Is spring replacement really that easy?

[Bettertomorrow]

I ordered a set of Eibach Pro for F83 and expecting it in a few days. Looked at quite a few DIY videos and they all made it look easy. I especially like the way you don't use spring compressor. Lose a few parts from front suspension, lose top bolt under the hood, drop the front suspension, replace spring. Similar but even easier for rear. I do most simple maintenance myself including spark plugs, water pumps, etc on various cars and some more involved jobs such as replacing intake manifold gasket on E211 AMG E63. But haven't done any suspension work yet and would appreciate it if people who's done it can share any "gotchas" if there is any. Thanks!

[1000hp]

Originally Posted by Bettertomorrow

I ordered a set of Eibach Pro for F83 and expecting it in a few days. Looked at quite a few DIY videos and they all made it look easy. I especially like the way you don't use spring compressor. Lose a few parts from front suspension, lose top bolt under the hood, drop the front suspension, replace spring. Similar but even easier for rear. I do most simple maintenance myself including spark plugs, water pumps, etc on various cars and some more involved jobs such as replacing intake manifold gasket on E211 AMG E63. But haven't done any suspension work yet and would appreciate it if people who's done it can share any "gotchas" if there is any. Thanks!

Yes it's easy.

When you put the front back together, be careful to seat the strut properly in the upper mount. The piston can go into the mount off-center and appear to be straight. You'll want to triple-check that it is dead center before you put the nut on and tighten it.

In the rear, remove the inboard bolt from the lower control arm (the big one that the spring sits on) in order to remove & replace the rear spring.
I was a moron the first time and took out the camber bolt and disconnected the toe link, etc. You should only need the inboard LCA bolt and maybe the lower shock bolt removed to get the spring out/in.

[Bettertomorrow]

Thank you for input! I am planning on using this DIY video to do the job.

Seems easy enough!

[x.shell]

Originally Posted by Bettertomorrow

I ordered a set of Eibach Pro for F83 and expecting it in a few days. Looked at quite a few DIY videos and they all made it look easy. I especially like the way you don't use spring compressor. Lose a few parts from front suspension, lose top bolt under the hood, drop the front suspension, replace spring. Similar but even easier for rear. I do most simple maintenance myself including spark plugs, water pumps, etc on various cars and some more involved jobs such as replacing intake manifold gasket on E211 AMG E63. But haven't done any suspension work yet and would appreciate it if people who's done it can share any "gotchas" if there is any. Thanks!

I hope you don't "lose" any of those parts you mentioned. Seriously though, if you're handy, it'll be pretty easy. Have two low profile hydraulic jacks to make your life easier. And 2 jack stands are a must. Jack up the car in pairs. So both sides on the front goes up when you're doing the front. And both sides on the rear goes up etc. It'll take the load off the sway bars.

Be safe and good luck.

[Bettertomorrow]

Wow, that was harder than I imagined. I bought quickjacks for the job (reputable shops in NOVA wanted full day work, $1000+ for spring change), figured doing it myself paid for quickjacks.

That video was very helpful but learned that I had to turn the front wheel to get the spring out. Also noticed that one of boot on the front suspension was torn, so fixed that as well. All told, about 6 hours! Nice drop and not slammed, drives nice, feels a bit more buttoned down, would recommend!

[TopJimmy]

I bet the self wrenching felt good.
It sure feels better than pulling out a wallet!

[dawei213]

Originally Posted by "Bettertomorrow;28470049"

Wow, that was harder than I imagined. I bought quickjacks for the job (reputable shops in NOVA wanted full day work, $1000+ for spring change), figured doing it myself paid for quickjacks.

That video was very helpful but learned that I had to turn the front wheel to get the spring out. Also noticed that one of boot on the front suspension was torn, so fixed that as well. All told, about 6 hours! Nice drop and not slammed, drives nice, feels a bit more buttoned down, would recommend!

It's always more work the first time around and you're checking and double checking everything while getting the right tools. But yeah doing it on a quick jack makes things easier as well.

Question, how come you had to turn the front wheel to get the spring out? Wouldn't you just had to drop the strut from the top hat?

[Bettertomorrow]

It was rewarding to do it on my own! If I were to do it again, I think I can do it much quicker. Wouldn't look forward to it though!

I removed the top bolt using impact wrench as seen on the video. But when wheels were facing straight, suspension wouldn't drop down enough to swing out to get to springs. By turning wheels to the direction of wheel I was working on, suspension dropped down easily.

Just did alignment at a local bmw specialist, two wheels were slightly out of alignment, nothing too bad, since Eibach only dropped about .8 front and .6 back.

[dawei213]

I take it you don't have EDC? For non EDC strut, using the impact gun is ok. For EDC struts, using an impact gun may cause an issue.

As for turning the wheel to drop the suspension, I see you have a F83 so that maybe the case. For my F80, I am able to keep the wheels straight and remove the strut like in the video.

Definitely rewarding once it's done. Of course it's when you hit a major issue (like rounding a nut), then it's a huge PITA. But glad you didn't have much of an issue.

[Bettertomorrow]

Thanks for info! I was a bit concerned about using impact wrench on EDC strut, bought a strut socket to work without impact wrench. But I ended up using the impact and to my surprise, everything worked, struts all lined up (struts tightened to their original position so their plugs lined up correctly with grooves on their top covers). So far, it drives well, no fault codes, it actually feels smoother than stock at low speeds (hear less rattling, this being convertible, has occasional rattling from the top). Initial turn in on corners feels a bit sharper as well. With Turner's flush spacer kit (12.5mm all around), I think it looks good, although I think additional .2 inch drop all round might have been better.

Since I got the car in last 2 months,
Hardwired a blackbox camera
Ambient lighting kit for brighter ambient lights around doors (didn't expect so much difference but it is so much brighter).
LCI center console trim replacement to have ambient light around the trim.
MHD GTS engine and DTC tune
97MM (?) gloss black exhaust tips
Eibach Pro spring
Turner Flush spacers
Bimmertech Alpha One speakers all around

I now have an itch for AA's single mid pipe. With quickjack, I think it might be easier than spring installation, I think I might like deeper tone with potentially faster turbo spool.