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DIY: 1998 BMW 528i COMPLETE FRONT SUSPENSION OVERHAUL

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#1 · (Edited)
1998 BMW 528i COMPLETE FRONT SUSPENSION OVERHAUL

I just did my ENTIRE FRONT END SUSPENSION-STEERING OVERHAUL and here is the DIY.
It is a Long Write-up! So get some Popcorn and Coke to get through it.

At 105K miles, here is my observation:
- The Thrust Arm: Bushings are long gone (may have been gone around 50K) with oil leaking out, rubber cracked; the BJ side is a bit loose but no play yet.
- The Control Arm: Bushings are still OK, the BJ side is a bit loose but no play yet. May have another 30-40K miles.
- Tierods: INNER and OUTER BJ a bit loose but no play yet. May have another 30-40K miles.
- OEM Struts (Sachs) are long gone with no resistance and oil leaking out the top seal. The Strut Guide (with built-in bearing): grease dried out, there is slight-moderate play in it. May have another 30-40K miles.
- The Sway Bar Rubber bushings: the hole is widened and loose.

Now with Brand New Suspension, car is nice and tight. I will have to wait to do the Rear Suspension later (No time right now with family and kids).

PARTS LIST:
I got 90% of my parts from EACTuning.com, excellent services/prices. They also know the E39 well, so if you get stuck with any technical stuff, call Jared or Mark at EACTuning.com.

* The Lemforder Thrust Arm comes with liquid-filled Boge bushing, which can leak after 30-40K. Best is to buy the Thrust Arm with Meyle HD already pressed in for you. The Meyle HD Bushing allows the Thrust Arm to last much longer like 100K or so. Only available at EacTuning dot com:
http://www.eactuning.com/e39-thrust-arms-with-hd-bushings-p-453.html

* For parts that EACTuning does not carry (such as Stabilizer rubber mountings, nuts/bolts), get them from your local BMW dealer or "Crown Auto" (a large dealership network in NC):
http://www.crownbmw.com/bmw-parts-specials.aspx

* The issue of re-using nuts/bolts: I use New nuts/bolts, but most BMW mechanics re-use the bolts, they simply change the nuts. If you go this way, note that the New Lemforder Items (Tierods, Thrust and Control Arms) come with the extra Nut in addition to the Ball Joint Nut! So the only thing you may need are the Pinch Bolts Nuts holding the strut in to steering knuckle: PN 33326760374.

ITEM..................................PN................Price/each.....Qty....Subtotal.......Comment
Bilstein HD Front Struts........VE3B406H1.........$167.08......x2......$334.16
Strut Mount.........................31336752735.......$43.18......x2.......$86.36
[Rubber Boot for Strut]......31331091868.........$2.35.......x2.......$4.70
(Bilstein had its own Rubber Boot and Internal Stopper, so no need to buy Rubber Boot for Strut if you use Bilstein)

Spring Pad UPPER...............31331091867.........$3.72........x2........$7.44
Spring Pad LOWER..............31331091864.........$3.54........x2........$7.08
Collar screw
M12X1,5X95-10.9...............31306779823.........................x2..............To get from dealer
Self-locking collar nut
M12X1,5-10 ZNS3...............33326760374.........................x2..............To get from dealer

LEFT Swing Support............31351095661..........$35.61.......x1......$35.61
RIGHT Swing Support.........31351095662..........$35.61.......x1......$35.61

Stabilizer rubber mounting...31351093108.........$20............x2........$40.........To get from dealer

Left tension strut (= Thrust Arm)
LEMFOERDER.....................31121141717..........$160.........x1.........$160.........From EACTuning.com only
Right tension strut (= Thrust Arm)
LEMFOERDER.....................31121141718..........$160.........x1.........$160.........From EACTuning.com only
(NOTE: These are Lemforder Thrust Arms with Meyle HD Bushing pressed in, only at EACuning.com)

Hex bolt with washer
M12X1,5X120...................31106769441...........................x2.........To get from dealer
Self-locking collar nut
M12X1,5-10 ZNS3.............33326760668..........................x4..........To get from dealer

Left Wishbone (= Control Arm)
LEMFOERDER...................31121094233.........$133.14.......x1.........$133.14
Right Wishbone (= Control Arm)
LEMFOERDER...................31121094234.........$133.28.......x1.........$133.28
Collar screw
M12X1,5X95-10.9............31306779823............................x2.........To get from dealer
(Control Arm Bolt same is the same PN as the Pinch Bolts for Steering Kuckle)

Tierod Left LEMFOERDER....32111094673.........$60.78........x1.........$60.78
Tierod Right LEMFOERDER...32111094674........$59.14........x1........$59.14
Rubber boot For Tierods.....32131092876.........$7.29.........x2.........$14.58
"Oetiker" Clamp.................32111137132.........$1.79.........x2........$3.58
"Oetiker" Clamp.................32131094100.........$2.30.........x2........$4.60

Options:
Front Wheel Bearing
(mfg = F-A-G).............31221093427.........$125.42............x2.........$250.84
Wheel Bearing Bolts.....31121093843............$2.25............x8...........$18.00
I did not replace the Front Bearings!


TOTAL APPROX.............................................................$1510 (including Bearings)
-----------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL TOOLS AND NOTES:

1. The 13/16" (= 21mm) Spark Plug Socket, plus Metric Allen Wrenches for counter-holding the bolts.



2. One 2-foot length of black cast iron piping $5 at Home Depot Hardware Store. This helps with the 3/8" ratchet to undo tough nuts/bolts.

3. Harbor Freight Ball Joint Removal Tool: PN 99849 ($18.00):
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=99849
This is a MUST! Don't even dream doing this job without this Ball Joint Removal Tool!
Remember to spray WD-40 (or similar lubricant) onto the Ball Joints and let it sit for 30 minutes before removing it.
Oil/Grease the BJ Tool a bit before using it. At this stage, you can dream about Bahamas vacation when tightening the BJ Tool (22-mm socket-ratchet with iron pipe) but you will hear a "Rude Awakening" when the BJ comes loose: a loud bang like a shotgun! So Ear plugs are very useful when you get to this stage! Or tape your ear with some masking tape etc.
The trick: Tighten in increments, let's say 4-5 moves at a time to allow the BJ to adjust to the force; stop and repeat in a few minutes. By the time you reach 110-120 Nm, you should get the loud bang! The BJ Tool will drop to the ground.

4. Strut Nut Socket.
- The Stock Sachs Strut Nut is 21 mm and the 13/16" (= 21mm) Spark Plug Socket works just fine.
- The Bilstein Strut Nut is 22 mm, so you have a few options:
a. From Speaking with local mechanics, they laughed at me when I mentioned I need 22 mm Socket with Hex Sides at the top for a wrench to fit. They all use Impact Air Tool set at the lowest setting to get about 60 Nm. They have done hundreds of shocks without problems.
b. Re-use the Stock Sachs 21mm Nut (it will fit the Bilstein), probably OK to re-use 21-mm stock Nut.
c. The special 22-mm Socket with a Hex Top (Like a spark plug socket) is expensive and difficult to find. What I did was: Get the Harbor Freight Oxygen Sensor Socket Tool: PN 95045 ($4.00):
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95045
The Oxygen Sensor Socket Tool is a bit "fat" and cannot be inserted into the Strut Guide to tighten the nut, just grind the socket a bit and you will be able to insert it.
I used a Belt Sander turn upside down and grind it down a bit. You can also use a Stone Wheel Bench Grinder as well. I made a nice tool for Bilstein Strut 22-mm Nut for only $4.00!

5. Liquid Paper: You wonder why right? Yes, use this (or any paint touchup brush) because there are many nuts/bolts and it is easy to forget which one has been torqued or not. At BMW factory, they use blue paint to mark a nut or bolt that has been properly torqued, so later at a glance they know the bolts/nuts have been torqued.

6. Wrenches: Get a complete set of metric anyway to qualify you as a Saturday mechanic......:)
Most Metric Wrench Set jumps here and there, missing one or 2 wrench sizes. Get a compete set, i.e. every single size from 8-mm all the way to 25-mm for your collection!
* LONG 13-mm. The 13-mm wrench is for the Sway Bar Bushing nut, which is in a very tight place on the passenger's side and you DO need a long wrench for extra leverage!
* You need a total of two (2) 18-mm wrench for the Thrust Arms. The additional 18-mm wrench is for the Thrust Arm, which is in a VERY TIGHT space (i.e., no space for socket); unless you remove the Plastic Housing next to it.
- A 16-mm thin bicycle wrench is very useful to hold the Sway Bar Endlink bolt while you undo the 16-mm nut. The standard 16-mm wrench is a bit 'fat' and can damage the endlink Rubber boot: don't ask me why but I made this mistake in my 1998 Volvo V70, the 16-mm wrench pused the boot too far out, I spent 45 minutes repairing the rubber boot = not funny!
- If you use a standard 16-mm wrench, then BE VERY CAREFUL not to damage the rubber boot! The 16-mm BICYCLE wrench makes this a breeze! It is $4-5 at local bicycle store, I use 'Park Tool' wrench (This is known as a 'CONE Wrench' in the bicycle world):
http://www.parktool.com/products/

7. The BIG Trick: Jack up BOTH Sides but work only on ONE Side at a time. Why? Because if you jack up only one side of the car and try to remove the end link from the sway bar, you will likely use the 4-letter word! Jacking up both sides makes the job MUCH easier.
Why work only one side at a time? Because you want to leave the other side alone as a reference in case you want to know how nuts/bolts are fitted, orientation etc.

8. From the Start, Undo all the nuts/bolts on both sides but STOP as soon as the nuts are flushed with the end of the bolts, Why? This loosens all the nuts but keep the components (tierods, thrust arms, control arms) in place. Also this allows space for spraying lubricants such as WD-40 into the Ball Joints. For Ball Joints Nuts: if you leave the nut flushed with the end of the Bolts, you now have extra place for the Ball Joint Tool to bite, and less likely to slip out (see pic later)!

9. Do this inside of your garage or out of place in case you don't finish the job in one day, you don't block traffic!

10. Note on BMW terminology: Go and look at let's say a 1998 Volvo V70 with standard A-arm: 2 bushings and one ball joint. BMW simply splits this A-Arm into two (2) separate parts, each with its own bushing and BJ and calls it "Thrust Arm (front part) and "Control Arm" (rear part). This split of the Ball Joints allows the Front Tires to move up and down in a more controlled manner (tires making more contact with the road under different situations) during turns ---> spirited driving ---> Ultimate Driving Machine!



11. Take special care not to damage any Rubber Boot. Nobody sells these Rubber Boots as separate items. If you damage any Rubber Boot, your only recourse is "Energy Suspension" brand aftermarket RUBBER BOOT part.

Another source for Strut DIY is:
http://www.beisansystems.com/procedures/front_struts_procedure.htm

-------------
PROCEDURES:

1. Raise and Support car on BOTH Sides but work on ONLY One Side at a time. Remove under car Plastic Shield. And support with Jackstands as shown. It is important to place Jackstands at the proper spot so it does not interfere with removing nuts/bolts later. Chock REAR Wheel. NOTE that I placed the tires under Front Jack Pad as 2nd line of defence in the extremely unlikely situation that the Jackstand fails. Your life is worth more than the Jackstand!



2. Get a container to store nuts/bolts because you can easily lose them. Make note of which nuts/bolts go where etc.

3. Use a Towel to protect paint work above wheel well! Removing the strut can damage paint work if not being careful!

4. Loosen all nuts and leave the nuts flushed with the end of the bolts, i.e. do not remove the nuts yet.

5. Now spray WD-40 on the Ball Joints (BJ) and let it penetrate the parts.

6. Remove Brake Caliper and hang it up using electrical wire:



7. Loosen the Strut TOP nut (21-mm for Sachs and 22-mm for Bilstein) but do NOT remove it. Use a 6-mm Allen Wrench to counterhold it (Trick: use an 8-mm socket and extension to hold the Allen wrench). As mentioned above, 21-mm Nut ---> Large Spark Plug Socket; 22-mm Nut ---> Use the modified Oxygen Sensor Socket (sanded thin a bit):



8. Remove Sway Bar End Links:



9. Remove Outer Tierod BJ:



10. To remove Strut, remove the three (3) 13-mm nuts on the wheel housing. Steps #8-9 are necessary because the steering knuckle must be dropped to remove the Strut. Also Loosening the Thrust/Control Arms Nuts (on the sub-frame side) allows the strut to drop easier because it is not held by the bushing!). Spray some WD-40 at Strut-Steering Knuckle interface. Loosen the Pinch Bolt. Then twist the Strut back and forth to work it loose from the Steering Knuckle:





11. Place a jack below the Steering Knuckle and slowly lower it to allow the Strut to come out. The clearance is very tight, so watch to prevent paint work damage!

12. Now STOP and spend a minute to observe the Strut layout (if this is OEM and has not been changed previously). I think the Spring TOP and BOTTOM are different, so don't mix it up. Mark the TOP of the Spring with Liquid Paper. The BOTTOM of the Spring is about 6 inches to the Right of the Notch on the Strut Perch or roughly at 4:30 o'clock if the Perch Notch is 12 o'clock.
The Trick: use the old rubber pad as a guide, transfer it over to the New Strut and Mark the spot where the BOTTOM of the Spring should be, this will make your life mush easier and avoid the clunking problem seen in this forum from improper Strut installation. The Bottom line: follow the factory setup!



13. I use three (3) Spring Compressors instead of the usual 2 compressors, it is much easier (and SAFER) to compress the Spring this way. Remove the Strut and NOTE the layout. Do NOT lose any washers. Note that at the bottom of the Strut Guide, there is a protective washer, I re-use it. Of course, you can also get a new protective washer.

14. Now install the new Bilstein Strut, Rubber Pads (the UPPER Rubber Pad is different than the Lower Rubber Pad), New Strut Guide, Washers in the appropriate order. Align the Lower Rubber Pad with the Notch on the Strut Perch:







15. Hand-tighten the 22-mm TOP Nut for now, final torquing of this Nut will be done later in the car. Slowly release the 3 Spring Compressors making sure that the Spring lines up exactly as factory setup: TOP of Spring touches the Guide notch and BOTTOM of Spring lines up with the 4:30 o'clock mark on the Perch.

16. NOW Stop! If you want to replace the Thrust Arm, do NOT install the Strut now! I made this mistake***8230;..............Arghhh***8230;..............and later have to undo the Strut-Steering Knuckle attachment because the Thrust Arm BJ cannot be removed with the Strut in place!
NOTE: BJ Removal Tool bites on both the nut (I leave it flushed with the bolt's end) and the bolt:



17. Replace the Thrust Arm with new Thrust Arm, hand-tighten the 22-mm Nut but do not torque it yet (Do all of these Nuts later). Before you can do this, you have to remove the Thrust Arm's protective boot (10-mm bolts) and the Plastic Fender Lower Housing and the Plastic trim (8-mm socket) which itself has three (3) 8-mm screws:





18. Replace the Control Arm with new Control Arm, hand-tighten the 22-mm Nut but do not torque it yet (Do all of these Nuts later).

19. Re-install Strut, taking care not to damage paint work!
- Place a jack below Steering Knuckle and slowly raise it up.
- Twist the new Strut a bit to allow it to sit properly.
- Make sure the Strut bottoms down properly on the Steering Knuckle!
- Also check the R vs L marking lines up correctly as shown.
- Jack up the steering knuckle a bit more, verify that everything is correctly lined up.
- Now torque the Pinch Bolt to 81 Nm.

20. To replace the Tierods:
* Stock BJ Nut is 18-mm
* Steering Rack Driver's Side: 32-mm wrench and counter-hold with adjustable wrench.
* Passenger's side, no place to counterhold (simply a round Steering Rack Shaft: no place to apply the adjustable wrench), so apply 32-mm wrench and tighten it. I tighten it a bit below the published torque values (71 Nm) to avoid damage to steering rack. Actually when you remove the 32-mm nut, it was not tightened much from factory, it comes out easily:



* Do NOT forget to:
- Measure the old tierod and set the NEW tierod to same length before installation, this way you come close to previous setting, it makes subsequent alignment easier.
- Apply a bit of extra grease to the output shaft rack and INNER ball joints.
- Protective Rubber boot.
- The Oetiker clamps: dry fit on the rubber boot first so you know what notch needed to tighten it. Use a Ceramic Tile Cutter (Tips filed blunted) or any Oetiker Clamp Tool to tighten it. Do not over do it. Just tighten it snug.
- The BJ side: adjust the Steering Knuckle a bit here and there (support with jack) so the BJ can go in.

21. Sway Bar Bushings: 13-m wrench and Allen wrench to counterhold. Driver's Side is easy.
Passenger's Side 13-mm Nut will drive you Nuttttttttttt! The space is so tight to fit the 13-mm wrench. On the back side, there are two (2) nuts. The Top Nut holds the exhaust shield, which is lifted up a bit to work on the lower nut. Slide the Bracket out, rotate the Rubber Bushing upside down to slide it out. The Pass Side Bushing alone took me 1.5 h! It is a PITA. So, for The Pass Side Bushing, you are allowed to use the 4-letter word***8230;.............***8230;.............:) The alternative is to turn on some nice radio music to soothe your pain dealing with this nut!



22. Now go around the car and torque ALL nuts/bolts except for the nuts on Thrust Arm and Control Arm (which need to be torque with car on the ground and properly loaded (150lb in each front seat, rear center seat, full gas tank and some luggage and all that blah blah blah***8230;..............:)).
Many people simply torque these Nuts on Thrust Arm and Control Arm with car on the ground w/o the extra weights. Any nuts/bolts that have been torqued, mark with liquid paper or paint touch-up so you know. These include:

- Sway Bar Endlink 16-mm Nuts: 65 Nm
- Strut Suspension Tower 13-mm nuts: 24 Nm
- Strut Main 22-mm Nut: 64 Nm

- Thrust Arm Ball Joint 22-mm Nuts: 80 Nm
- Control Arm Ball Joint 22-mm Nuts: 80 Nm
- Thrust Arm Subframe 18-mm Nuts: 110 Nm***
- Control Arm Subframe 18-mm Nuts: 110 Nm***
*** Torque these bolts ONLY with car on the ground and weighed properly
(150 lbs each front seats, 150 lbs center rear seat, full gas tank***8230;..............blah blah blah)


- Tierod 19-mm Ball Joint Nut (Stock 18-mm, Lemforder 19-mm): 65 Nm
(Remember the Tierod 32-mm INNER Nut for the steering side, Torque is 71 Nm, but it should have been tightened by now).

23. Now: Install Wheels, Remove Jackstands, LOWER the car and drive it up on ramps. Then:
Torque:
- Thrust Arm Subframe 18-mm Nuts: 110 Nm***
- Control Arm Subframe 18-mm Nuts: 110 Nm***
NOTE: As a practice, tighten the Wheel Bolts to 110 Nm using a Torque Wrench so you have an idea of what 110 Nm feels like because under the car, it is virtually impossible to fit a torque wrench, so use your muscles and feel (I did!!!).
*** Torque these bolts ONLY with car on the ground and weighed properly
(150 lb each front seats, 150 lb center rear seat, full gas tank)
I had my 16-year-old and 11-year old kids to sit in the front and that is good enough for me!


Also, after install, the car WILL appear higher than before, don't panic yet!
Give the Bilstein Strut 30 minutes to settle down before torquing these Thrust Arm and Control Arms Subframe 18-mm Nuts to 110 Nm.

----------
 

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36
#2 · (Edited)
NOTE:
- Old Bushings worn out:


- Car on Wood ramps when torquing the Thrust Arm and Control Arm Nuts. I had my 16-year-old and 11-tear old kids to sit in the front and that is good enough for me!



-----------------
The Alignment DIY:
1998 BMW 528i (data from NTB Alignment Sheet)
Toe-in: -2 minutes to +6 minutes (or 2 minutes +/- 4 minutes) ---> Adjustable
Camber: -0.7 to 0.3 degrees (or -0.2 degrees +/- 0.5 degrees) ----> Unadjustable (unless you install a camber kit, off topic here!)
Caster: 6.0 to 7.0 degrees (or 6.5 degrees +/- 0.5 degrees) ----> Unadjustable

---> Only Toe-in is adjustable for E39.


1. If you did not sleep through your High School Geometry Class, then I will share with you this best-kept secret: Alignment DIY.
There are 60 minutes (') in one degree (A circle = 360 degrees); and 60 seconds (") per minute.
If you read Alignment Sheets, very often car mfg's misuse these symbols (') and ("). For the most part, it is minutes not seconds.

- Review Tangent and Arctan. Basically, for each stock tire front to rear rubber part is 540 mm.
Since toe-in is given as degrees and most of us don't have the sophisticated alignment tool to measure degrees, I measure using the difference (in mm) in front and rear part of the same tire (front and rear measurements).
Tangent (2/60 degrees) x 540 mm = 0.314 mm TOE-IN!
Tangent (6/60 degrees) x 540 mm = 0.942 mm TOE-OUT!

2. Requirements:
- Car with full gas tank. I by-passed the weighing business (150 lbs front seats, 150 rear seat garbage).
- Tires at 35 psi. All 4 tires should be the same make.
- Level garage at spots where car parks. Take measurements using Carpenter Level.
- 16-mm wrench for tierod adjusting bolt and adjustable wrench for lock nut.

3. The whole idea is to establish parallelism. Using the carpenter square and level coupled with Plumb Bob (see pic), measure the track width at wheel (Front and Rear) Hub Centers.
Drive car straight out garage. Calculate the difference between Front and Rear Tracks.
Published Values are:
Front Track Width = 1512 mm
Rear Track Width = 1526 mm
Difference is approx. 14 mm





4. Put car back to similar spot. Apply Parking brake and whatever you do, do NOT move the car after this step, otherwise, you will redo the whole thing again. Remove key and rock steering R and L to lock it. Make sure SW is dead center.

5. Now mark the Front and Rear track widths (with carpenter square) on masking tape on the floor. Since the Front track width on each side is 7 mm (14 mm/2) less than the Rear track width, SUBTRACT 7 mm from the REAR Marks.

6. Using a string (held by brick) and draw a straight line between FRONT and REAR marks. This represents the straight axis of motion of the car. This line will be used a reference line:



7. Now measure Camber. I have calibrated my device so when the bubble is barely out of the marks, it is roughly 0.50 degrees (or 30 minutes, which is half of a degree). In fact this is ***8211;0.50 degrees, so it was good:



8. Now measure the toe-in: -0.314 mm (TOE-IN) up to +0.942 mm (TOE-OUT). You can actually set it at zero. Some people set it at ***8211;1.0 mm, which is very typical of many cars.
A bit of TOE-IN is good because the crown of the typical road will have the tendency to bring the tires out a bit. Some people set TOE-OUT more than spec for aggressive track use:



9. Go for a test drive on a smooth highway.
- The chances are the SW is not dead center. Make a note.
- Let's say car goes straight but the SW points a bit to the Right.
- Bring car back to driveway.
- Now, when SW is turned dead straight, both wheels point a bit to Left.
- Then adjust in equal increments (for example, pull L side in and push R side out equally). Again do this in equal increments.
One complete turn of the Tierod moves the Tierod by 1 mm but mathematically it changes the tire difference readings by 2 mm.

- Use liquid paper to mark Tierod original reference position so you know how many turns you have done.
- Tighten the Lock Nut (do not over-tighten it) to lock the Tierod.

Go for test drive again and adjust the Steering Wheel position as appropriate.

Enjoy your Ultimate Driving Machine!!!

-----
 

Attachments

#209 · (Edited)
NOTE:

-----------------
The Alignment DIY:
1998 BMW 528i (data from NTB Alignment Sheet)
Toe-in: -2 minutes to +6 minutes (or 2 minutes +/- 4 minutes) ---> Adjustable
Camber: -0.7 to 0.3 degrees (or -0.2 degrees +/- 0.5 degrees) ----> Unadjustable (unless you install a camber kit, off topic here!)
Caster: 6.0 to 7.0 degrees (or 6.5 degrees +/- 0.5 degrees) ----> Unadjustable

---> Only Toe-in is adjustable for E39.


1. If you did not sleep through your High School Geometry Class, then I will share with you this best-kept secret: Alignment DIY.
There are 60 minutes (') in one degree (A circle = 360 degrees); and 60 seconds (") per minute.
If you read Alignment Sheets, very often car mfg's misuse these symbols (') and ("). For the most part, it is minutes not seconds.

- Review Tangent and Arctan. Basically, for each stock tire front to rear rubber part is 540 mm.
Since toe-in is given as degrees and most of us don't have the sophisticated alignment tool to measure degrees, I measure using the difference (in mm) in front and rear part of the same tire (front and rear measurements).
Tangent (2/60 degrees) x 540 mm = 0.314 mm TOE-IN!
Tangent (6/60 degrees) x 540 mm = 0.942 mm TOE-OUT!

2. Requirements:
- Car with full gas tank. I by-passed the weighing business (150 lbs front seats, 150 rear seat garbage).
- Tires at 35 psi. All 4 tires should be the same make.
- Level garage at spots where car parks. Take measurements using Carpenter Level.
- 16-mm wrench for tierod adjusting bolt and adjustable wrench for lock nut.

3. The whole idea is to establish parallelism. Using the carpenter square and level coupled with Plumb Bob (see pic), measure the track width at wheel (Front and Rear) Hub Centers.
Drive car straight out garage. Calculate the difference between Front and Rear Tracks.
Published Values are:
Front Track Width = 1512 mm
Rear Track Width = 1526 mm
Difference is approx. 14 mm





4. Put car back to similar spot. Apply Parking brake and whatever you do, do NOT move the car after this step, otherwise, you will redo the whole thing again. Remove key and rock steering R and L to lock it. Make sure SW is dead center.

5. Now mark the Front and Rear track widths (with carpenter square) on masking tape on the floor. Since the Front track width on each side is 7 mm (14 mm/2) less than the Rear track width, SUBTRACT 7 mm from the REAR Marks.

6. Using a string (held by brick) and draw a straight line between FRONT and REAR marks. This represents the straight axis of motion of the car. This line will be used a reference line:



7. Now measure Camber. I have calibrated my device so when the bubble is barely out of the marks, it is roughly 0.50 degrees (or 30 minutes, which is half of a degree). In fact this is ***8211;0.50 degrees, so it was good:



8. Now measure the toe-in: -0.314 mm (TOE-IN) up to +0.942 mm (TOE-OUT). You can actually set it at zero. Some people set it at ***8211;1.0 mm, which is very typical of many cars.
A bit of TOE-IN is good because the crown of the typical road will have the tendency to bring the tires out a bit. Some people set TOE-OUT more than spec for aggressive track use:



9. Go for a test drive on a smooth highway.
- The chances are the SW is not dead center. Make a note.
- Let's say car goes straight but the SW points a bit to the Right.
- Bring car back to driveway.
- Now, when SW is turned dead straight, both wheels point a bit to Left.
- Then adjust in equal increments (for example, pull L side in and push R side out equally). Again do this in equal increments.
One complete turn of the Tierod moves the Tierod by 1 mm but mathematically it changes the tire difference readings by 2 mm.

- Use liquid paper to mark Tierod original reference position so you know how many turns you have done.
- Tighten the Lock Nut (do not over-tighten it) to lock the Tierod.

Go for test drive again and adjust the Steering Wheel position as appropriate.

Enjoy your Ultimate Driving Machine!!!

-----
So I just watched my indy do a front end alignment on my daughters Civic after he replaced a spring (springs do break, at least Honda ones do!). He did it in my garage (my indy does house calls!) using basic hand tools. This guy is a nationally ranked Honda race (track and rally) driver who works only on Hondas and travels to races with his "portable garage" in his van (hence, the ability to perform house calls). Like Cam says, it is simply squaring up the wheels.
He used some very nice aluminum angles that would sit on the ground and touch the rim. These reference points allow front and back measurement of the front tire track. The one major difference is his procedure was that he set the front tires onto two flat aluminum plates that were greased between them. He said this is necessary to allow the tires to turn against the ground without friction when when adjusting the tie rods while the suspension is loaded. He said the friction between the ground and the tire can affect the toe-in setting. I would imagine that any two flat thin metal plates with some bearing grease between them would do the same thing.

After watching him do this, I may attempt a front end alignment the next time around.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Wow! Hats off to you yet again!

Last week, when I searched for a good E39 shock/strut replacement DIY, I listed all the DIYs I could find, but, I couldn't find much that was complete other than the Beisan Systems, DIY (which isn't as complete as yours is).

In that research, I realized that other steering and suspension components should also be tested and/or replaced if found worn out ... (which is what you did) ...

This includes, potentially:
- front struts
- rear shocks
- rear shock mount
- suspension springs
- thrust arm
- control arm
- sway bar
- thrust arm bushings
- control arm bushings
- The CAB
- strut guide
- protection cap
- end links
- wheel bearing play
- ball joints
- tie rod ends
- control arms

Your DIY above seems to put it all together! Thank you!

Let's START with this and add value where needed so we all benefit!
Here is a clickable-link PDF of your E39 Bilstein HD Shock R&R DIY so others have a file that they can download and save on their DIY flashcard and perhaps landscape printed in their DIY binder.

 

Attachments

#18 · (Edited)
Wow! Hats off to you yet again!

This includes, potentially:
- front struts
- suspension springs
- strut guide

- control arm
- thrust arm
- tierod

Your DIY above seems to put it all together! Thank you! Let's START with this and add value where needed so we all benefit!
Hi bluebee,

I edit your questions a bit so I can answer the Front Suspension (I skip the Rear Susp questions for now). I have owned a quite a few cars and have wrenched for 25 years and here is my observations with E39 sharing many of these similarities. However, the E39 has its own problems:

- Struts deteriorates slowly so you hardly notice the gradual deterioration until it is really bad. So my guess is Strut lasts anywhere between: 60K (Boston and NYC potholes!) all the way to 150K (highway driving). So it is hard to judge a Strut by mileage alone.

- Springs seem to last well beyond 200K (I spoke to my cousin who is bmw indy guru!).

- Strut Guide. This part has the bearing in it. In contrast to the wheel bearing which lasts 150K miles because most of its load exerted on the outer race in a radial manner (along the axis of rotation), the Strut Guide Bearing has 100% of the load exerted in a lateral manner, i.e. the INNER race is constantly pushed UPWARD by the Strut Spring.
So even the Strut Guide barely turns much (compared with the wheel bearing), the lateral load kills the bearing.
At 80-120K, you will notice some play in the Bearing Guide. Those short of budget may re-grease the Guide and keep it until unbearable but since there is so much labor involved, replace it anyway.

- Control Arm: surprisingly, my CA was still good at 105K, the BJ has some looseness (compared with the new CA) but the bushing is OK.

- The thrust arm: the BJ has some looseness (compared with the new CA) but the bushing is long gone (all oil leaked out, rubber cracked).

- The tierods INNER BJ is still good, the OUTER BJ (this is where most of the wear and tear is) has some looseness but still good.

The BOTTOM LINE for those who are short of budget:

1- If you have shimmy at 50K, then switching to PowerFlex Bushing for the Thrust Arm is probably good enough. Read that post carefully and you may have to shave the bushing a bit to allow the washers to go in.
Best is:
- Using a micrometer and measure the existing Thrust Arm Busing width.
- Measure the PowerFlex Bushing + washers thickness
- Shave the PowerFlex Bushing a bit for ease of installation.

2- If you have more than 120K, do this DIY: Entire Suspension Overhaul.
 
#9 ·
This is fantastic Cam!

In my experiences with the HF ball joint tool the thrust arms are much tougher to pop than the tie rod ends. I would advise wearing safety glasses when using the ball joint press due to the load being put on the tool, and be aware the tool may fly off the car when it does pop loose. :) On one particularly stubborn thrust arm I had the ball joint press so tight I felt it was going to break so I walked away from it for a minute. I heard a pop and came back, it had came apart without any further torquing.
 
#10 ·
This is fantastic Cam!

In my experiences with the HF ball joint tool the thrust arms are much tougher to pop than the tie rod ends. I would advise wearing safety glasses when using the ball joint press due to the load being put on the tool, and be aware the tool may fly off the car when it does pop loose. :) On one particularly stubborn thrust arm I had the ball joint press so tight I felt it was going to break so I walked away from it for a minute. I heard a pop and came back, it had came apart without any further torquing.
Thanks Mark,

Good advice and that was exactly what I did.
Tighten the BJ Tool a few turns at a time, spray some WD-40.
This allows the BJ to adjust to the tension applied to it and to allow lubricant to enter the mating surfaces.
STOP and wait 3-4 min. In the mean time go and do something else.
The other option is to use an electrical wire to hold the tool so it does not fly.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Thanks CN90---Haven't started on mine as of yet--will work off what you have rendered to us--interesting
to note the lettering on the sides of the shocks for left and right sides--I would have missed that and some other things without your eye on the details.
Didn't see anything about the wheel bearing install--with the shocks out of the way, is there enough room for
my air wrench to remove the bolts--if so --how stubborn are they.
 
#16 ·
Could not be better timed for me. HF BJ tool ariving in a few days. Replacement thrust arm (from EAC), front bearings and and Billy HDs waiting to go in. Also, seeing where you placed the front jack stands was very useful. Seems the center jack pad alone would not be stable enough.
Would tapping the ball joint tool when under pressure be useful? Dangerous?
Thanks Cam.
CL
 
#17 · (Edited)
.... Also, seeing where you placed the front jack stands was very useful. Seems the center jack pad alone would not be stable enough.
Would tapping the ball joint tool when under pressure be useful? Dangerous?
Thanks Cam.
CL
- I placed the two (2) jackstands under subframe in such a way that it does not interfere with the work.
- The ball joint: no tapping needed
- The Harbor Freight BJ Tool is a great tool, try it and see, just be patient: tighten 4-5 turns each time, spray WD-40 and wait a bit. I use the iron pipe with ratchet. By the time you tighten about 110 Nm or so, it pops.

....Didn't see anything about the wheel bearing install--with the shocks out of the way, is there enough room for
my air wrench to remove the bolts--if so --how stubborn are they.
- I did not replace my bearings. They are still good.
- If you replace the front bearings, then lift the strut up but do not remove it yet so the steering knuckle does not wobble (if the strut is out then the steering knuckle wobbles)
- Then undo the 18-mm bolts, the bearings will come right out.
- Take some pics of bearing job and add to this thread.
 
#19 ·
CN90--Question on the R and L letters on the struts and there location on the housing----I'm not really seeing the picture here--I understand where the lining up of the strut is taking place but--is this just turning the strut
while it's in the spring housing and the locating bolts are in their holes at the top--I don't see where being that little difference between the two marks would make any diff--any input on that
 
#20 ·
Poolman,

If you look at your new Strut (Sachs, Koni or Bilstein), the Perch has a built-in slope angle.
By rotating the Strut to the proper location, you re-produce the factory setup.
Search the forum, there have been people installing it wrong and run into all kinds of problems with ride and alignment:

http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/showthread.php?t=828809
Read thread #19 very carefully!
Basically Sachs Instructions are very clear!

The bottom of the spring has an oval shape, the top has circular shape to fit the Support Plate.
This is why in my DIY I clearly stated the 4:30 o'clock thingy!
 
#22 ·
What has confused me is seat in the perch for the end of the coil spring at the top and bottom. Each perch has an indent clearly designed for where the end of the coil should sit. Apparently, only at the top does the coil end against the "stop" in the perch. At the bottom, it end of the coil could be 90 - 180 degrees away from the "stop" in the perch. Or is there no "stop" at all on the Bilstein lower perch? Just the rubber seat? The Sachs in there now seem to have a stop top and bottom. Probably a pretty dumb question...
 
#23 ·
NOT a dumb question.
IMO, the front spring orientation is important.
If you look at your old existing front bottom spring pad, you should be able to see where the spring end rested on the pad.
Like what CN had said, the end of the spring was approx at the 4:30 position, or a little past 90 degrees from the spring pad notch.
Finger tip is at the end of the spring...
Auto part Automotive wheel system Wheel Automotive tire Automotive lighting


Auto part Automotive wheel system Wheel
 
#24 ·
Jason and Cam,
Am I missing something here.... If the top coil end is snug against the stop in the top perch, and the bottom of the strut is properly aligned with the L-R marking on the strut tube, why should I care where the bottom of the coil ends (4:30 or whatever). I certainly cannot adjust its orientation.
So, it seems to me that I get the top set right, the strut tube mark (L-R) centered in the strut bracket slot and the bottom takes care of itself. Of course getting the rubber perch pads properly set is taken for granted.
Sound about right?
 
#25 · (Edited)
Great write up as usual CN90! Another one for the archives.

1) Regarding the spring in the strut perch. I don't know if this was coincidence on my springs but I noticed on my OEM sport springs (original) there were dabs of blue paint on each turn of the spring all lined up in the same spot. When I removed my springs and before I used the compressor to remove the springs, the dabs of blue paint were lined up directly with the square notch (cut-out) on the strut perch. When I removed the old Boge and replace with the Bilstein HDs, I simply aligned the dabs of blue paint on the springs with the square notch on the strut perch. Not sure if this was simply coincidence or intentional but it helped me.

2) I didn't find the need to use the special tool that CN90 made (O2 sensor tool) to remove the top bolt. If I recall, you can simply use a 6mm hex key to hold the center spindle while removing the 21mm strut nut with a open end wrench AFTER the whole strut assembly is removed from the car and the spring compressors are put on. All you need to do is remove the top 3 - 13mm nuts holding the whole assembly to the car to get it out from under the fender lip. While I realize the idea is to keep the strut body from turning when it is attached to the car, I simply used a small pipe to hold hex key in place and add leverage to loosen the nut. This is another option and suggestion if you do not have the special O2 sensor tool

3) While my Wheel bearings seemed okay as well, I decided to replace them anyway since the strut assembly was out of the way.

4) I noticed your Bilsteins had blue bellows. Are those the new versions H1 vs H0s? I had to reuse my old ones. Anyone else install HDs and have the bellows included?

5) any comment on the HB tool? My experience with a few of them is that the better ones have a longer reach as the prong tends to slide off as more torque is applied.



You can adjust orientation if the spring has not been compressed yet. You need to be sure of orientation before compressing the spring and tightening back the top bolt. I think the point is less important on the Bilstein HDs as the bottom of the spring coil fit into the angled spring seat on the strut perch whereas the Boge/Sachs for whatever stupid design reason on the new ones does not sit in the seat. Do you have any dabs of blue or white paint on your springs? They should line up with the square cutout on the spring perch on the HDs which SHOULD put the end of the spring coil almost 90 degrees opposite the cutout.
 
#26 ·
If the blue paint is not there, I will put it (aligning with the cutout) on the springs before I remove them. Seems like a good idea.
Per the torquing of the strut top nut, here's what I have done. (I'm sure some of you will cringe) In the wheel well (or on the bench), I lifted the strut shaft protector accordian and grabbed the polished strut shaft with a huge channel lock plier. Before you flip, I wrapped the shaft with a 2" x 4" piece of roofing lead and then grabbed the lead with the plier. I then had my wife use an air impact wrench with a 60 ft lb max torque bar. Worked like a champ. No scratches on the shaft and tight.
 
#27 · (Edited)
Your write-ups rock!! You are so well detailed it is unbelievable.

Thanks!
Jared
 
#28 · (Edited)
Your right-ups rock!!
Hi Jared,
You can even take the PDFs and burn 'em to CD's to hand to your customers! (giving cn90 his due credit and royalty!). :)

I, for one, am putting cn90's writeup PDF on my DIY flashcard so that it's always handy in a pinch!

Bluebee
 

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#33 ·
Bluebee,
The PDFing of this whole DIY is really helpful. Thanks for doing this.
You're welcome. I'm always trying to add value, even a little teeny bit like PDF'ing the DIY to fit on our DIY flash card for future use. I'm sorry I had to split it into 3 documents (to fit under the 1MB upload limit) but I did make all the links clickable and I tried to ensure all the pictures didn't span pages and I made it landscape so that all the text shows up in the color printout.

It's my opinion that cn90 did such an awesome job with this front suspension overhaul that the rest of us should pitch in where we can to make it even more awesome.
 
#31 ·
Jesus, 30 pages? Screw Bentley, maybe if you worked for BMW you'd get something done. Take over the technical writing department***8230; Maybe then we'd be able to trust the stealer a bit more.
 
#34 ·
Hi bluebee,

Tried to send you a PM but your profile does not accept PM.
Unrelated question: I have standard Acrobat Reader, so I can read PDF but cannot write anything on PDF.
Just curious what PDF software you use (The real Acrobat PDF Full Version is more expensive than BMW E39 2 Thrust Arms LOL!!!).
 
#35 ·
All you really need is something like Bullzip PDF printer, which I found with a quick google and didn't worry about potential for malware infection (running in a virtual machine so no issue).

Check out Foxit Reader for your daily PDF reading needs; it's a lot faster and lighter.
 
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