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OK, I had my 318is in for service last week, and had the steering lock and ignition replaced. Now, they say the shocks and mounts in the back are worn down and need replaced. They want $500 to do it. I can buy the parts for $150. Is this easy enough to do myself, or will the extra $350 be money well spent?
It looks easy in the Chilton's guide, and I've done a lot of work on my cars in the past, but I have no experience with a Bimmer.
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Originally posted by AutoFan@Sep 23 2004, 05:25 PM I just did them , they were suprisingly easy. all you need is a jack an 18mm wrench and 13mm i think for the top. its got to the faq for directions
[snapback]197868[/snapback]
very very easy i just put all new shocks and struts on my 325is and put strut tower and shock tower brances on while i was at it, and it was a piece of cake, you just have to remove the carpet in the back. To do that you have to remove the speakers which is very easy all you do is pry the speaker covers off from the top, then on screw the two screws, then the tops of the shock towers shoulud be very easy to get too. use the 18mm to undo the bottom of the shock and the 13 for the two shock mount screws and it should fall right out, do not pay 350 dollars for something you can do in a hour easy.
I did up an FAQ for replacing the rear struts with pics. Everything you need to do it is in there... but not wrench sizes.... forgot to make a not of which ones I ended up useing. Also I didn't need to replace the RSMs at the time so that is not covered, but I would think that it would be fairly self explanatory. Usually I would say IM me if you run into problems with the struts over the weekend, but I'll be drunk and busy from about 10'oclock tonight until at least sunday morning (Frat bid day!!!). So sunday afternoon you could IM me if you have problems. Since you asked if you could do it I am assuming that you don't know a whole lot about cars, but are familiar with a wrench, so I'd go out on a limb and say count on 2 1/2 hours to do the struts and struts mounts. You can get it done a lot quicker than that though. Good luck
Originally posted by bitcore@Sep 23 2004, 04:02 PM If you have a good jack, some jackstands, the tools, and some time, you can do it yourself. It's not terribly hard I don't believe.
Originally posted by AutoFan@Sep 23 2004, 05:25 PM I just did them , they were suprisingly easy. all you need is a jack an 18mm wrench and 13mm i think for the top. its got to the faq for directions
[snapback]197868[/snapback]
All you need is a jack, two wrenches and oh yeah You almost forgot.. a thousand dollar commercial strut spring comprtessor shown in the photos. what happens to someone when they think this is something you can do with common hand tools, and then they get half way through the job and figure out that yu can't do this job without a spring compressor? Or someone reads the posts and orders up the parts they need and then figures this out. Come on man... mention you need a spring comprsssor....
Originally posted by nycbmw325is+Sep 24 2004, 10:17 AM--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE(nycbmw325is @ Sep 24 2004, 10:17 AM)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteBegin-AutoFan@Sep 23 2004, 05:25 PM I just did them , they were suprisingly easy. all you need is a jack an 18mm wrench and 13mm i think for the top. its got to the faq for directions
[snapback]197868[/snapback]
All you need is a jack, two wrenches and oh yeah You almost forgot.. a thousand dollar commercial strut spring comprtessor shown in the photos. what happens to someone when they think this is something you can do with common hand tools, and then they get half way through the job and figure out that yu can't do this job without a spring compressor? Or someone reads the posts and orders up the parts they need and then figures this out. Come on man... mention you need a spring comprsssor....
[snapback]198210[/snapback]
[/b][/quote]
damn... you beat me to it...
As you now see everyone makes mistakes and do the things that pisses them off when others do it.... but back on topic.
While you have the wheels off also think about doing your brakes, it'll save you time later.
Hmm. I will likely repalce the front struts at some point, but I didn't know about the requisite compressor. Is the one they have for rent at Murray's the same? Big thing, looks like a Cclamp with a groove cut in each jaw.
__________________ Proud member of the 100,000 mile club
Proud member of the I Hate SUVs club
Originally posted by Casey3561@Sep 24 2004, 11:35 AM Hmm. I will likely repalce the front struts at some point, but I didn't know about the requisite compressor. Is the one they have for rent at Murray's the same? Big thing, looks like a Cclamp with a groove cut in each jaw.
[snapback]198240[/snapback]
That sounds about right for a description on a manual spring compressor. But I have never used a manaul springn compressor.... lucky me... compressed air powered.... mmmmmm....
Originally posted by theogill@Sep 24 2004, 10:38 PM DOODS, DO you or do you not need a spring compressor for the rear shock mounts or shock removal/install?
WHos right? used used used used
[snapback]198619[/snapback]
you dont... if you followed the link for the DIY you can see pictures of it if you don't believe...
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