[Austinsom]

Hi all,

This is perhaps going to sound like the dumbest question ever but I shall go for it nonetheless...!

I have had a look through various threads and can't seem to find an answer, or at least one that is consistent.

I went away for a few weeks leaving my car parked at my parents house. I came back to find that the wheel has disappeared into the front arch. Front coil spring on the offside has snapped and fallen down the shock and is now resting on the link mount. I can't gain access to the nearside as I parked tight against the bushes and the car can't be moved as it really is sitting virtually on the floor.

So, I need to built up a whole replacement assembly before heading down and replacing it on the driveway. I have all the parts ready to go, but it seems the position of the front spring on the pad is up for debate. The pad has a recess which sits in the cup on the front shock absorber (or strut, whichever is your preference ).

Logic tells me the spring goes in this recess, however, as I have not got the original to look at, I can't be sure. Some pictures I have seen seem to suggest the recess is not where the spring is seated and some do. As I have to travel to fit it I want to make sure I get it assembled correctly before I head down with all my tools (I have a floor standing spring compressor, so can't take that with me).

So, I guess the short version is, what is the correct seated position for the front spring on the lower spring pad?!

Any help greatly received. Thanking you muchly.

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by Austinsom

Hi all,

This is perhaps going to sound like the dumbest question ever but I shall go for it nonetheless...!

I have had a look through various threads and can't seem to find an answer, or at least one that is consistent.

I went away for a few weeks leaving my car parked at my parents house. I came back to find that the wheel has disappeared into the front arch. Front coil spring on the offside has snapped and fallen down the shock and is now resting on the link mount. I can't gain access to the nearside as I parked tight against the bushes and the car can't be moved as it really is sitting virtually on the floor.

So, I need to built up a whole replacement assembly before heading down and replacing it on the driveway. I have all the parts ready to go, but it seems the position of the front spring on the pad is up for debate. The pad has a recess which sits in the cup on the front shock absorber (or strut, whichever is your preference ).

Logic tells me the spring goes in this recess, however, as I have not got the original to look at, I can't be sure. Some pictures I have seen seem to suggest the recess is not where the spring is seated and some do. As I have to travel to fit it I want to make sure I get it assembled correctly before I head down with all my tools (I have a floor standing spring compressor, so can't take that with me).

So, I guess the short version is, what is the correct seated position for the front spring on the lower spring pad?!

Any help greatly received. Thanking you muchly.

This is what the repair manual says:



When i did mine i jsut made sure i installed it the same way it was before i disassembled.

Have a look see on youtube. FCPEuro has some good diy videos amongst other people.

[Austinsom]

Thanks Wolf - It seems to indicate that the ends of the springs should be snug to the recessed stops both at the top and bottom, but doesn't show it clearly in the diagram. I did think that if they weren't needed, why did BMW put them there!

[Wolf 335]

Originally Posted by Austinsom

Thanks Wolf - It seems to indicate that the ends of the springs should be snug to the recessed stops both at the top and bottom, but doesn't show it clearly in the diagram. I did think that if they weren't needed, why did BMW put them there!

Im pretty sure thats what i did.

[Austinsom]

Perfect, unless anyone else has any input I'll be doing the same

[KhaosKid]

Originally Posted by Austinsom

Thanks Wolf - It seems to indicate that the ends of the springs should be snug to the recessed stops both at the top and bottom, but doesn't show it clearly in the diagram. I did think that if they weren't needed, why did BMW put them there!

Thats what I did too. If the spring ends aren't fully seated into the recessed ends of the spring cups/holders on the top and bottom of the strut, then your ride height will be a little higher than it should be.

Make sure when releasing pressure from the spring compressor, that you do as the instructions say and WATCH the spring to make sure it doesn't move away from the recessed ends of the spring cups. Otherwise you will realize later that one side of your car is 1-2 cm higher than the other after install.

Edit: i attached the best picture I have to show where the spring should sit. Kind of hard to see the bottom of the spring but its fully seated into the spring cup/holder just like the top is. My previous struts were done by a mechanic who improperly installed the strut top mount so the bearing was tight on one side. The spring ended up moving in the seat, away from the recess. So i had to live with higher ride height on one side. He compensated for it in the alignment, but my car always pulled to the left on the highway.

Basically what I'm trying to say is it's good you are making sure you do this correctly. As its SO easy to mess something up in the front struts and then you gotta live with it for minimum 4 years or else you're wasting money/labour. Needless to say, I stepped up and learned to install my own suspension parts the next time around. ZERO issues this time. Struts turn smoothly, no noises when turning, and pretty much equal ride height on either side. And car doesn't pull to either side on the highway anymore, which drove me mad and was uncomfortable to correct for with these heavy steering cars. You got this