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      08-28-2016, 08:50 AM   #229
al kazaz
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Drives: 2011 328i Xdrive
Join Date: Aug 2016
Location: Caroga, NY

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Well, I did it.

Backed the car onto a pair of ramps and then jacked the front up and supported it on jack stands, Gave me a lot more clearance. Didn't need to remove the fender well, just remove the wheel.

The difficult bits were:
1. The rear hose for the pump. Not the one that loops back to the thermostat but what I assume is the outlet. Took me nearly an hour of different angles and plans e, f, and g (cut the hose clamp off) to figure out that the clamp was clocked in a way I could access the screw from a specific blind angle. A large collection of 1/4 drive extensions (which I had accumulated from numerous sets that had lost important parts over the years) is really handy here.

2. Remember the order of the sway bar and power steering hose. You can't get the bolt on for the PS bracket with the sway bar attached, but it must go above the bracket. I actually bent the bracket down to create a little more clearance for my hands and bent it back into shape when I was done.

3. The sway bar was difficult to bolt back on as the wheels must have sagged while it was disconnected. Vice grips closed the gap for the lower bolts, but, oddly, when I went to remove the jack stands, the car stayed up in the air after I removed right one and I then could not jack the left side up high enough to remove the remaining stand. Jacking from the center on the sub frame solved that problem.

4. This job is really hard for an overweight 62 year old guy mostly lying on the floor. A lift would make it much easier - and cleaner.

5. The plastic parts are still off the bottom. Since I took them off 3 weeks ago I could not remember where they all went and I didn't feel like going to my office to look it up given the state of filth of my clothes and body.

Took me about 6 hours.

Al
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