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BMW 3-Series (E90 E92) Forum > E90 / E92 / E93 3-series Technical Forums > Suspension | Brakes | Chassis > my kw v1 installation adventure (DIY Info)



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      05-03-2014, 08:32 PM   #1
flexinator
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my kw v1 installation adventure (DIY Info)

Soooo... I bought a used set of V1's for my xi and thought "what a great deal". I did save some cash, but bought a lot of headaches. Turns out the nut for the rear strut on the bottom is special and included in the set, but not included in the set sent to me. Also, same goes for the top nut for the front shocks... so my car is on jack stands in a friend's garage awaiting me to find proper fasteners... hopefully tomorrow. Here are my tips for anyone else trying this project DIY on an XI....

Watch the ecs tuning video, its very similar to the xi, but not exact. For the rear, the video is great, but preset the spring perch to where you want the height before installation... very tough to do once installed because the perch spins in the well after install if you try to change it.

For the front, I left the brake caliper and rotor on... it wasn't so bad. After I removed everything, i dropped the control arms, the drive shaft slipped out of the differential?(not sure if I am explaining this right) and wouldn't allow me to pivot the control arms back up to get the shock back into the wheel well. I had to rotate the shaft and shimmy it around, but eventually it slips back in and all is well. A good thing to know in case it happens. As for the shock itself, it is marked L for left and R for Right. The little nub on the back of it goes into the space in the knuckle and seats at the bottom. If you don't take out bolt that holds the knuckle closed, the shock won't seat all the way in. When you put the shock together, use the little washer (if your caps are steel)...(this is in the instructions)... but at the top after you have everything together like the ecs video, don't forget the metal spacer and paper gasket or whatever before you put it through the top.

The little details above would have saved me a few hours today. The video on ECS is great, but is missing a few details. Also thanks to the guy who sold me a used kit without the most important parts... I won't flame you here... but you do get what you pay for so I'll buy the $4 worth of fasteners and the time it takes to find em.

Good luck!
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      05-06-2014, 08:51 PM   #2
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I had the same exact problem with the KW rear strut on my 335i.

We had this genius idea of re-threading the KW rear strut using the OEM nut and an impact wrench. Ended up breaking off an inch from the bottom of it. Luckily, it is not load-bearing and there was enough thread left to put on a nut from home depot.

Live and learn...
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      05-06-2014, 09:13 PM   #3
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FYI...I figured out an easy way to rotate the lower spring collar on the rears without the upper base moving with it.

Get one of those oil filter channel lock pliers. Mine is s craftsmen. You can grab the black base around the edge closest to the chassis/body and then use the spanner to move the collar. Took me a few minutes to figure that solution out but it is absolutely perfect and very easy.

I don't get why they don't add some small burrs or a rough/machined texture to the top of the perch/base to catch and hold while spinning the collar.

Anyways....easy fix. Harbour Freight has the same tool for a few bucks.

Bummer on the missing nuts.

Just put used V3's on my ride. Great learning experience for sure. Luckily I read about the half shaft popping out and made sure not to pull 'out' on the hub/lower strut mount. I used a floor jack to keep it supported and a bungee to hold the rotor/assembly in.

Definitely live and learn!

Oh ...also...make sure you really torque down the top nuts on the struts. I got mine all in and on my test drive they were clunking around like crazy. After s lot of debating and worrying I hit them a few times with short blasts from my electric impact wrench and got them to tighten up snug. I do have camber plates so the top nut is pretty stout vs the KW stock nut. Some people swear against using an impact on them and others (pro mechanics etc) insist it must be done to get the nut to out-spin the shaft.

Hope you get it back together nice and easy tomorrow and enjoy your new sick coilovers. It really is a great upgrade.
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      05-06-2014, 09:37 PM   #4
stashtrey
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PS...

Get a can of the WD40 white lithium grease spray. Great stuff for the stut strut body threads, springs and perches. Love that stuff. Spray it all over the place. lol
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      05-07-2014, 07:10 AM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stashtrey
PS...

Get a can of the WD40 white lithium grease spray. Great stuff for the stut strut body threads, springs and perches. Love that stuff. Spray it all over the place. lol
Dude, thanks for the tips. My rears are rubbing just a bit, so I'm going to raise the rears a touch. I love my v1's, it's like a whole new car! I couldn't find nylon nuts for the front so I used a washer and then a lock washer, torqued it down güttentight...

Thanks again
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      05-07-2014, 12:28 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by stashtrey View Post
Oh ...also...make sure you really torque down the top nuts on the struts. I got mine all in and on my test drive they were clunking around like crazy. After s lot of debating and worrying I hit them a few times with short blasts from my electric impact wrench and got them to tighten up snug. I do have camber plates so the top nut is pretty stout vs the KW stock nut. Some people swear against using an impact on them and others (pro mechanics etc) insist it must be done to get the nut to out-spin the shaft.
The reason you don't want to use an impact gun is that if you overtorque this nut it can jam and damage the spindle bearing that is built in to the top mounts. The entire strut assembly rotates with the steering on these cars so that bearing is there to allow this to happen smoothly. If you blast the top nut on too tight you will lock out this bearing and will have issues with steering (either immediately or a little later down the road).

The best way I found to get that nut properly torqued is to use a spark plug socket. You can hold the nut with that and since is has wrenching flats you can turn it. You can then pass a longer allen socket down through the drive hole in it to hold the strut shaft as you tighten. You put the torque wrench on the allen socket (make sure to set it to loosen as you are countering the rotation) and tighten the nut until you get your torque.
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      05-07-2014, 04:01 PM   #7
stashtrey
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I could be wrong but on the V3's you cant use an Allen to hold the piston as the rebound is adjusted in there. Maybe I'm incorrect?
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