BMW F2x F3x Springs and Shocks Installation (RWD & xDrive)
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- čas přidán 5. 08. 2024
- This guide will show you how to swap the springs and dampers on RWD and xDrive F2x and F3x vehicles. I have my own preferred method for xDrive vehicles that differs a bit from BMW's offical method, but is much easier. Additionally the method for the front struts varies a bit from xDrive, but the rear method is the same between them.
***For those using the "BMW xDrive method" (which sucks IMO) I forgot to include reinstalling the front drive axle back into the knuckle, which would occur at time 15:59. Make sure the teeth of the axle are engaged to the hub properly (turn the axle by hand to feel the teeth slotting in), and then install the collar bolt. You won't be able to torque the collar bolt fully unless stepping on the brake, so just wait till the wheel is on and the car is lowered to torque it to 210 Nm / 155 ft-lbs.
Index:
0:00 Intro
0:14 Removing covers in the engine bay
1:30 Loosening/removing top mount hardware
3:43 BMW xDrive method Removing the front axle collar bolt
5:07 Raising the car
5:13 Disconnecting front wheel well components
8:39 Dropping the front knuckle
9:01 Removing the strut assembly
10:46 Front strut assembly disassembly
12:22 Front strut assembly reassembly
15:06 Installing the front strut assembly into the car
16:59 Reinstalling front wheel well components
19:43 Disconnecting rear wheel well components
20:36 Disconnecting rear camber arm hardware
21:59 Rear damper removal
22:15 Rear spring removal, and new spring installation
22:52 Rear damper assembly disassembly
24:23 Rear damper assembly reassembly
26:06 Installing the rear damper assembly into the car
26:29 Rear camber arm to wheel carrier assembly
27:31 Rear camber arm hardware torquing
28:11 Rear wheel well components installation
28:34 Wheels installation
28:51 Torquing top mount hardware
29:51 Installing engine bay covers
30:33 Closing remarks
*Affiliated Links
-Pass-through Socket Set: amzn.to/3aqp901
-18mm Strut Nut Socket: amzn.to/3dotjah
or Strut Nut Socket Set: amzn.to/2J77AWH
-Strut Knuckle Spreader Tool: amzn.to/3bixH99
-17mm Hex Socket (for Collar Bolt): amzn.to/39fHnjl
-Long Torx Socket Set: amzn.to/33KPHX1
-Crow's Foot Wrench Set: amzn.to/2wnFgN6
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DISCLOSURE:
Some of the product links on this page are Amazon affiliated so I earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support! - Auta a dopravní prostředky
There's a reason this video is used as reference on so many forums - this gave me the confidence to do this job myself and I'm glad I did! Rear suspension fitted today, front tomorrow! Thank you for making this video, I'm sure it took you a lot longer to do the job whilst getting all the video shots 👍
Congrats on doing it yourself! Enabling others is exactly why I make these.
@@FaRKle0079 follow up - just got finished on the fronts. Took me the best part of 4 hours... But its done. A couple of points for others - buy some decent spring compressors, trying it with cheap ones took a while and felt sketchy. Also, the counter holding whilst using the torque wrench wasn't necessary for me once you tighten it enough with a ratchet, made it easier and didn't have to use crows foot and open socket. Also note that if you installed bilsteins, the new nut on the top of the front damper will be 19mm instead of 18mm on the video, so don't buy a 18mm open sided socket like me.. Thanks!
@@IggyBam Congrats!
@@FaRKle0079 appreciate your guidance, i will change my oem edc front shocks to oe bilstein b4 edc shocks in one week on my f36 due to leaking. I am not changing shocks first time but on bmw first time. Really helpful to see all specs and tricky points and the tools that i need to add my inventory would i need for the job. I wonder would i need to take the headlight leveling sensor if i use your method please? My car is rwd, thanks.
Thank you for making this video.
I watched it a few times and then changed all the suspension on my M140i on my driveway.
Seeing the tools I would need was dead handy too.
Wow! Excellent and detailed tutorial. This has given me the confidence that I could fit these to my M140i rather than pay a garage. Brilliant work, thanks 👌
Thanks for this exceptionally detailed video. Your decision to flow through and provide both methods in a logical flow instead of splitting into two videos made it easy to compare the methods and validate your suggested way. I used this video this weekend to help a friend swap his front struts and springs on a 2015 xdrive
Fantastic walk through…thank you! I used the video to install Eibach’s and Koni Yellows this past weekend and this video was a HUGE help. Also, the tool list was awesome to prepare ahead of time for someone who is not a mechanic with limited tools.
Congrats on the new setup! Try starting those Konis at full soft and slowly raising the rebound damping from there. You probably wont have to go too far from soft to find the optimal point.
Dude, thank you. I actually feel like I can do this instead of paying the stealership $3600 to do JUST my fronts.
Thank you for your detailed video and explaining your "preferred" way vs the "bmw" way, it looks a lot easier than I'd actually thought it was!!
Thank you for the tutorial. It was very thorough and helped me replace the bump stops in the rear dampers.
so glad you included your method which circumvents removal of the axle bolts! I just did the thrust arms with monoball upgrade on my f31 xdrive and noticed my front shocks leaking a bit, now I can procure parts without getting yet another set of those bolts! haha
Invaluable walk through thanks. Nice step by step method with a calm delivery, very nice. I’m off for a drive 😅
Thanks Farkle!!! Just got done installing Koni Yellows with Eibach springs on my 340i. Your video was the best I've found and it helped tremendously.
Glad it helped!
Thanks for the great tutorial... Saves a lot of time and avoids extra work with the half shaft!
Yup, and you don't have to stress about getting a new collar bolt, or worrying you didn't mate your axle to hub properly either!
Very good and informative video. I benefited from it when I was going to do the same job. .... but, I see in this video, like many others the tip to use an impact gun to remove and install end links. As a former car mechanic and today an aviation technician, I get shivers when I hear it again and again. These joints are not designed to spin. They will not fall apart, but their service life will be shortened. The method you use (removing front end link) on your M2 is the one referred to by the manufacturers. Felt I wanted to write it to you as you seem to be serious about doing the right thing in your videos. Keep up the good work 👍.
DUDE -- THANKS for everything. Your vid saved me a lot of agony doing my rear shocks today. Being prepared helped immensely!
Congrats on getting your new shocks in!
Best tutorial I found. Took me 10 hours because of missing tools, broken bits, and just random things lol. If I did it again it would probably take me about 3.5-4 hours.
Excellent video! A great help when swapping the springs on my F21 M140i. Many thanks from the UK 🙂
Glad you found it helpful!
The best repair video i've ever seen. Thumbs up!!!
Thank you! You made an excelent tutorial. Really came in handy for me during installing B6 on M140i XDrive.
Very clear - best video I've found on this topic
Thx for this tutorial. Yesterday I replaced the stock shocks with Bilstein B6. Peace of cake with this video! Also very handy with those torque specs.
Glad it helped you! Enjoy your new dampers!
Great tutorial - very detailed, and lots of helpful tips!
Brilliant tutorial, so much detail! Thanks for sharing
Wow, great tutorial, Andrew!
Thank you very much. This is the best video on the topic I've come across so far!!! Also applies specifically to my own car. Once again - thanks a lot!
Excellent video. Best described and demonstrated video by far. Look forward to viewing your tutorials!
Perfect level of detail and explanation
I love how are proper and even torquing the swaybar endlink :) I also try to torque everything correctly, really easy to get the correct information for BMWs
Outstanding video. Well done for getting so much detail in there.
Thanks!
Glad I found your tutorial, great work! Having trouble finding a 18mm 'Difficult Access' socket. Common sizes are 17mm or 19mm, but no 18mm.
Hi from across the pond. Great video! I’d already installed B16s on my F30 (wish I’d used this tutorial when I did it🙄) anyway, it’s such a transformation over standard. I used it this time as I needed new top mounts and needed reminding of the steps! Your videos are so good, I know this is old and you’ve probably upgraded since but even so, keep up the great work.
Recently replaced my sway bar using your video too 👍👍
Cheers uk Dave
Thanks Dave! Glad the content is still helpful!
Thank you for this great detailed video, it’s much appreciated! 👍
This video was very helpful. The only problem i had was torquing to spec the shock mount to the shock without a pass through torque wrench. I had to wing it. Thank you
Thanks for your thorough tutorial.
Thanks for this video! By far, this is the most detailed instructions I can find on youtube! I followed your steps to replace bilstein b6 struts and shocks on my 2015 435i xDrive Gran Coupe. However, I want to point out 2 things: 1. Your xDrive way does not work for me, I have to go with BMW way, my rotor simply won't drop from the strut. 2. I bought the crow foot tool, but later found out it does not fit the pass through socket. I was quite frustrated as I can't torque to spec. Then I later found out, you can just use through socket and center hold to get it tight enough, then with tension on the thread, you can use normal socket and torque wrench and torque it to spec without center hold. No crow foot needed. I hope this helps someone!
Broooo, I was just wondering how to do this and if that would work! Thanks!
2017 440i Gran Coupe RWD here. Got the strut off the steering knuckle with foot pressure, but couldn't get it to drop low enough when putting the new strut (Bilstein B6 Damptronic) in. Also didn't have enough room to rotate the strut and knuckle in through the fender opening. Finally disconnected the ball joint on the LCA and that let the steering knuckle drop enough. I do have the F8x control arms installed, so maybe that makes a difference.
Awesome explanation! Very thorough and well thought out!!
Thank you so much for this video! I was able to tackle replacing my front struts on my ‘13 F30 335i rwd. I have the electronic dampers so I had to remove the wheel wheel plastic covers to replace the old connection to strut with new ones from Bilsteins. Easy peezy!
‘Wheel wells’, not wheel wheels :)
Congrats! Glad it helped.
Hmm. I was wondering why the adapter cables were so long, and how to secure them. On my car, the stock cables would be long enough to work, and I don't understand why Bilstein wouldn't just supply a short adapter cable to connect the stock cable to the strut.
Perfectly described and demonstrated 👌
Thank you so much for this video. Great information and details.🙏🏼🙏🏼
Great video mate! Going to be putting Bilstein's on my M135i soon :)
Thanks much, was about to disassemble much more than I needed to when installing the front Street Comforts in the f31 tonight. Used your method but since I had new lemforder mounts for the KW, it really was as easy as loosen top mounts remove pinch bolt and sway bar link, then vibrate the knuckle off the strut, then tilt out at bottom to remove.
For future viewers note, 3 bolt strut mounts use a larger bolt than featured here 15mm iirc, but the lemforder 3 bolt replacements from ECS use the same smaller shanked bolts the 5 bolts do. Luckily I bought the complete set with gaskets bolts etc. suggest you do the same!
Never knew crow's feet needed to be at 90°. Thanks for that!
Great video! Very informative!
Awesome tutorial... Thank You :)
FYI, I used 5/8" spark plug instead of the the 16mm pass though socket for the sway bar link end nut removal. and it is perfect for using crowfoot socket to tight up torque.
This is amazing, I was really struggling to get the rear camber bolts off though and ended up giving up. Might give it another go with some penetrating oil to see if that loosens them.
Also noticed I had some slightly different bolts on my euro F30 328.
thank you for this how to guide
Great video. Well done!
thanks bro, great guide.
This is just fabulous
Superb video I need to replace the suspension boots/ gaiters. So this in invaluable to me. 😊
I'm thinking of changing renewing the shock absorbers and springs after having a look at them since I'll have everything off to do the boots. I have recently fitted a towbar to tow a caravan possibly once every 5 weeks. Do I have to upgrade springs on the rear. Not really wanting to lower the car want like for like springs.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.
Did today on my M140i. Great tutorial. One thing I’d recommend people do is get a impact gun (400nm did me).
Great job. Much appreciated.
Great video!
Very useful video! there are two things I'd like to add counterholds should not be spun, spin the nuts. 2nd some of the bolts need to be torqued but also adder 90° of rotation. You got all the torques right bit not mention about the degrees... on newtis you can look that up.
This is one of the best DIY BMW tutorials I've seen in years. Very informative and your method of swapping the struts on X drive is so much better! Thanks a lot!
thank you very much for doing this
thank you for the good tutorial. I am much better prepared to start this job myself.
Very Nice video 👍👍👍
@FaRKle0079 Excellent detailed DIY! I’ll be following this guide when installing B6 Damptronics on my 440i RWD next week. Thanks 👍
Thanks and congrats on the new dampers!
FaRKle0079 Would it be ok to reuse the front top strut mounts as the vehicle has cover 50k miles or replace with new?
@@mickl6867 The top mounts are probably fine. What would degrade in them is the rubber encapsulating the part where the damper piston mounts to the top mount and the plastic thrust bearing on the underside. Typically it's the thrust bearing that gives out first due to dirt/contamination getting in there. If that doesn't spin well, then I'd get a new assembly. I had my top mounts for like 60k mi before swapping to camber plates and both the rubber and thrust bearings were fine.
Very informative thanks for sharing
You the man FaRKle !!
Thanks for this video
Superb!
Thank you for the video! Very detailed. I have a question though. How far does the new front strut go into the knuckle? It looks to me you can push it as far as you want in the knuckle? There is no stop for it?
Good job 👏
These videos NEVER mention it, but when working on suspension components, keep a can of PB Blaster handy and soak everything you can the day before in penetrating oil. It'll make disassembly an order of magnitude easier, especially if you live in the rust belt.
Guys there is a good reason to get the nicer spring compressor.. trust me. I’m in the process of wrestling with the cheap one and its burning hours and a total pain
Pro detail explain 👍🏽👍🏽👌🏽
Excellent tutorial, thanks for sharing~ Is the suspension set in the video M performance spring + bilstein b6? According to your theory, bilstein b6 is so overdamped for stock springs or even eibach pro kit springs for f3x platform, so will the bilstein B6/B8 still overdamped if paired with M performance springs? I am considering this spring shock combo recently😁
Fantastic!!! Thank you so much !! I am still hesitating doing the B6 installation myself on my F20.. Also i have been told to buy new bump stoppers at the front and rear + shock absorber bellows (to prevent dust - whatever you call it - im french haha). What do you guys think ? I cant just use the old ones ? Plus this video says we dont need bump stoppers for front absorber as its integrated in the damper.
Brilliant!
Legend
Great work! Which bilstein shocks and springs are these? Cheers
Hi just want to ask for your feedback on the ride experience with your Bilstein B6 if you don’t mind. I am thinking of upgrading to Bilstein B6 Damptronic for my 2018 F36 xDrive and not sure if this upgrade would totally compromise the ride quality. Thank in advance and hoping for your feedback
Hey, thanks for the tips this DIY video is great. Would you happen to know if the F34 GT is the same?
❤ thank you
Top merci , je me posais quelques questions pour le remplacement des ressorts courts sur mon Xdrive , me voila rassuré ! merci
Love the video! Just ordered b8 shocks and H & R springs will definitely be using this when I go to install them. Will adjustable/aftermarket end links be needed for the setup I ordered? If so do you have any recommendations and what length? Thanks!
You won't "need" adjustable end links, but they're nice to have. I like the KC Design ones I have, but I'd say more importantly is to look for ones with boots over the ball joints if you drive the car in dirty/wet conditions.
A full aligment is essential afterwards too
@FaRkLe0079 great DIY video. noticed in beginning you had edc. i would like to ask, did the your new strut/ shocks come with edc plug in location?
I coded EDC out and disconnected the module. My Fat Cat Motorsports suspension setup is passive. I don't miss EDC.
Wonderful video! I found my front left adaptive damper leaking, so was not looking forward to parts + labor from a garage on this one; will do it myself!
One thing I noticed, TIS recommends replacing the hardware and doing the torque values like you mentioned + 90* - any reason to reuse old components?
If you're only going to do this once, it's not much to replace a lot of the fasteners. If you constantly tinker, and play with adjustments, then that adds a decent amount of cost and logistics making sure you have a whole set every time you want to go in there.
What happens if you install the spring upside down respect the label?
Would you share where you got torque specs from? Im working in an f25 and cant find torque specs anywhere.
Great Vid. I didn't realize you could swap out the adaptive shocks and replace it with standard shocks. What did you use to code out the EDC?
I used ESYS to code out EDC.
Hello my friend hey I was helping my buddy to install this shocks on he's 20 m2c everything fit until we when to reinstall the swaybar link they didt line up with the shock look like the ear on the shock was to far up so the link was to short even with the shock not compress any idea on what we missed
Which brand did you use for the spring compressor? I've seen a few brands identical to the one you used but some reports of poorly cast clamps cracking and causing the spring to let go make me wonder if I should be cautious on brand. Thanks
The big spring compressor I have was a no-brand one I got off of eBay. I also have the two smaller individual clamps that are Neiko.
May I ask what you did with the vertical speed sensor please Farkle? I know you coded out EDC but that strut sensor is needed right?
I left those sensors on the EDC struts I took out and tucked the wires for them behind the liner just like the ones going to the solenoid valves. Passive struts don't have the, vertical speed sensors so when you code EDC out the car won't look for them anymore.
Nice video, I have a question about the 18mm pass-through with 6mm counterhold. I saw my mechanic installed my new strut and coil spring without the 6mm counterhold. He just use a socket wrench to tie up the strut and mount. Does that cause strut and mount tie-up not properly? Thank you for your answer.
If he was able to hold the strut shaft securely some other way, he might not have needed the 6mm hex counter hold.
Would the car throw any codes or faults if the new Bilsteins do not have EDC? I am new to BMW’s and I’m having a difficult time finding the proper replacement struts for my RWD 435i. I would prefer to purchase struts without EDC since they’re more readily available, but I’m afraid to run into larger problems.
Amazing Tutorial!
Yes, unfortunately you'll get errors if you disconnect your EDC dampers. That said it's possible to program/code the EDC system off in your car to allow you to run regular non-EDC dampers just fine. This is what I did for my car and I offer that service (can be done remotely as long as you have a windows laptop with ethernet port and an obd2 to ethernet cable).
What's the rachet you are using please?
Thank you for this, it is very detailed. I want to upgrade my suspension, i've got 2017 340i, i knew the damper is the issue, but EDC makes upgrade option very limited. I probably will go BILSTEIN B6 Dampertonic, should I go Spring first? I want ACS springs. But I do want to keep the standard ride height.I am so confused. Please share some experience with me. I saw you did a lot of F30 suspension upgrades.
For coilovers you can go to non EDC versions. You'll either have to use a EDC delete/blank off kit, or disconnect the EDC module in the trunk and code out EDC from the car.
If you want to go to stiffer springs but don't want to lower the height you'll have to look at getting springs from other models, like F8x, F33, or F34. Some of those springs should allow you to maintain your current height but be stiffer. You'll need to find someone with the special knowledge of those spring rates and lengths though.
@@FaRKle0079 Thanks for the advise, I will ask few local shop see if they can coding my BMW, i am in Australia. If i can non EDC suspension,option will be a lot more to choose from. Yeah I probably should look for those springs if I really want to keep the ride height.
Thank you so much, My BMW F20 M135i if unplug Accelerometer and Headlight level sensors , Can I drive fast in track ? Because I'm worried that my BMW sometimes limited speed on some cue.
I would like to install Blisten 14
Great video. So can you remove the front strut on a rwd using your xdrive way by lowering the knuckle and removing the strut out sideways and removing it bottom end first? It sounds easier than the the rwd way and pulling the top end out first?
Probably not. The strut is longer on the bottom and extends further through the knuckle. This requires the knuckle to drop further down to clear it when trying it that way. To make it easier for yourself only loosen the strut to top mount nut as much as needed so you can continue to disassemble it once the strut is out. That way the assembly stays as compact as possible and is easier to tilt out of the wheel well.
FaRKle0079 thanks for replying. Just wanted to know if rwd cars were the same or not. I read it’s tricky to get the struts out in rwd cars and some people compress the spring before removing the strut from the car if they can get their compressors to fit as there isn’t much room.
Is it possbile to change the spring/coil only without removing the strut from the knuckle? In other words, can it tilt out enough from the wheel-well to compress the coil and swap? Thanks!
For RWD yes (and this is how I recommend you do it). For xDrive it won't work due to the drive shaft.
Are the strut mount M8 bolts reusable? I read they are non-reusable because they stretch when tightened and do not provide the same clamping force once untightened.
Yeah you can re-use those, just don't add the additional 90deg angle after the fastening torque.
Awesome tutorial! One question, why is it okay to torque the rear bolts while the car is in the air, but not the fronts?
The only things that need to get torqued "at ride height" are connections involving rubber bushings. In the front nothing being taken apart is a rubber bushing. In the rear though the lower damper to camber arm mount is a rubber bushing.
Tried this and had the hardest time putting the top hat back on the strut. Seemed like the autozone rental tool would just get in the way. Definitely a lack of skill but it was much more difficult than I originally thought.
Also are the bilstein b4's supposed to be physically longer than OEM?
OE shocks/struts vary in length depending on what kind of suspension the car came with. Bilstein only has one B4 shock (per either RWD or xDrive) to cover the whole range of OE suspensions, so it may be longer than your stock one.
Hi Farkle, quick question on your method vs the BMW xDrive method. When you lowered the knuckle off of the strut, how did you keep the whole knuckle, caliper, rotor assembly from pulling too hard on the CV shaft? I'm a bit concerned the intermediate shaft could be pulled far enough out of the inner CV joint, the needle bearing outer race could fall into the boot itself. Planning on doing this DIY for camber plates but have never done a suspension job before. If I lower the knuckle the minimal amount as shown in the video, no significant pull on the intermediate shaft/inner CV joint?
You're correct that if you lower the knuckle as I did in the video it doesn't pull on the CV joint enough to cause any harm. I usually only lower it as much as needed with a jack so I can control it. I have had one drop down to as low as it could before, and it wasn't an issue for the joint.
For camber plates install you might not need to remove the strut from the knuckle, and can just unbolt the strut from the top mount, lower the knuckle/strut/spring assembly on its own, and then slide the top mount/camber plate out/in around that from the wheel well.
@@FaRKle0079 Interesting idea. Do you know how much tension the spring puts on the top hat when the strut is full extended? I have the BMW sport springs on my car, not the performance springs. In your video you mention almost completely undoing the top hat bolt in an Xdrive car. Is there really so little tension on the assembly?
@@thecasualdiyer6729 there's some tension at full droop, but it's not that much. You can still compress the spring/top hat using both hands. But that shouldn't really matter because you have a jack under the knuckle and can control how fast the knuckle/strut raises/lowers.
Wow awesome job, I have a small question, let’s say hypothetically you need to replace the front struts would go OEM for 700$ or Bilstein B4 for 400$ ? Appreciate your feedback !
If the rear dampers stayed stock, then I'd look to use OEM dampers for the front. If I was changing all four, I might be more inclined to do the B4s.
As much as Bilstein says the B4 is a OE replacement, they use the exact same part number for every F2x/F3x, versus BMW having different PNs (and damping curves) for every individual model.
Hey, I also have 18mm for shock to rear camber bolt like you, but on all F2x/F3x real oem, it says it’s e-torx? I can’t find 18mm hex on realoem for any car F2x/F3x
BMW will use whatever bolt head type they have in stock that day, so it could be 6pt or E-Torx for some of the bolts. The main thing that matters is the thread size, length, and grade, and those will be common between the two head types.
if RWD would you suggest doing it your way rather than pull the knuckle and stut down together?