instead.
Also make sure to add RSM reinforcement plates and new RSM's if the car doesn't have them already
Great write up.
Soooo wheres the best place to buy these inserts???
Does this work in nonM's aswell? I'd assume so? If so I'm goin to grab my old ones from my 325 and rebuild them...
I don't think so....the non-M has a smaller ID (inner diameter) so the insert won't fit...according to a source I once heard
but I could be wrong
it's worth coring what you have and measure the ID.......If you need M3 struts, I have a pair I can sell you...one is blown so they're perfect for Konis
-Rich-
This is only needed on M3 because of the sway bar link.
You should look inside the housing and file down the bumps from the welding of the spring perch to the housing also. Do this because some bumps are too large to allow the insert to fit in properly.
http://www.tirerack.com/suspension/s...7&autoModClar=
I presume these are the guys.
Last edited by Skunk; 01-27-2012 at 08:26 PM. Reason: Automerged Doublepost
Sorry to bump an old thread, but do you have a parts list with numbers of the one-time use fasteners you replaced? Or anything else that should be replaced like bearings & mounts?
No need to compress the front spring on the E36. Just stand on the spring with it laying flat on the ground, and hit it with an impact gun. It will shoot the strut a few inches from the top hat when the nut lets go. These struts do not have a lot of preload like a lot of other cars I have worked on.
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I found this place for a little cheaper than tire rack. ordered mine and had them in a few days
http://www.kermatdi.com/servlet/StoreFront
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